McKesson Corp: Form 10-K for the period ended Mar 31, 2025
Filed with the SEC on May 9, 2025 and accepted by EDGAR at May 8, 2025, 17:34 ET.
Business
As filed, 47,469 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
INDEX TO BUSINESS
| Section | Page |
|---|---|
| General | 3 |
| Business Segments | 4 |
| U.S. Pharmaceutical | 4 |
| Prescription Technology Solutions | 7 |
| Medical-Surgical Solutions | 7 |
| International | 7 |
| Investments, Restructuring, Business Combinations, and Divestitures | 8 |
| Competition | 8 |
| Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Licenses | 8 |
| Human Capital | 9 |
| Government Regulation | 9 |
| Other Information about the Business | 12 |
| Forward-Looking Statements | 12 |
General
McKesson Corporation together with its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company,” “McKesson,” “we,” “our,” or “us” and other similar pronouns), which traces its business roots to 1833, is a diversified healthcare services leader dedicated to advancing health outcomes for patients everywhere. Our teams partner with biopharma companies, care providers, pharmacies, manufacturers, governments, and others to deliver insights, products, and services to help make quality care more accessible and affordable.
The Company’s fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31. Unless otherwise noted, all references in this document to a particular year refers to the Company’s fiscal year. The Company was incorporated on July 7, 1994 in the State of Delaware.
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), are available free of charge on the Company’s website (www.mckesson.com (http://www.mckesson.com) under the “Investors — Financials — SEC Filings” caption) as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The content on any website referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”) is not incorporated by reference into this report, unless expressly noted otherwise. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including the Company, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the website is www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov).
Business Segments
The Company operates its business in four reportable segments: U.S. Pharmaceutical, Prescription Technology Solutions (“RxTS”), Medical-Surgical Solutions, and International.
Our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar and over-the-counter (“OTC”) pharmaceutical drugs, and other healthcare-related products in the United States (“U.S.”). This segment also provides practice management, technology, clinical support, and business solutions to community-based oncology and other specialty practices. In addition, the segment sells financial, operational, and clinical solutions to pharmacies (retail, hospital, alternate sites) and provides consulting, outsourcing, technological, and other services.
Our RxTS segment helps solve medication access, affordability and adherence challenges for patients by working across healthcare to connect patients, pharmacies, providers, pharmacy benefit managers, health plans, and biopharma companies. RxTS serves our biopharma and life sciences partners, delivering innovative solutions that help people get the medicine they need to live healthier lives. RxTS offers technology services, which includes electronic prior authorization, prescription price transparency, benefit insight, and dispensing support services, in addition to third-party logistics and wholesale distribution support designed to benefit stakeholders.
Our Medical-Surgical Solutions segment provides medical-surgical supply distribution, logistics, and other services to healthcare providers, including physician offices, surgery centers, nursing homes, hospital reference labs, and home health care agencies. We offer more than 245,000 national brand medical-surgical products as well as McKesson’s own line of high-quality products through a network of distribution centers in the U.S.
Our International segment provides distribution and services to wholesale, institutional, and retail customers in Canada and Norway where we own, partner, or franchise with retail pharmacies, and support better, safer patient care by delivering vital medicines, supplies, and information technology solutions. During fiscal 2025, we completed the sale of Rexall and Well.ca businesses in Canada. Refer to Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,”, to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
U.S. Pharmaceutical Segment:
Our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment provides distribution and logistics services for branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar, and OTC pharmaceutical drugs along with other healthcare-related products to customers. This business provides solutions and services to pharmacies, hospitals, oncology and other specialty practices, pharmaceutical manufacturers, biopharma partners, physicians, payors, and patients throughout the U.S. We also source generic pharmaceutical drugs through our ClarusONE Sourcing Services LLP joint venture with Walmart Inc. (“ClarusONE”).
Our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment operates and serves customers through a network of 27 distribution centers in the U.S., including two strategic redistribution centers. We invest in technology and other systems at all of our distribution centers to enhance safety, reliability, and product availability. For example, we offer McKesson ConnectSM, an internet-based ordering system that provides item look-up and real-time inventory availability as well as ordering, purchasing, third-party reconciliation, and account management functionality. We make extensive use of technology as an enabler to ensure customers have the right products at the right time in the right place.
To maximize distribution efficiency and effectiveness, we follow the Six Sigma methodology, which is an analytical approach that emphasizes setting high-quality objectives, collecting data, and analyzing results to a fine degree in order to improve processes, reduce costs, and enhance service accuracy and safety. We provide solutions to our customers including supply management technology, world-class marketing programs, managed care, repackaging products, and services to help them meet their business and quality goals. We continue to implement information systems to help achieve greater consistency and accuracy both internally and for our customers, as well as make investments to increase capacity and automation.
We have four primary customer pharmaceutical distribution channels: (i) retail national accounts, which include national and regional retail chains, food and drug combinations, mail order pharmacies, and mass merchandisers, (ii) community pharmacies and health (formerly described as independent, small, and medium chain retail pharmacies), (iii) institutional healthcare providers such as hospitals, health systems, integrated delivery networks, and long-term care providers, and (iv) oncology, biopharma, and other specialty partners.
Retail National Accounts: We provide business solutions that help our retail national account customers increase revenues and profitability. Solutions include:
- Central FillSM – Prescription refill service that enables pharmacies to more quickly refill prescriptions remotely, more accurately, and at a lower cost, while reducing inventory levels and improving customer service.
