Cencora vs McKesson: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Cencora reported $321.3B of revenue in FY2025 and $1.6B of net income. McKesson reported $403.4B of revenue in FY2026 and — of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Cencora
Cencora's revenue rose from $238.6 billion in FY2022 to $321.3 billion in FY2025, while FY2025 net income attributable to Cencora was about $1.55 billion, a net margin of roughly half a percent. Growth in fiscal 2026 has been driven by specialty products, GLP-1 volume and the newly consolidated OneOncology. In the third quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue grew 5.1% to $84.8 billion, adjusted operating income rose 17% to $1.2 billion, adjusted diluted EPS rose 12% to $4.48, and the company repurchased $1 billion of stock. Management raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $17.75-$17.95 and expects about $3 billion of adjusted free cash flow.
McKesson
McKesson reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $403.4 billion, up 12%, operating cash flow of $6.2 billion, and free cash flow of $5.4 billion. North American Pharmaceutical produced $336.7 billion of revenue; Oncology & Multispecialty produced $48.4 billion; Prescription Technology Solutions produced $5.8 billion; and Medical-Surgical Solutions produced $11.5 billion. Revenue should be read alongside segment profit and cash flow because distribution and retail represented about 98% of consolidated revenue but operate on thin margins.
Revenue and profit by year
Cencora
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $321.3B | $1.6B | 0.5% | +9.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $294B | — | 0.0% | +12.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $262.2B | — | 0.0% | +9.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $238.6B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
McKesson
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $403.4B | — | 0.0% | +12.3% | Source |
| FY2025 | $359.1B | — | 0.0% | +16.2% | Source |
| FY2024 | $309B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Cencora
- U.S. Healthcare SolutionsMajority
Wholesale distribution of branded, specialty brand, generic, over-the-counter, home healthcare, and related products to pharmacies, hospitals, physicians, and alternate-care providers.
- International Healthcare Solutions
Large secondary platform
Pharmaceutical wholesale, specialty logistics, commercialization, regulatory, and market-access services across international markets.
- Specialty and Provider Services
Strategic growth area
Services for specialty providers, manufacturers, oncology and retina practices, cold-chain movement, commercialization support, and patient access.
McKesson
- North American Pharmaceutical
Large majority
U.S. and Canadian drug wholesaling to retail, institutional and independent pharmacy customers, including Health Mart.
- Oncology & Multispecialty
Not separately estimated
Specialty distribution plus practice-management and data services for oncology, retina and other specialty practices.
- Prescription Technology Solutions
Small share of revenue
CoverMyMeds, Rx Savings Solutions and biopharma access and affordability programs; a higher-margin contributor to operating profit.
- Medical-Surgical Solutions
Single-digit share
Medical supplies and logistics for physician offices, long-term care and alternate care sites; being separated as Wellverse.
Business model and strategy
Cencora
How it makes money
Cencora makes money on volume and services rather than markups alone. It buys medicines from manufacturers, holds them in a national network of distribution centers and delivers them, often overnight, to pharmacies, hospitals, clinics and physician offices. Revenue is enormous because the full drug price passes through its books, but adjusted gross margin is only around 4% (4.16% in the June 2026 quarter).
Growth strategy
Cencora calls its strategy pharmaceutical-centric. Since 2024 it has redeployed capital toward specialty care: it bought about 85% of Retina Consultants of America for roughly $4.6 billion (closed January 2025) and agreed in December 2025 to buy the majority of OneOncology it did not already own from TPG and others for about $3.6 billion (closed February 2026).
Competitive advantage
Cencora's advantage is scale that is hard to copy: a national distribution network built for temperature-sensitive and controlled products, purchasing power with manufacturers, and deep specialty relationships. It is the leading distributor to community oncology practices and, through Retina Consultants of America and OneOncology, now also manages physician networks that prescribe high-cost specialty drugs.
McKesson
How it makes money
McKesson makes money primarily by purchasing and distributing pharmaceuticals and medical products to pharmacies, hospitals, health systems, and other providers. Distribution is a high-volume, thin-margin business, so purchasing terms, logistics efficiency, order accuracy, customer contracts, and working-capital management drive results.
Growth strategy
McKesson is concentrating capital on oncology, multispecialty care, and biopharma services, where provider relationships and specialty capabilities can grow faster than traditional wholesale distribution. It is also expanding prescription access and affordability services, completing its exit from Europe, and pursuing a separation of Medical-Surgical Solutions.
Competitive advantage
McKesson's advantage is the combination of distribution scale, regulated logistics, supplier and customer relationships, specialty capabilities, and nationwide infrastructure. Those assets are expensive and difficult to replicate, but large customers retain negotiating power and the core distribution model remains sensitive to small changes in pricing, product mix, and costs.
Questions about Cencora vs McKesson
Which company has higher revenue — Cencora, Inc. or McKesson Corporation?
Cencora, Inc. reported $321.3B (FY2025), while McKesson Corporation reported $403.4B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, McKesson Corporation is the larger business, with Cencora, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Cencora, Inc. vs McKesson Corporation?
Cencora, Inc. has a market capitalisation of $59.0B. A public market cap figure for McKesson Corporation was not available (it may be privately held).
Which is more financially efficient — Cencora, Inc. or McKesson Corporation?
Cencora, Inc. generates $6.30M / employee in revenue per employee, while McKesson Corporation generates $9.38M / employee. McKesson Corporation shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Cencora, Inc. and McKesson Corporation make money?
Cencora, Inc. and McKesson Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Cencora, Inc.: Cencora makes money on volume and services rather than markups alone. McKesson Corporation: McKesson makes money primarily by purchasing and distributing pharmaceuticals and medical products to pharmacies, hospitals, health systems, and other providers.
Is Cencora, Inc. bigger than McKesson Corporation?
By last reported revenue, McKesson Corporation ($403.4B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Cencora, Inc. ($321.3B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Cencora vs McKesson overview