Sifting through countless of stocks in the Health Care Providers & Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Cencora, Inc. or Centene Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation

Cencora, Inc. sources and distributes pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally. The company’s U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes generic and injectable pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers; distributes plasma and other blood products, vaccines, and other specialty pharmaceutical products; provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; packaging solutions to institutional and retail healthcare providers; clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support services; data analytics, outcomes research, and other services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers; pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and other products to the companion animal and production animal markets; sales force services to manufacturers; and offers other services to physicians who specialize in various disease states, such as oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics. Its International Healthcare Solutions segment provides international pharmaceutical wholesale and related service, and global commercialization services; distributes pharmaceuticals, other healthcare products, and related services to pharmacies, doctors, health centers, and hospitals; and offers specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry. The company was formerly known as AmerisourceBergen Corporation and changed its name to Cencora, Inc. in August 2023. Cencora, Inc. was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

Centene Corporation operates as a managed care company that provides programs and services to under-insured families, and commercial organizations in the United States. It operates through four segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other. The Medicaid segment offers the temporary assistance for needy families; medicaid expansion; aged, blind, or disabled; and children's health insurance programs, as well as long-term services and supports; foster care; and medicare-medicaid plans. This segment also provides healthcare products and services. The Medicare segment offers special needs and medicare supplement, and prescription drug plans. The Commercial segment provides health insurance marketplace product for individual and commercial group. The Other segment operates clinical healthcare and pharmacies, as well as offers vision and dental, behavioral health, and centralized services. It provides services through primary and specialty care physicians, hospitals, behavioral health practitioners, and ancillary providers. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Latest Health Care Providers & Services and Cencora, Inc., Centene Corporation Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, Cencora, Inc. had a $60.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Providers & Services median of $1.7 million. Cencora, Inc.’s stock is down 7.8% in 2026, up 0.5% in the previous five trading days and up 6.7% in the past year.

Currently, Cencora, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 23.9. Cencora, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $328.7 billion with a 0.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 3.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $17.784 per share for the current fiscal year. Cencora, Inc. currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.

As of July 31, 2026, Centene Corporation had a $30.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 90th percentile of all stocks. Centene Corporation’s stock is up 51.2% in 2026, down 1.9% in the previous five trading days and up 141.26% in the past year.

Currently, Centene Corporation does not have a price-earnings ratio. Centene Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $180.3 billion with a -2.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.661 per share for the current fiscal year. Centene Corporation does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Cencora, Inc.	COR	A
Centene Corporation	CNC	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Cencora, Inc. has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong. Centene Corporation has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Cencora, Inc.	COR	D
Centene Corporation	CNC	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Cencora, Inc. has a Quality Score of 26, which is Weak. Centene Corporation has a Quality Score of 73, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Centene Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Centene Corporation has a better overall quality grade than Cencora, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Centene Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Cencora, Inc.	COR	C
Centene Corporation	CNC	A

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Cencora, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 46, which is Neutral. Centene Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 85, which is Very Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Centene Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Centene Corporation has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Cencora, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Centene Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation Grades

In addition to Growth, Quality and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Cencora, Inc. or Centene Corporation Stock?

Overall, Cencora, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 89, Estimate Revisions Score of 46 and Quality Score of 26.

Centene Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 89, Estimate Revisions Score of 85 and Quality Score of 73.

Comparing Cencora, Inc. and Centene Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.