- Strategic Redistribution Centers – Two facilities totaling over 740,000 square feet that offer access to inventory for single source warehouse purchasing, including pharmaceuticals and biologics. These distribution centers also provide the foundation for a two-tiered distribution network that supports best-in-class direct store delivery.
- McKesson SynerGx® – Generic pharmaceutical purchasing program and inventory management that helps pharmacies maximize their cost savings with a broad selection of generic drugs, competitive pricing, and one-stop shopping.
- Inventory Management – An integrated solution comprised of forecasting software and automated replenishment technologies that reduce inventory-carrying costs.
- ExpressRx Track™ – Pharmacy automation solution featuring state-of-the-art robotics, upgraded imaging, and expanded vial capabilities, and industry-leading speed and accuracy in a small footprint.
Community Pharmacy and Health: We strengthen the overall health of community pharmacies and elevate the role they play in people’s lives. We accomplish this by providing supply chain excellence, pharmacy and patient solutions, as well as supporting independent pharmacies through industry and legislative advocacy. Our pharmacy and patient solutions include:
- Health Mart® – A national network of approximately 4,400 independently-owned pharmacies and one of the industry’s most comprehensive pharmacy franchise programs. Health Mart provides solutions for franchisees to promote excellence in business operations, team development, patient health, marketing and merchandising, and protects financial health through proactive audit support.
- Health Mart Atlas® and Atlas Specialty – Comprehensive managed care services that connect the continuum of care to help community pharmacies, health systems and physician practices save time, access competitive reimbursement rates, and improve cash flow.
- McKesson Reimbursement AdvantageSM (“MRA”) – MRA is one of the industry’s most comprehensive reimbursement optimization packages, comprising financial services (automated claim resubmission), analytic services, and customer care.
- McKesson Provider Pay® – Provider Pay is an automated reconciliation and payment management solution designed to maximize third-party cash flow and pursue unpaid claims.
- McKesson Amplify – Provides resources for state pharmacy associations in all 50 states, including dedicated support funding, resources, and opportunities to participate in best practice sharing consortia. The funding helps to support advocacy initiatives that address the unique challenges faced by independent pharmacies and promote their sustainability and growth.
- McKesson OneStop Generics® – Generic pharmaceutical purchasing program that helps pharmacies maximize their cost savings with a broad selection of generic drugs, competitive pricing, and one-stop shopping.
- Pinpoint Community Solutions – McKesson’s perpetual inventory management system targeted to independent pharmacy owners with five or fewer stores. The solution provides customers the opportunity to improve cash flow and increase efficiency with inventory visibility to help maximize operational performance.
- FrontEdge™ – Strategic planning, merchandising, and price maintenance program that helps community pharmacies maximize store profitability.
- McKesson RxOwnership Program – A confidential, no-fee resource for pharmacists and pharmacy owners interested in buying, starting, or selling an independent pharmacy, regardless of their pharmacy affiliation.
Institutional Healthcare Providers: At McKesson, we are relentless in our pursuit of opportunities to achieve operational efficiency, reduce waste, and improve the financial performance of our customers so they can achieve more of their goals today and into the future. Solutions include:
- Professional and Advisory Services – Comprehensive suite of advisory and consulting services designed to support health system business of pharmacy initiatives, including patient care, business operations, ambulatory services, inpatient operations, data and digitization, pharmacy workforce management, leadership, and compliance with safety, quality, and regulatory standards. Specialized consulting areas include 340B optimization, orphan drug support and retail pharmacy payer solutions.
- McKesson Plasma and Biologics – Specialty and plasma drug distributor that leads in market exclusive drug access; partner to health systems customers in navigating the complexities of limited distribution drug; and optimization of McKesson Distribution benefits.
- Outpatient, Retail, and Specialty Pharmacy – A portfolio of services and solutions customized to each customer’s business and clinical strategy.
- Contracting and Contract/Purchasing Optimization – Solutions across generics, specialty, branded products, biosimilars, and 340B products, for inpatient and outpatient settings.
- Supply Assurance – Solutions and strategies to enhance product availability and proactively manage inventory of critical items.
The U.S. Pharmaceutical segment also offers solutions which enable its customers to drive greater efficiencies in their day-to-day operations, effectively managing their inventories and complying with complex government regulations. Solutions include McKesson Pharmacy Systems, MacroHelix, and Supply Logix, all of which provide innovative software technology and services that support retail pharmacies and hospitals.
Oncology, Biopharma, and Other Specialty Partners:
The U.S. Pharmaceutical segment provides a range of solutions to oncology and other specialty practices and offers community specialists (oncologists, rheumatologists, ophthalmologists, urologists, neurologists, and other specialists) an extensive set of customizable solutions and services designed to strengthen core practice operations, enhance value-based care delivery, and expand their service offering to patients. Community-based physicians in this business have broad flexibility and discretion to select the products and commitment levels that best meet their practice needs. Services in provider solutions include specialty drug distribution, group purchasing organizations (“GPO”) like Onmark®, technology solutions, practice consulting services, and vaccine distribution, including our exclusive distributor relationship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (“CDC”) Vaccines for Children program.
