 | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Industry | Healthcare |
| Founded | 1833; 193 years ago (1833) inNew York City, US |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people |
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| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$359 billion (2025) |
| US$4.42 billion (2025) | |
| US$3.29 billion (2025) | |
| Total assets | US$75.1 billion (2025) |
| Total equity |  US$−2.1 billion (2025) |
Number of employees | c. 45,000 (2025) |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | McKesson.com |
| Footnotes / references Financials as of March 31, 2025[update][1] | |
McKesson Corporation is an American publicly traded company that distributespharmaceuticals and provideshealth information technology,medical supplies, andhealth management tools. The company delivers a third of all pharmaceutical products used or consumed inNorth America and employs over 80,000 employees.[2][3] With $308.9 billion in 2024 revenue, it is theninth-largest company by revenue in theUnited States and the nation's largesthealth care company. The company is headquartered inIrving, Texas. It is a component of theS&P 500 and is listed on theNew York Stock Exchange, where it is traded under theticker symbol "MCK".
McKesson provides extensive network of infrastructure for thehealthcare industry and was an early adopter of technologies, includingbarcode scanning for distribution,pharmacy robotics, andRFID tags.[4] The company has been named in a federal lawsuit for profiting from theopioid epidemic in the United States.[5]
Throughout theCOVID-19 pandemic, McKesson was a key vaccine distributor, serving as the US government's centralized distributor for hundreds of millions ofCOVID-19 vaccine doses and ancillary supply kits for over a billion doses.[6][7]
McKesson was founded in 1828 inNew York City asCharles M. Olcott byCharles M. Olcott.[8] It was later renamedOlcott, McKesson & Co. andJohn McKesson in 1833,[9] the business began as animporter andwholesaler of botanical drugs.[8] A third partner, Daniel Robbins, who joined the enterprise as it grew, and who previously "was an assistant to the original partners",[10] was the "Robbins" when the company was renamedMcKesson & Robbins following Olcott's death in 1853.
In 1938, the company was involved in theMcKesson and Robbins scandal under CEOPhillip Musica. It was one of the most notorious business and accounting scandals of the 20th century, a watershed event that led to major changes in Americanauditing standards and securities regulations after being exposed in 1938. It was found that one fourth of the $86,556,270 assets of the company was just figures recorded to keep McKesson looking profitable while Musica, who was posing as F. Donald Coster, and his brothers stole the funds.[11] The company was able to weather the crisis after an equity receivership.[12][13]
In 1967,Foremost Dairies, a company founded byJames Cash Penney, which was headquartered inSan Francisco since 1954, acquired McKesson & Robbins in a hostile takeover[14] to form Foremost-McKesson Inc.[15] The Foremost dairy operations were sold in 1982 and the name changed toMcKesson Corporation but headquarters remained in San Francisco.[16]
In 1999, McKesson acquired medical information systems firm HBO & Company (HBOC).[17][18] The combined firm operated asMcKessonHBOC for two years.[19] Accounting irregularities at HBOC reduced the company's share price by half and resulted in the dismissal and prosecution of many HBOC executives.[18]
In 2001, the company's name reverted toMcKesson.[20] In the early 21st century, McKesson increased its market inmedical technology through acquisitions, including Per Se Technologies and RelayHealth in 2006[21][22] and Practice Partner in 2007.[23]
On January 6, 2006, McKesson acquired NDCHealth Corporation.[24]
In 2010, McKesson acquired theoncology and physician services company US Oncology, Inc. for $2.16 billion, which was integrated into the McKesson Specialty Health business.[25]
In April 2012, McKesson agreed to pay the United States $190M to settle allegations that it had inflated prices and overbilledMedicaid.[26] Three months later, in July 2012, McKesson agreed to pay California and 28 other states $151M to settle allegations that it had inflated prices and overbilled Medicaid.[27]
On June 24, 2013,The Wall Street Journal reported that McKesson Chairman and CEOJohn Hammergren's pension benefits of $159 million had set a record for "the largest pension on file for a current executive of a public company, and almost certainly the largest ever in corporate America".[28]
In 2013,PSS World Medical was acquired.
