Cardinal Health, Inc. CAH reported second-quarter fiscal 2021 adjusted earnings of $1.74 per share (EPS), which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.45 by 20%. The bottom line also improved 14.5% year over year.Revenue DetailsRevenues increased 4.5% on a year-over-year basis to $41.54 billion. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.01%.Segmental AnalysisPharmaceutical SegmentIn the fiscal second quarter, pharmaceutical revenues rose 4.3% to $37.24 billion on a year-over-year basis. The upside can be attributed to growth in sales from Pharmaceutical Distribution and Specialty Solutions customers.Cardinal Health, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Cardinal Health, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Cardinal Health, Inc. QuotePharmaceutical witnessed a decline of 10.6% in profits to $413 million due to decline in volume on account of the COVID-19 impact, particularly in the generics program and Nuclear and Precision Health Solutions business. However, increase in contribution from brand sales mix partially offset the downside.Medical SegmentIn the quarter under review, revenues at this segment increased 7.1% to $4.31 billion attributable to higher sales from personal protective equipment (PPE) and increase in volumes in its lab business. However, adverse impact of cancelled or deferred elective procedures partially offset the upside.Medical segment profit improved 21% to $236 million, courtesy of net positive impact from COVID-19 and benefits from cost savings that include global manufacturing efficiencies.Margin AnalysisGross profit rose 3.6% year over year to $1.78 billion.As a percentage of revenues, gross margin in the reported quarter was 4.3%, remaining flat on a year-over-year basis.Distribution, selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $1.15 billion, down 1.4% year over year.The company reported operating income of $461 million in the quarter under review, up 38% from the prior-year quarter. As a percentage of revenues, operating margin in the reported quarter was 1.1%, up 30 basis points (bps) from the year-ago quarter.Financial UpdateThe company exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $3.74 billion, compared with $2.75 billion on a sequential basis.Net cash from operating activities totaled $1.22 billion at end of the fiscal second quarter, compared with $697 million in the year-ago quarter.2021 Guidance RaisedThe company anticipates adjusted earnings per share between $5.85 and $6.10 (up from the previously guided range of $5.65-$5.95). The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $5.82 per share.ConclusionCardinal Health exited the fiscal second quarter on a strong note, wherein both earnings and revenues outpaced the consensus mark. The company witnessed revenue growth in both its segments in the quarter under review. Raised fiscal 2021 outlook is a positive.Notably, the company inked a deal with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to become a network administrator in Phase 2 of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Strategy for COVID-19. Further, the Ohio Department of Health chose the Cardinal Health OptiFreight Logistics business to help in the distribution efforts of COVID-19 vaccines. These developments fuel optimism in the stock.However, intense competition and customer concentration are other concerns. The company witnessed a decline in profit with respect to Pharmaceutical segment in the quarter under review due to COVID-19 induced volume declines.Zacks RankCurrently, Cardinal Health carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Earnings of Other MedTech Majors at a GlanceSome better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space that have already announced their quarterly results are Hologic, Inc. HOLX, Abbott Laboratories ABT and AngioDynamics, Inc. ANGO. While Hologic sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), both Abbott and AngioDynamics carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Hologic reported first-quarter fiscal 2021 adjusted EPS of $2.86, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 33.6%.Abbott reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted EPS of $1.45, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.6%. Fourth-quarter worldwide sales of $10.7 billion outpaced the consensus mark by 7.9%.AngioDynamics reported second-quarter fiscal 2021 adjusted EPS of a penny against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss per share of 2 cents. Revenues of $72.8 million beat the consensus mark by 8%.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AngioDynamics, Inc. (ANGO): Free Stock Analysis Report Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis Report Hologic, Inc. (HOLX): Free Stock Analysis Report Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.