Cencora, Inc. COR

Competitive advantage analysis · healthcare

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
60/100
Moderate

Ranked against 11 peers in Medical Distribution

About Cencora, 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 … Full COR analysis →

Key strengths

  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.90), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
  • Revenue Growth Consistent Revenue growth volatility is low (stability score 0.80), suggesting sticky customer base.

Key risks

  • Scale Without Profitability Despite scale, profitability lags peers (score 0.35), suggesting limited competitive advantage.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
67
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where COR ranks in Medical Distribution

Cencora, Inc. ranks #4 of 12 scored companies in Medical Distribution by moat score — the top 33%. The widest moat in the group is McKesson Corporation (MCK) at 75/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
1 McKesson Corporation MCK 75/100 Moderate
2 Henry Schein, Inc. HSIC 72/100 Moderate
3 Cardinal Health, Inc. CAH 66/100 Moderate
4 Cencora, Inc. COR 60/100 Moderate
5 Zynex, Inc. ZYXI 59/100 Moderate
6 Owens & Minor, Inc. OMI 52/100 Moderate
7 111, Inc. YI 47/100 Developing
8 EDAP TMS S.A. EDAP 32/100 Developing
9 Synergy CHC Corp. SNYR 30/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How COR scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 67 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 75 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 72 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 45 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 58 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 52 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding COR's moat

What is Cencora, Inc.'s moat score?

Cencora, Inc. (COR) scores 60 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #4 of 12 scored companies in Medical Distribution, the top 33%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 11 companies in Medical Distribution. Its strongest defense is Cost Advantage (75/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (45/100).

How does Cencora, Inc. compare with other Medical Distribution companies?

Cencora, Inc. ranks #4 of 12 scored companies in Medical Distribution by moat score. The widest moat in Medical Distribution is McKesson Corporation (MCK) at 75/100. The companies ranked closest are Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) at 66 just above it and Zynex, Inc. (ZYXI) at 59 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 11 companies in Medical Distribution. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Cencora, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Cencora, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and COR scores: Pricing Power (67), Cost Advantage (75), Customer Stickiness (72), Capital Efficiency (45), Resilience (58), Scale & Market Position (52). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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