McKesson

McKesson Corporation stands as America's largest pharmaceutical distributor and healthcare services company, a position built over nearly two centuries since its founding in 1833 in Manhattan. With fiscal year 2025 revenue of $359.1 billion—ranking it as the ninth-largest company by revenue in the United States and the nation's largest healthcare company—McKesson's scale and reach are staggering: the company delivers a third of all pharmaceutical products used or consumed in North America, employs over 80,000 people, and touches virtually every corner of the American healthcare system. What began as Olcott & McKesson, a wholesale and import drug company selling therapeutic drugs and herbal products, has evolved through mergers, acquisitions, scandal, recovery, and strategic transformation into an indispensable infrastructure layer connecting pharmaceutical manufacturers, healthcare providers, pharmacies, and patients across the United States and Canada.

McKesson's business model centers on three core reportable segments following a September 2025 organizational restructuring that took effect in fiscal year 2026. The North American Pharmaceutical segment combines the company's scaled wholesale drug distribution businesses in the United States and Canada, delivering best-in-class distribution services to a broad customer base including retail and community pharmacies, institutional healthcare providers, and health systems. This segment represents the company's largest business, driving growth through increased prescription volumes from specialty products, retail national accounts, and GLP-1 medications that have surged in popularity. The Oncology and Multispecialty segment offers integrated solutions across oncology and multispecialty providers, including specialty drug distribution for complex therapies, group purchasing organizations that leverage collective bargaining power, and practice management services supporting the largest physician-led, community-based oncology networks in the nation. As the #1 distributor of oncology, rheumatology, and gastroenterology products and the second-largest specialty drug distributor nationally, McKesson provides end-to-end services ensuring life-saving therapies reach patients who depend on them. The Medical-Surgical Solutions segment distributes medical-surgical supplies, laboratory equipment, pharmaceuticals, and related services to non-acute care settings including physician offices, surgery centers, long-term care facilities, and home health agencies, though McKesson announced in May 2025 its intention to separate this business into an independent company.

Under the leadership of CEO Brian Tyler, who assumed the role in April 2019 after more than 25 years with the company, McKesson has navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraged its distribution infrastructure to support vaccine and therapeutic rollouts, and executed strategic M&A to strengthen high-growth segments. Major acquisitions in fiscal 2024-2025 demonstrate the company's focus on specialty healthcare and oncology: the $2.49 billion acquisition of a controlling interest in Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute's Core Ventures completed in June 2025 expanded McKesson's oncology platform; the $850 million acquisition of PRISM Vision Holdings completed in April 2025 added premier ophthalmology and retina management capabilities; and the January 2024 acquisition of Compile brought healthcare data aggregation and provider analytics to enhance McKesson's technology offerings. Simultaneously, McKesson divested non-core assets including the December 2024 sale of its Canada-based Rexall and Well.ca retail pharmacy businesses to Birch Hill Equity Partners, sharpening focus on higher-margin distribution and specialty services.

What truly distinguishes McKesson in the competitive pharmaceutical distribution landscape is its market dominance and operational discipline. Together with Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen) and Cardinal Health, McKesson controls over 90% of the U.S. pharmaceutical wholesale market, creating an oligopoly with significant barriers to entry and pricing power. McKesson's fiscal 2025 performance demonstrated continued momentum: consolidated revenues of $359.1 billion increased 16% year-over-year, adjusted earnings per diluted share of $33.05 increased 20%, and the company generated cash from operations of $6.1 billion with free cash flow of $5.2 billion. The company reaffirmed long-term adjusted earnings per share growth targets of 12% to 14%, reflecting confidence in prescription volume growth, specialty pharmaceutical expansion, and the transition toward higher-value oncology and biopharma services. Headquartered in Irving, Texas since relocating from San Francisco in 2019, McKesson operates from a position of strength, balancing its essential role in the pharmaceutical supply chain with innovation in technology, data analytics, and integrated care solutions that position the company to thrive as healthcare delivery evolves toward value-based models and digital-first patient engagement.