This business provides a variety of solutions, including practice operations, healthcare information technology, revenue cycle management and managed care contracting solutions, evidence-based guidelines, and quality measurements to support The U.S. Oncology Network (“USON”), one of the nation’s largest networks of physician-led, integrated, community-based oncology practices dedicated to advancing high-quality, evidence-based cancer care. SCRI Oncology, LLC, an oncology research business in which we own a 51% controlling interest, is one of the nation’s largest research networks and specializes in enhancing clinical trial access and availability across the country.
This segment includes Ontada®, McKesson’s oncology technology and insights business providing software to support the clinical, financial, and operational needs of our oncology practice customers. Ontada also partners with oncology providers and biopharma partners to perform real-world evidence studies, retrospective research, and to provide clinical data insights, advisory solutions and education opportunities.
When we discuss specialty products or services, we consider the following factors: diseases requiring complex treatment regimens such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis; plasma and biologics products; ongoing clinical monitoring requirements, high-cost, special handling, storage, and delivery requirements and, in some cases, exclusive distribution arrangements. Our use of the term “specialty” may not be comparable to that used by other industry participants, including our competitors.
Prescription Technology Solutions Segment:
Our Prescription Technology Solutions segment works across healthcare to connect patients, pharmacies, providers, pharmacy benefit managers, health plans, and biopharma to deliver medication access solutions that support patients from first prescription fill to ongoing therapy, regardless of their insurance coverage. RxTS has connections with most electronic health record systems, over 50,000 pharmacies, approximately 950,000 providers, most pharmacy benefit managers and health plans, and has supported over 650 biopharma brands representing most therapeutic areas. Through its industry connections and ability to navigate the healthcare ecosystem, RxTS offers innovative solutions created to benefit healthcare stakeholders. Its comprehensive solution suites and technology services span across the entire patient journey, including medication access and affordability, prescription decision support, prescription price transparency, benefit insight and dispensing support services, as well as third-party logistics and wholesale distribution support, to help increase speed to therapy, reduce prescription abandonment, and support improved health outcomes for the patient. In the past year, RxTS helped patients save more than $10 billion on brand and specialty medications, helped to prevent an estimated 12 million prescriptions from being abandoned due to affordability challenges, and helped patients access their medicine more than 100 million times.
Medical-Surgical Solutions Segment:
Our Medical-Surgical Solutions segment delivers medical-supply distribution, logistics, biomedical maintenance, and other services to healthcare providers across the alternate-site spectrum. Our more than 340,000 customers include physician offices, surgery centers, post-acute care facilities, hospital reference labs, and home health agencies. We partner with manufacturers and channel partners to support our key target end-markets, including primary care, extended care, government, and other markets. We distribute medical-surgical supplies (such as gloves, needles, syringes, and wound care products), infusion pumps, laboratory equipment, and pharmaceuticals. Through a network of distribution centers in the U.S., we offer more than 245,000 products from national brand manufacturers and McKesson’s own brand of high-quality products. Through the right mix of products and services, we help improve efficiencies, profitability, and compliance. We also never lose focus on helping customers improve patient and business outcomes. We develop customized plans to address the product, operational, and clinical support needs of our customers, including inventory management, reducing administrative burdens, and training and educating clinical staff. We deliver for our customers, so they can deliver and care for their patients. In May 2025, the Company announced its intention to separate this segment into an independent company.
International Segment:
Our International segment includes operations in Canada and Norway. McKesson Canada is one of the largest pharmaceutical wholesale and retail distributors in Canada. The wholesale business delivers products to retail pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care centers, clinics and institutions in Canada through a national network of distribution centers and provides logistics and distribution services for manufacturers.
Beyond wholesale pharmaceutical logistics and distribution, McKesson Canada provides automation and technology solutions to its retail and hospital customers. Additionally, McKesson Canada provides comprehensive specialty health services to Canadians and provides biopharma services to manufacturers, including a national network of specialty pharmacies, personalized patient care and support programs, and INVIVA, Canada’s first and largest accredited network of private infusion clinics. McKesson Canada also owns and operates PDCI, Canada’s leading market access consultancy, supporting manufacturers as they introduce new products into the Canadian market.
The Canada retail business includes approximately 2,700 banner pharmacies under the IDA®, Guardian®, The Medicine Shoppe®, Remedy’sRx®, Proxim®, and Uniprix® banners. During fiscal 2025, we completed the previously announced transaction to sell our Rexall and Well.ca businesses. This divestiture is further described in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
In July 2021, we announced our intention to exit our businesses in Europe. We divested the majority of our European businesses during fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023. Our remaining operations in Europe provide distribution and services to wholesale and retail customers in Norway where we own, partner, or franchise with retail pharmacies. We continue to evaluate suitable exit alternatives for our retail and distribution businesses in Norway. Refer to Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information on our European divestitures.
Investments, Restructuring, Business Combinations, and Divestitures
We invest in new and existing distribution centers to increase scale and capacity, improve efficiency through automation and technology, and enhance regulatory compliance capabilities. Additionally, we invest in data and analytics to support our growth priorities, including artificial intelligence (“AI”). We are in the early stages of exploring potential AI capabilities and related data and analytics across our enterprise to improve productivity and efficiency, as well as enhance our products and services to better support patients, employees, and customers.
