Which Is a Better Investment, Cencora Inc or West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. Stock?

By Jenna Brashear
September 02, 2026
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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., West Pharmaceutical Services or Inc. 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., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc.

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.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging products. This segment also provides drug containment solutions in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices; and a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. This segment primarily serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It sells and distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, contract sales agents, and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

Latest Health Care Providers & Services and Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Cencora, Inc. had a $63.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Providers & Services median of $1.8 million. Cencora, Inc.’s stock is down 0.4% in 2026, up 2.6% in the previous five trading days and up 13.5% in the past year.

Currently, Cencora, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 24.6. Cencora, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $332.8 billion with a 0.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $17.873 per share for the current fiscal year. Cencora, Inc. currently has a 0.7% dividend yield.

As of September 1, 2026, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. had a $23.8 billion market cap, putting it in the 88th percentile of all stocks. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s stock is up 24.5% in 2026, down 2.1% in the previous five trading days and up 37.13% in the past year.

Currently, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 43.4. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.3 billion with a 17.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.959 per share for the current fiscal year. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. currently has a 0.3% dividend yield.

How We Compare Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. 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., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
Cencora, Inc. COR A
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. WST 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. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. 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., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
Cencora, Inc. COR B
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. WST B

Momentum grades help to 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. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Cencora, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 73, which is Strong. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 69, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. have a grade of B. For those who focus solely on a company’s momentum, further research will need to be conducted into both companies to see if they fit your individual needs as an investor.

Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Cencora, Inc. COR C
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. WST B

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 55, which is Neutral. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 75, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. 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, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. 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.

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Other Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. Grades

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

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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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite 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 F-Score.

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., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Cencora, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 89, Momentum Score of 73 and Estimate Revisions Score of 55.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 95, Momentum Score of 69 and Estimate Revisions Score of 75.

Comparing Cencora, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc.’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.

Learn More About A+ Investor

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.



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