Sprawling healthcare company Cardinal Health (CAH -7.08%) reported its latest quarterly results and announced a sizable new acquisition Tuesday morning. The market didn’t take these news items well, however, and in late-session trading, it was pushing the company’s share price down by nearly 7%. The S&P 500 index, meanwhile, was bouncing higher with a more than 1% gain.

A nearly $2 billion move

Of the two pieces of news, that of the acquisition was clearly the more impactful. Cardinal Health announced that its The Specialty Alliance multiservices organization (MSO) platform has signed an agreement to acquire Solaris Health. The latter company was described by its acquirer as “the country’s leading urology MSO.”

Cardinal Health will pay roughly $1.9 billion in cash to Solaris’ owners (comprising a firm known as Lee Equity Partners and the company’s physician partners) to acquire around a 75% stake in the business. In the press release trumpeting the deal, Cardinal Health said that it would bolster the scale of urology within The Specialty Alliance.

The company said it would finance the acquisition with cash on hand plus new debt. It expects the deal to close by the end of this calendar year.

Separately, Cardinal Health reported its fiscal fourth quarter of 2025 results. Revenue was basically flat year over year at just under $60.2 billion. Non-GAAP (adjusted) net income, on the other hand, rose by 11% to hit $501 million, or $2.08 per share.

On average, analysts tracking the stock were modeling $60.9 billion on the top line yet only $2.03 per share for adjusted net income.

Flying higher with guidance

Cardinal Health also raised its profitability guidance for the entirety of fiscal 2026. The company is now forecasting that adjusted earnings per share will come in at $9.30 to $9.50; its previous estimate was $9.10 to $9.30. That $9.30 at the low end of the new range is 13% higher than the actual fiscal 2025 result.

The company did not provide revenue guidance.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

A beat-and-raise fiscal third quarter was the fuel driving Blue Bird (BLBD 5.79%) stock forward this week. Thanks mostly to this the company’s shares motored over 27% higher during the period, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Blue’s success with yellow

That three-month period saw Blue Bird, a longtime manufacturer of school buses, hit new highs for both quarterly revenue and profitability. The former line item zoomed 19% higher to $398 million, while non-GAAP (adjusted) net income improved by more than 26% to $38.7 million ($1.19 per share).

Analysts were expecting the quarter to be profitable, but not this profitable. As a group they were modeling only $1 per share for adjusted net income. They also underestimated revenue, as they predicted less than $378 million.

Although it’s identified — if at all — with the traditional gas-guzzling yellow school buses, Blue Bird has been busily upgrading its signature product over the years. It has pushed assertively into the alternative-fuel space, embracing greener solutions such as electric vehicle (EV) technology.

In its earnings release, Blue Bird referred to “expanding its leadership” in such alt-fuel offerings. It also mentioned that it was able to successfully side-step many of the tariffs recently imposed by the Trump administration, among other results-boosting factors.

A lift in guidance

With that solid quarter at its back, Blue Bird felt confident enough to raise its full-year-2025 guidance. The company now expects to earn roughly $1.45 billion in revenue and post an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) figure of $205 million to $215 million. It did not provide a net income estimate.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Blue Bird. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.