We have undertaken additional strategic initiatives in recent years designed to increase operational efficiencies, focus on our core healthcare businesses, execute our business strategy, and enhance our competitive position. These initiatives are detailed in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” and Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
Competition
We operate in highly competitive environments in North America and Norway. In recent years, the healthcare industry has been subject to increasing consolidation. In the pharmaceutical distribution environment in which our U.S. Pharmaceutical and International segments operate, we face strong competition from international, national, regional, and local full-line, short-line, and specialty distributors, service merchandisers, self-warehousing chain drug stores, manufacturers engaged in direct distribution, third-party logistics companies, and large payer organizations. We consider our largest competitors in distribution, wholesaling, and logistics to be Cencora, Inc. and Cardinal Health, Inc.
Our RxTS business experiences substantial competition from many companies, including other biopharma services companies, software services firms, consulting firms, shared service vendors, and internet-based companies with technology applicable to the healthcare industry. Competition in this business varies in size from large to small companies, in geographical coverage, and in scope and breadth of products and services offered.
Our Medical-Surgical Solutions segment experiences competition from a wide range of national and regional medical supply and equipment distributors throughout the U.S.
In addition, we compete with other service providers and healthcare manufacturers, as well as other potential customers of our businesses, which may from time to time decide to develop, for their own internal needs, supply management capabilities that might otherwise be provided by our businesses. We believe that our scale and diversity of product and service offerings are our primary competitive advantages. In all areas, key competitive factors include price, quality of service, breadth of product lines, innovation, adoption of new and evolving technologies, and, in some cases, convenience to the customer.
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Licenses
McKesson and its subsidiaries hold patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets related to McKesson products and services. We pursue patent protection for our innovations and obtain copyright protection for our original works of authorship when such protection is advantageous. Through these efforts, we have developed a portfolio of patents and copyrights in the U.S. and worldwide. In addition, we have registered or applied to register certain trademarks and service marks in the U.S. and in foreign countries.
We believe that, in the aggregate, McKesson’s confidential information, patents, copyrights, trademarks, and intellectual property licenses are important to its operations and market position, but we do not consider any of our businesses to be dependent upon any one patent, copyright, trademark, or trade secret, or any family or families of the same. We cannot guarantee that our intellectual property portfolio will be sufficient to deter misappropriation, theft, or misuse of our technology, nor that we can successfully enjoin infringers. We periodically receive notices alleging that our products or services infringe on third-party patents and other intellectual property rights. These claims may result in McKesson entering settlement agreements, paying damages, discontinuing use or sale of accused products, or ceasing other activities. While the outcome of any litigation or dispute is inherently uncertain, we do not believe that the resolution of any of these infringement notices would have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.
We hold inbound licenses for certain intellectual property that is used internally, and in some cases, utilized in McKesson’s products or services. While in the future it may be necessary to seek or renew licenses relating to various aspects of our products and services, we believe, based upon past experience and industry practice, such licenses generally can be obtained on commercially reasonable terms. We believe our operations as well as our products and services are not materially dependent on any single license or other agreement with any third party.
Human Capital
Everything we do at McKesson begins with our employees, who bring our mission and purpose to life every day. As of March 31, 2025, we had approximately 45,000 employees worldwide, which includes 2,000 part-time employees. We had approximately 36,000 employees in the U.S., 5,000 employees in Canada, and 4,000 employees in the rest of the world. We also supplement our work-force with contractors and/or consultants for certain business projects, processes, and/or operations as demand requires.
Culture and Leadership: One of McKesson’s defining characteristics is our strong culture. We take pride in fostering a sense of belonging, finding meaning in our work, and caring for each other, our customers, and all those who depend on us. Our I2CARE values (Integrity, Inclusion, Customer-First, Accountability, Respect, Excellence) and ILEAD leadership behaviors (Inspire, Leverage, Execute, Advance, Develop) are at the core of our daily actions – from how we interact with each other and our customers, to how we make decisions, both big and small. We also offer all employees the opportunity to join employee resource groups (“ERGs”), which are voluntary, employee-led, company-sponsored networks that aim to make a positive impact on our employees’ lives. Each ERG is non-exclusive and open to every employee. Our ERGs focus on helping employees make authentic connections, celebrate and learn from each other, showcase leadership skills and find ways to nurture and support belonging and empowerment.
Investment in Employees: We are committed to investing in our employees, so that they, in turn, can focus on furthering our purpose of Advancing Health Outcomes for All®. We offer employees health and wellness benefits focused on physical, mental, and social well-being, savings programs to help prepare them for retirement and flexible work arrangements, and other offerings. We also offer employees regular training, coaching, and 360-degree assessments, and financial assistance programs for higher education opportunities.
We seek to attract and retain the best talent through competitive compensation and pay for performance, while prioritizing recognition of merit and compliance with laws. Our compensation philosophy is rooted in a fair and transparent program that regularly conducts benchmarking to assess market rates for talent, based on geography and other factors.
We solicit employee feedback through annual and mid-year employee opinion surveys, which assesses our employees’ levels of engagement, commitment and overall satisfaction using industry benchmarks, and then design action plans to improve those metrics. We also seek feedback on our people leaders through our annual manager quality survey, which is an opportunity for employees to help their managers grow professionally and build valuable leadership skills that help to promote a positive and productive workplace.
Health and Safety: Our security and safety teams employ systems designed to continually monitor our facilities and work environment to help identify and prevent or mitigate risks. This includes having procedures and investing in equipment for both physical and electronic security. Our employees receive specialized training related to their role, work setting, and equipment used in their work environment.
