TacticScaleWhat McKesson Does & How It Makes Money (MCK)
Updated October 2026 · reflects McKesson's latest reported financials
Major US drug wholesaler and healthcare supply and technology company. Most of its revenue comes from distributing drugs and medical-surgical supplies, where it earns a small margin on a very large volume of products.
How McKesson makes money
Most of its revenue comes from distributing drugs and medical-surgical supplies, where it earns a small margin on a very large volume of products. It also charges fees for logistics services for manufacturers, pharmacy and prescription technology, consulting, and oncology and specialty care services.
What McKesson does
McKesson, founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, is one of the key middlemen in the US healthcare supply chain. It runs four segments: North American Pharmaceutical, Oncology & Multispecialty, Prescription Technology Solutions, and Medical-Surgical Solutions. Its core business is buying branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar and over-the-counter drugs and delivering them to retail pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care centers and clinics. It also provides logistics and distribution services for manufacturers. Around distribution, McKesson has built higher-value services. These include technology for pharmacies, electronic prior authorization and prescription price transparency tools that help patients get and afford their medicines, research and practice services for cancer and specialty care, gene therapy support through InspiroGene, and vaccine distribution. Its Medical-Surgical unit supplies physician offices, surgery centers, labs, nursing homes, home health agencies and government facilities.
Products & services
- Pharmaceutical wholesale distribution (branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar, OTC)
- Oncology & multispecialty practice services
- Electronic prior authorization and prescription price transparency
- Medical-surgical supplies and lab equipment distribution
- InspiroGene gene therapy services
- Vaccine distribution services
What is McKesson worth?
On an owner-earnings DCF, McKesson's most-likely value is about $1,446 versus a recent price near $939 (54% below fair value). But TacticScale only calls a stock undervalued when the price sits below its conservative no-growth floor (~$572) with a margin of safety — so the honest verdict here is “Fairly priced — no edge.” Fair value earns its keep only at the extremes, not in the wide middle.
Price sits in the normal range — fair value isn't actionable here; it earns its keep only when price drops below the no-growth floor, or runs to roughly double the optimistic case.
Analysis, not advice. Fair value is a margin-of-safety estimate from a deterministic owner-earnings DCF, not a price target or recommendation. See the full breakdown →
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