CVS Health vs McKesson
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The short version
- McKesson is the larger business, with $403.4B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $402.1B for CVS Health.
- McKesson grew revenue faster (12.4%, against 7.9%).
- CVS Health turned more of its sales into free cash flow (1.9% FCF margin, against 1.4%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of McKesson’s earnings: a P/E of 26.8x against 24.6x for CVS Health.
| Latest fiscal year | CVS · FY25 | MCK · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $120.3B | $119.3B |
| Revenue | $402.1B | $403.4B |
| Free cash flow | $7.8B | $5.7B |
| Net income | $1.8B | $4.8B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 7.9% | 12.4% |
| 5-year growth | 8.4% | 11.1% |
| Share count change | 0.7% | −3.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 45.0% | 3.6% |
| Operating margin | 1.2% | 1.5% |
| Net margin | 0.4% | 1.2% |
| FCF margin | 1.9% | 1.4% |
| Return on capital | 2.9% | — |
| Return on equity | 2.4% | — |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $54.0B | $2.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 5.8x | 0.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.4B | $5.1B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 24.6x | 26.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
Revenue
FY17
CVS $184.8B
MCK $198.5B
FY18
CVS $194.6B
MCK $208.4B
FY19
CVS $256.8B
MCK $214.3B
FY20
CVS $268.7B
MCK $231.1B
FY21
CVS $292.1B
MCK $238.2B
FY22
CVS $322.5B
MCK $264.0B
FY23
CVS $357.8B
MCK $276.7B
FY24
CVS $372.8B
MCK $309.0B
FY25
CVS $402.1B
MCK $359.1B
FY26
CVS —
MCK $403.4B
CVS
MCK
Operating margin
FY17
CVS 5.2%
MCK 3.6%
FY18
CVS 2.1%
MCK 0.4%
FY19
CVS 4.7%
MCK 0.4%
FY20
CVS 5.2%
MCK 1.1%
FY21
CVS 4.6%
MCK −2.1%
FY22
CVS 2.5%
MCK 0.8%
FY23
CVS 3.8%
MCK 1.6%
FY24
CVS 2.3%
MCK 1.3%
FY25
CVS 1.2%
MCK 1.2%
FY26
CVS —
MCK 1.5%
CVS
MCK
Free cash flow
FY17
CVS $6.1B
MCK $4.3B
FY18
CVS $6.8B
MCK $3.9B
FY19
CVS $10.4B
MCK $3.6B
FY20
CVS $13.4B
MCK $4.0B
FY21
CVS $15.7B
MCK $4.1B
FY22
CVS $13.5B
MCK $4.0B
FY23
CVS $10.4B
MCK $4.8B
FY24
CVS $6.3B
MCK $3.9B
FY25
CVS $7.8B
MCK $5.5B
FY26
CVS —
MCK $5.7B
CVS
MCK
Return on capital
FY17
CVS 12.2%
MCK 36.2%
FY18
CVS 2.1%
MCK 4.7%
FY19
CVS 7.1%
MCK 3.2%
FY20
CVS 8.3%
MCK 22.5%
FY21
CVS 8.3%
MCK —
FY22
CVS 5.2%
MCK —
FY23
CVS 8.8%
MCK —
FY24
CVS 4.9%
MCK —
FY25
CVS 2.9%
MCK —
FY26
CVS —
MCK —
CVS
MCK
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.