Government Regulation
We operate in many highly regulated environments and are subject to oversight by various federal, state, and local governmental entities in the U.S. and elsewhere. We incur significant expense and make large capital expenditures and investments to enable us to comply with laws and guidance promulgated by governmental entities.
The regulatory framework affecting our business and industry is continuously evolving and influenced by conditions such as public policy developments; shifts in governmental priorities, initiatives, and focus areas, including due to changes in federal, state, and local representation; and varied interpretations of laws and agency rulemaking conventions. These conditions create uncertainties for our business, and we are unable to predict the impact of future changes to the regulatory framework, or any prolonged uncertainty, on our operations and compliance costs.
See “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I below for information regarding material risks associated with our compliance with governmental regulations.
Operational Licenses and Permits; Controlled Substances: We are subject to the operating and security standards of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), various state boards of pharmacy, state health departments, and comparable agencies in the U.S. and other countries. Certain of our businesses may be required to register for permits and/or licenses with governmental agencies, depending upon the type of operations and location of product development, manufacture, distribution, and sale. For example, we are required to hold valid DEA and state-level registrations and licenses, meet various security and operating standards, and comply with the Controlled Substances Act and its accompanying regulations governing the sale, marketing, packaging, holding, distribution, and disposal of controlled substances. We maintain extensive controlled substance monitoring and reporting programs at considerable expense in order to help us meet those standards.
Government Contracts: Our contracts with governmental entities typically are subject to procurement laws that include socio-economic, employment practices, environmental protection, recordkeeping and accounting, and other requirements. These statutory and regulatory requirements complicate our business and increase our compliance burden. We are subject to audits, investigations, and oversight proceedings about our compliance with contractual and legal requirements.
Healthcare Program Regulation: Federal, state, and local governmental entities in the U.S. and elsewhere continue to strengthen their position on, and scrutiny of, practices that may indicate fraud, waste, and abuse affecting government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Our relationships with pharmaceutical and medical-surgical product manufacturers, healthcare providers, and other companies and individuals, as well as our provision of products and services to governmental entities, subject our business to statutes, regulations, and government guidance that are intended to prevent fraud and abuse. Among other things, those laws: (1) prohibit persons from soliciting, offering, receiving, or paying any remuneration in order to induce the referral of an individual for, or to induce the ordering or purchasing of, items or services that are in any way paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, or other government healthcare programs; (2) prohibit physicians from referring certain “designated health services” to an entity with which they have a financial relationship, unless an exception applies; and (3) prohibit knowingly submitting, or causing to be submitted, a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the government; and (4) require certain entities to report and return an overpayment by Medicare or Medicaid within 60 days of identifying the overpayment.
Many of these healthcare fraud and abuse laws are vague or indefinite and are often subject to varied and evolving interpretations by courts, regulators, and enforcing agencies and, as such, may be interpreted or applied by a prosecutorial, regulatory, or judicial authority in a manner that could require us to make changes in our operations at added expense.
In the U.S., the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) significantly expanded health insurance coverage to uninsured Americans and changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private payors. The implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) has begun to change benefit design and how Medicare pays for drugs, which are all intended to reduce the price of drugs. Three central features of the IRA have authorized the government to negotiate drug prices for certain Parts B and D drugs over time, establish an inflation rebate program, and cap patient cost sharing under Medicare Part D.
Provincial governments in Canada that provide partial funding for the purchase of pharmaceuticals and independently regulate the sale and reimbursement of drugs have sought to reduce the costs of publicly funded health programs. For example, provincial governments have taken steps to reduce consumer prices for generic pharmaceuticals and, in some provinces, change professional allowances paid to pharmacists by generic drug manufacturers.
McKesson continues to advocate for policies that would improve drug cost transparency under a patient's drug plan to better inform prescribing decisions, and also address access to care, affordability, and treatment regimen adherence, all designed to improve clinical outcomes and reduce the health spending burden.
FDA Regulation and Supply Chain Integrity: In the U.S., the FDA is the principal federal authority that regulates the safety, efficacy, quality, testing, premarket approval, manufacture, labeling, storage, distribution, and post-market surveillance of healthcare products, such as drugs and medical devices, foods, and cosmetics.
Federal and state laws regulate the pharmaceutical drug supply chain in order to prevent the distribution of counterfeit, stolen, contaminated, or otherwise harmful prescription drugs in interstate commerce. At the federal level, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (“DSCSA”), among other things, requires standardized, unit-level traceability of pharmaceutical products along the entire drug supply chain and requires all trading partners to cooperate in an electronic, interoperable prescription drug traceability system. In October 2024, the FDA extended the compliance deadlines for the DSCSA interoperable unit-level traceability requirements to May 27, 2025, for manufacturers, August 27, 2025 for distributors, and November 27, 2025 for dispensers. The FDA stated that these extensions apply to trading partners who meet certain conditions. The Company believes its businesses are eligible for the extensions. The DSCSA also sets forth national standards for the licensure of wholesale drug distributors and third-party logistic providers and other requirements applicable to these entities and the FDA has issued a proposed rule with respect to these requirements. These federal and state regulatory requirements have increased, and may further increase, our compliance burden and distribution costs.