In 2014, McKesson acquiredCelesio to become one of the world's largest healthcare companies, with over $179 billion in annual revenue.[29]
In June 2016, McKesson announced plans to merge its IT business withChange Healthcare.[30]
In 2017, McKesson was involved in many lawsuits against the state ofArkansas over the supply ofvecuronium bromide. McKesson was under contract byPfizer not to sell to any correctional facility that authorized and carried outcapital punishment.[31][32]
In November 2018, the company announced it would relocate its headquarters fromSan Francisco toIrving, Texas, effective April 1, 2019.[33][34] Also in April 2019, Brian Tyler took over as CEO of the company.[35]
In February 2020, McKesson Corp announced that it would part ways with Change Healthcare.[36] McKesson gave up its ownership in the company and its three seats on the company's board of directors.[36]
In February 2025, the McKesson Corporation signed a definitive agreement to acquire 80% interest in PRISM Vision Holdings.[37]
In 2008, McKesson paid $13 million in fines for failing to report large orders ofhydrocodone.[38] In January 2017, McKesson agreed to pay a $150 million civil penalty for alleged similar violations of the Controlled Substances Act regarding the distribution of opioids.[39]
In January 2017, McKesson agreed to pay $150M to settle allegations that it had not done enough to track and stop suspiciousopioid sales.[40] The agreement also obligated McKesson to suspend all sales of controlled substances from its distribution centers inColorado,Florida,Ohio, andMichigan for multiple years.
In May 2020,Attorney General of OklahomaMichael J. Hunter sued McKesson inBryan County District Court, alleging that the company's actions helped fuel Oklahoma's opioid crisis. The suit was filed along with lawsuits againstCardinal Health andAmerisourceBergen, and the three lawsuits allege that the three companies provided "enough opioids to Bryan County that every adult resident there could have had 144 hydrocodone tablets."[41]
In January 2022, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, andJohnson & Johnson agreed to pay $26 billion to settle with all but five of the states suing them.[42] Had the states gone to court, the companies could have faced up to $95 billion in penalties.[43]
In August 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, theCDC andHHS selected McKesson as the US government's centralized distributor forCOVID-19 vaccine doses and ancillary supply kits underOperation Warp Speed.[44][6] The company has played a key role in distributing theModerna andJohnson & Johnson vaccines while also distributing ancillary supply kits for these as well as for thePfizer–BioNTech vaccine across the US (in addition to supporting the US government in efforts to send doses and kits abroad).[45][7]
For the fiscal year 2023, McKesson reported earnings ofUS$3.56 billion on revenue of US$276.711 billion.[46] As of 2023,[update] McKesson was the nation's largesthealth care company and the ninth-largest company by total revenue on theFortune 500.[47]
| Year | Revenue (US$M) | Net income (US$M) | Total assets (US$M) | Price per share (US$) | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 79,096 | −157 | 18,775 | 36.41 | |
| 2006 | 86,983 | 751 | 20,961 | 44.00 | |
| 2007 | 92,977 | 913 | 23,943 | 51.66 | |
| 2008 | 101,703 | 990 | 24,603 | 45.79 | |
| 2009 | 106,632 | 823 | 25,267 | 43.23 | |
| 2010 | 108,702 | 1,263 | 28,189 | 57.52 | 32,500 |
| 2011 | 112,084 | 1,202 | 30,886 | 71.40 | 32,500 |
| 2012 | 122,321 | 1,403 | 33,093 | 80.91 | 36,400 |
| 2013 | 122,196 | 1,338 | 34,786 | 113.59 | 43,500 |
| 2014 | 137,392 | 1,263 | 51,759 | 173.29 | 42,800 |
| 2015 | 179,045 | 1,476 | 53,870 | 198.26 | 70,400 |
| 2016 | 190,884 | 2,258 | 56,523 | 156.90 | 68,000 |
| 2017 | 198,533 | 5,070 | 60,969 | 141.87 | 78,000 |
| 2018 | 208,357 | 67 | 60,381 | 132.29 | 78,000 |
| 2019 | 214,319 | 34 | 59,672 | 127.96 | 80,000 |
| 2020 | 231,051 | 900 | 61,247 | 148.34 | 80,000 |
| 2021 | 238,228 | −4,539 | 65,015 | 195.88 | 76,000 |
| 2022 | 263,966 | 1,114 | 63,298 | 325.94 | 75,000 |
| 2023 | 276,711 | 3,560 | 62,320 | 405.02 | 51,000 |
McKesson Provider Technologies is the retail name for McKesson Technology Solutions; the software development division of McKesson. Their customer base in the United States includes 50% of all health systems, 20% of all physician practices, 25% of home care agencies, and 77% of health systems with more than 200 beds.
On June 20, 2005, McKesson Provider Technologies acquired Medcon, Ltd., anIsraeli company which providesweb-based cardiac image and information management solutions for heart centers, that includes: diagnostic digital image management, archiving, procedure reporting, and workflow management.[48]
In October 2013, McKesson agreed to buy a 50% stake in Germany-basedCelesio for $8.3 billion.[49]
McKesson Medical-Surgical (MMS) offers a large selection of national healthcare brands, along with McKesson's exclusive brand of medical products.