Additionally, federal and state governments may adopt other laws intended to protect the integrity of the supply chain, and those laws could affect our distribution business. For example, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and HHS issued a request for public comment in 2024 on how the practices of pharmaceutical wholesalers and group purchasing organizations impact generic drug shortages. Various industry stakeholders responded to this request, but no further action has been taken by the FTC or HHS.
Cybersecurity, Data Security, Privacy, and AI: We are subject to many cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection laws that change frequently and have requirements that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Our efforts to comply with these laws complicate our operations and add to our costs. We are subject to significant compliance obligations under privacy laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act in Canada, and an expanding list of comprehensive state privacy laws in the U.S. Some privacy laws may prohibit the transfer of personal information to certain other jurisdictions or otherwise limit our use and disclosure of data. Many of these laws also require us to provide access or other data rights (modification, deletion, portability, etc.) to consumers’ and patients’ individual personal data records within specified periods of time. Cybersecurity laws such as the federal Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022, proposed changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and SEC reporting requirements may require us to provide notifications of certain cybersecurity incidents within short timeframes. Regulations and guidance targeting critical infrastructure entities, including McKesson, continue to be a focus of regulators. We are subject to privacy and data protection compliance audits or investigations by various governmental agencies. There is also an emerging trend of governmental entities proposing and providing regulatory guidance related to AI, including generative AI. If we or our third-party providers are restricted from using AI as a result of any regulatory views, laws or other measures, it could impact our operations, increase our compliance expense and burden, and cause us to incur costs to replace or modify our use of AI.
Environmental Regulation: We are subject to various federal, state, local, and foreign laws concerning the environment, including laws addressing the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, and the cleanup of contaminated sites, as well as laws governing the operation of radiation-emitting equipment at U.S. Oncology Network practices.
We sold our chemical distribution operations in 1987 and retained responsibility for certain environmental obligations. Agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and certain states have required and may require environmental assessments and cleanups at several closed sites. These matters are described further in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
Climate Change Regulation: Governments in the U.S. and abroad have adopted or are considering new or expanded policies and laws to address climate change. Such policies and laws may necessitate reductions in greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions; mandate that companies implement processes and controls to monitor and disclose climate-related matters; and impose additional taxes or offset charges on specified energy sources, among other requirements. Compliance with climate-related policies and laws may be further complicated by disparate regulatory approaches in various jurisdictions. Methodologies for reporting climate-related information may change and previously reported information may be retroactively adjusted, if required. New or expanded climate-related policies and laws could impose costs on us, including capital expenditures to develop data gathering and reporting systems, third-party attestations, and additional GHG reduction measures. Until the timing and extent of climate-related policies and laws are clarified, including due to legal challenges, we cannot predict their potential effect on our capital expenditures, results of operations, or competitive position.
Antitrust Laws: Antitrust and competition laws in the U.S. and elsewhere prohibit types of conduct deemed to be anti-competitive. Antitrust enforcement in the healthcare industry remains a focus of the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice. Some of our strategic transactions may require review by competition regulators, with inherent delays. Violations of the antitrust laws can result in sanctions and other adverse actions, including criminal and civil penalties. Private plaintiffs also may bring civil lawsuits for alleged antitrust law violations, including claims for treble damages. These laws contribute to our compliance efforts and expense, and their enforcement might materially adversely affect our operations and growth strategy.
Other Information about the Business
Customers: During fiscal 2025, sales to our ten largest customers, including group purchasing organizations (“GPOs”) accounted for approximately 72% of our total consolidated revenues. Sales to our largest customer, CVS Health Corporation (“CVS”), accounted for approximately 24% of our total consolidated revenues in fiscal 2025. In fiscal 2023, we extended our pharmaceutical distribution partnership with CVS to June 2027. Our ten largest customers comprised approximately 48%, and CVS was approximately 23% of our total trade accounts receivable at March 31, 2025. We also have agreements with GPOs, each of which functions as a purchasing agent on behalf of member hospitals, pharmacies, and other healthcare providers, as well as with government entities and agencies. The accounts receivable balances are with individual members of the GPOs, and therefore no significant concentration of credit risk exists. Substantially all of these revenues and accounts receivable are included in our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment.
Suppliers: We obtain pharmaceutical and other products from manufacturers and our largest supplier accounted for 11% of our total purchases in fiscal 2025. The loss of a supplier could adversely affect our business if alternate sources of supply are unavailable. We believe that our relationships with our suppliers are generally sound. The ten largest suppliers in fiscal 2025 accounted for approximately 69% of our total purchases.
Some of our distribution arrangements with manufacturers provide us consideration based on a percentage of our purchases. In addition, we have certain distribution arrangements with pharmaceutical manufacturers that include an inflation-based consideration component whereby we benefit when the manufacturers increase their prices as we sell our existing inventory at the new higher prices. For these manufacturers, a reduction in the frequency and magnitude of price increases, as well as restrictions in the amount of inventory available to us, could have an adverse impact on our gross profit margin.
Research and Development: Research and development expenses were $91 million, $77 million, and $89 million for the years ended March 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
Financial Information About Foreign and Domestic Operations: Certain financial information relating to foreign and domestic operations is discussed in Financial Note 20, “Segments of Business,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report as well as in “Foreign Operations” in Item 7 of Part II of this Annual Report. See “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I below for information regarding risks associated with our foreign operations.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report, including “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7 of Part II of this report and the “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of this report, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements may be identified by their use of terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “projects,” “plans,” “estimates,” “targets,” or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. The discussion of trends, strategy, plans, prospects, assumptions, expectations, or intentions may also include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, or implied. Although it is not possible to predict or identify all such risks and uncertainties, they include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed in Item 1A of Part I of this report under “Risk Factors” and in our publicly available SEC filings and press releases. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements were first made. Except to the extent required by federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date the statements are made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Available Information
We routinely post on our company website, and via our social media channels, information that may be material to investors, including details and updates to information disclosed elsewhere, which may include business developments, earnings and financial performance, sustainability matters, details regarding upcoming events, and materials for presentations to investors and financial analysts. Investors are encouraged to monitor our website www.mckesson.com (http://www.mckesson.com). Interested parties can sign up on our website, including our Investor Relations site, to receive automated e-mail alerts, such as via RSS newsfeed, when we post certain information. Interested parties can also follow our social media feed @McKesson on X, formerly known as Twitter. The content on any website or social media channel is not incorporated by reference into this report, unless expressly noted otherwise.
Risk factors
As filed, 59,292 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
INDEX TO RISK FACTORS
| Section | Page |
|---|---|
| Litigation and Regulatory Risks | 13 |
| Company and Operational Risks | 16 |
| Industry and Economic Risks | 20 |
| General Risks | 23 |
The discussion below identifies certain representative risks that might cause our actual business results to materially differ from our estimates. It is not practical to identify or describe all risks and uncertainties that might materially impact our business operations, reputation, financial position, or results of operations. Our business could be materially affected by risks that we have not yet identified or that we currently consider to be immaterial. This is not a complete discussion of all potential risks and uncertainties.
Litigation and Regulatory Risks
We experience costly and disruptive legal disputes.
We are routinely named as a defendant in litigation or regulatory proceedings and other legal disputes, which may include asserted class action litigation, such as those described in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. Regulatory proceedings involve allegations such as false claims, healthcare fraud and abuse, and antitrust violations. Civil litigation proceedings involve commercial, employment, environmental, intellectual property, tort, and other claims. Despite valid defenses that we assert, legal disputes are often costly, time-consuming, distracting to management, and disruptive to normal business operations. The uncertainty and expense associated with unresolved legal disputes might harm our business and reputation even if the matter ultimately is favorably resolved. The outcome of legal disputes is difficult to predict, and outcomes may occur that we believe are not justified by the evidence or existing law. Outcomes include monetary damages, penalties and fines, and injunctive or other relief that requires us to change our business operations and incur significant expense. Accordingly, legal disputes might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.
We experience losses not covered by insurance or indemnification.
Our business exposes us to risks that are inherent in the distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, and administration of pharmaceuticals and medical-surgical supplies, the provision of ancillary services, the conduct of our payer businesses, practice support services, and the provision of products that assist clinical decision-making and relate to patient medical histories and treatment plans. For example, pharmacy operations are exposed to risks such as improper filling of prescriptions, mislabeling of prescriptions, inadequacy of warnings, unintentional distribution of counterfeit drugs, and expiration of drugs. Although we seek to maintain adequate insurance coverage, such as property insurance for inventory and professional and general liability insurance, coverages on acceptable terms might be unavailable, or coverages might not cover our losses. We generally seek to limit our contractual exposure, but limitations of liability or indemnity provisions in our contracts may not be enforceable or adequately protect us from liability. Uninsured or non-indemnified losses might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We experience costly legal disputes, government actions, and adverse publicity regarding our role in distributing controlled substances such as opioids.
The Company is a defendant in many litigation matters alleging claims related to the distribution of controlled substances (opioids), as described in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report. We are sometimes named as a defendant in similar, new cases. The plaintiffs in those cases include governmental entities (such as states, provinces, counties, and municipalities) as well as businesses, groups, and individuals. The cases allege violations of controlled substance laws and other laws, and they make common law claims such as negligence and public nuisance. Many of these cases raise novel theories of liability and can have unexpected outcomes that we believe are not justified by evidence or existing law. Legal proceedings such as these often involve significant expense, management time and distraction, and risk of loss that can be difficult to predict or quantify. It is not uncommon for claims to be resolved over many years. Outcomes include monetary damages, penalties and fines, and injunctive or other relief that requires us to change our business operations and incur significant expense. Although the Company has valid defenses and is vigorously defending itself, some proceedings have been, and others may be, resolved by negotiated outcome. For example, we are subject to consent decrees issued by state courts that govern our distribution of controlled substances. Not all proceedings, however, are resolved by settlement. Our reputation has been and may continue to be impacted by publicity regarding opioids litigation and related allegations. An adverse outcome of any such legal proceedings might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We experience increased costs to distribute controlled substances such as opioids.
Legislative, regulatory, or industry measures related to the distribution of controlled substances such as prescription opioids could affect our business in ways that we may not be able to predict. For example, some states have passed legislation that could require us to pay taxes or assessments on the distribution of opioid medications in those states and other states have considered similar legislation. Liabilities for taxes or assessments or other costs of compliance under any such laws might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.
We are subject to extensive, complex, and challenging healthcare, environmental, and other laws.