Their online medical supply ordering platform serves the needs of physician offices, surgery centers, home health agencies, DMEs, labs, and long-term-care facilities.[50]
In 2015, McKesson Medical-Surgical opened its new headquarters inRichmond, Virginia.[51]
Health Mart, a network of over 4,000[52] independently owned and operatedpharmacies, is a wholly ownedsubsidiary of McKesson Corporation, which owns the name "Health Mart". McKesson acquired Health Mart owner FoxMeyer in October 1996.[53]
Mosswood Wine Company
McKesson operated the Mosswood Wine Company from 1978 until 1987 when the division was sold to maintain its focus on pharmaceuticals. The division was founded and run by wine writerGerald Asher.[54]
NDC (from the initials of its former identity asNational Data Corporation) became NDC-Health Corp in 2001 following the spin-off of its payments division,Global Payments, in 2000.[55] NDCHealth was acquired by McKesson in 2007 through the purchase of Per-Se Technologies at which time it began doing business as RelayHealth in 2007.
In 1991, McKesson Corporation acquired a 100 percent interest in Medis Health and Pharmaceutical Services fromProvigo. In 2002, the McKesson Canada name was adopted. McKesson Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of McKesson Corporation. It includes various business units: McKesson Pharmaceutical, McKesson Automation, McKesson Specialty, McKesson Health Solutions, and McKesson Information Solutions.
In 2012, McKesson agreed to purchase Canadian pharmacy chains IDA, Guardian Pharmacy, and The Medicine Shoppe from theKatz Group of Companies for $920 million.[56]
In March 2016, McKesson agreed to purchase Canadian pharmacy chainRexall from the Katz Group of Companies for $3 billion.[57] The deal was finalized in December 2016 following approval received under the Investment Canada Act.[58]
On April 12, 2017, it was announced that McKesson Canada reached a deal to acquire 330Uniprix pharmacies.[59]
In May 2018, McKesson Canada closed 40 Rexall locations inOntario andWestern Canada.[60]
In theUnited Kingdom, McKesson, operating as McKesson Information Solutions UK Ltd, was a provider ofinformation technology services to the healthcare industry. In addition to numerous clinical software systems and finance and procurement services, McKesson also was responsible for developing theElectronic Staff Record system for theNational Health Service which provided an integratedpayroll system for NHS's 1.3 million staff, making it the world's largest single payroll IT system. McKesson Shared Services also provided payroll services for over 20 NHS Trusts, paying over 100,000 NHS members.
McKesson's United Kingdom base was inWarwick with data centers inNewcastle upon Tyne andBrent Cross and offices inSheffield,Bangor,Glasgow andVauxhall,London. Across the United Kingdom, it employed over 500 people.
In 2014, McKesson sold most of their healthcare software business to the private equity firmSymphony Technology Group and indicated also that they would not be re-bidding for the Electronic Staff Record contract.[61][62] This came after the company had posted significant year on year losses in revenue (16% in the 2012/13 financial year[63]) after taking over a very successful British operation in 2011.[64]
In April 2022, McKesson UK was acquired by the private equity company,Aurelius Group in a £477m deal. The companies acquired by Aurelius includeLloydsPharmacy, andAAH Pharmaceuticals.[65]
In 2010, McKesson Asia-Pacific was acquired byMedibank Private Ltd.[66][67]
McKesson ANZ is a fully owned subsidiary of McKesson Corporation. McKesson expanded its footprint inAustralia andNew Zealand by acquiring Emendo in November 2012.[68] McKesson ANZ develops and sells healthcare optimization services and software. The company has traditionally been focused on the public markets in Australia and New Zealand. The majority of theDistrict Health Boards in NZ use one or more of McKesson's Capacity Management solutions.
Christchurch in New Zealand, is one of McKesson's global Capacity Management R&D centers of excellence. All of McKesson's R&D for McKesson Capacity Planner is performed in New Zealand. The company employs approximately 40 team members across Australia and New Zealand, including general management, R&D, sales, services, and support employees.
McKesson Capacity Planne, formerly Emendo CapPlan, is used in more than 40 hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Canada, and the US[69] to forecast future patient activity and help health systems to allocate resources efficiently and identify unnecessary costs.[68][70]
On November 2, 2020,Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and McKesson announced the completion of their previously announced agreement to create a joint venture combining their respective pharmaceutical wholesale businesses inGermany, Alliance Healthcare Deutschland (AHD) and GEHE Pharma Handel (GEHE). WBA holds a 70 percent controlling equity interest in the joint venture and McKesson holds the remaining 30 percent interest.[71]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