As described in “Government Regulation” in Item 1 of Part I above, our industry is highly regulated, and further regulation of our distribution businesses, technology products, and services could impose increased costs, negatively impact our profit margins and the profit margins of our customers, delay the introduction or implementation of our new products, or otherwise negatively impact our business and expose the Company to litigation and regulatory investigations. We incur cleanup costs under environmental laws and may incur additional costs under environmental laws. Additionally, we are subject to various routine and ad hoc inspections and requests for information by governmental agencies to determine compliance with various statutes and regulations. Any noncompliance by us with applicable laws, or the failure to maintain, renew, or obtain necessary permits and licenses, could lead to enforcement actions or litigation and might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We are subject to extensive and frequently changing laws relating to healthcare fraud, waste, and abuse.
As described in “Government Regulation” in Item 1 of Part I above, federal, state, and local governmental entities in the U.S. and elsewhere continue to strengthen their position on, and scrutiny of, practices that may indicate fraud, waste, and abuse affecting government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Those laws may be interpreted or applied in a manner that could require us to make changes in our operations at added expense. Alleged failures to comply with those laws, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, expose us to federal or state government investigations or qui tam actions, and to liability for damages and civil and criminal penalties. Such failures might result in the loss of licenses or our ability to participate in Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal and state healthcare programs, or pursue government contracts. These sanctions might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We might lose our ability to purchase, store, or distribute pharmaceuticals, including controlled substances, and medical products.
As described in “Government Regulation” in Item 1 of Part I above, we are subject to the operating, quality, regulatory, and security requirements of the DEA, the FDA, various state boards of pharmacy, state health departments, CMS, and other agencies. Noncompliance with these requirements can result in inspectional observations, warning letters, product recalls, withdrawals or other market action, fines, seizures, injunctions, and other administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement actions. Noncompliance, enforcement actions or adverse decisions by regulators, or the inability to obtain, maintain, or renew permits, licenses, or other regulatory approvals needed for the operation of our businesses might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
Privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, and AI laws increase our compliance burden.
As described in “Government Regulation” in Item 1 of Part I above, we are subject to a variety of privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, and AI laws that change frequently and have requirements that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Failure to comply with these laws subjects us to potential regulatory enforcement activity, fines, private litigation including class actions, reputational impacts, and other costs. We also have contractual obligations that might be breached if we fail to comply with privacy and data security laws. The use of AI solutions by our employees or third parties on which we rely could also lead to the misuse of data or public disclosure of confidential information (including personal data or proprietary information) in contravention of our internal policies, applicable laws, contractual requirements, or third-party intellectual property rights. Our efforts to comply with privacy, data security, and AI laws complicate our operations and add to our costs. A significant cybersecurity and/or privacy breach or failure to comply with privacy and data security laws, by us or by external service providers, vendors, or other third parties with which we do business, might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.
Anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws increase our compliance burden.
We are subject to laws prohibiting improper payments and bribery, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, and similar regulations in other jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with these laws might subject us to civil and criminal penalties that might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.
Company and Operational Risks
We might record significant charges from impairment to goodwill, intangibles, and other long-lived assets.
We are required under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) to test our goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently if indicators for potential impairment exist. Indicators that are considered include significant changes in performance relative to expected operating results, significant changes in the use of the assets, significant negative industry or economic trends, or a significant decline in the Company’s stock price and/or market capitalization for a sustained period of time. In addition, we periodically review our intangible and other long-lived assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors that may be considered a change in circumstances indicating that the carrying value of our intangible and other long-lived assets may not be recoverable include slower growth rates, the loss of a significant customer, burdensome new laws or other adverse legal developments, or divestiture of a business or asset for less than its carrying value. There are inherent uncertainties in management’s estimates, judgments, and assumptions used in assessing recoverability of goodwill, intangibles, and other long-lived assets. Any material changes in key assumptions, including failure to meet business plans, negative changes in government reimbursement rates, a deterioration in the U.S. and global financial markets, an increase in interest rates, an increase in inflation, or an increase in the cost of equity financing by market participants within the industry, or other unanticipated events and circumstances, may decrease the projected cash flows or increase the discount rates and could potentially result in an impairment charge. We have in the past recorded, and may be required to record, a significant charge to earnings in our consolidated financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill or intangible and other long-lived assets is determined, which might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations. See Financial Note 10, “Goodwill and Intangible Assets,” for descriptions of impairments of goodwill or intangible or other long-lived assets in recent periods.
We experience cybersecurity incidents that might significantly compromise our technology systems or might result in material data breaches.
We, our external service providers, vendors, and other third parties with which we do business, use technology and systems to perform our business operations, such as the secure electronic transmission, processing, storage, and hosting of sensitive information, including protected health information and other types of personal information, confidential financial information, proprietary information, and other sensitive information relating to our customers, company, and workforce. Despite our physical, technical, and administrative security measures as well as third party risk management processes as discussed in “Cybersecurity” in Item 1C of Part I below, technology systems and operations of the Company and third parties, including our external service providers and vendors, with which we do business, have experienced cybersecurity incidents and are subject to future cyberattacks and cybersecurity incidents. Companies in the healthcare industry are increasingly targeted for cyberattacks. Cybersecurity incidents include unauthorized occurrences on or conducted through our or our third parties’ information systems, such as tampering, malware insertion, ransomware attacks, or other system integrity events. The risk and efficacy of cyberattacks increases from time to time due to a variety of internal and external factors, including, but not limited to, the adoption of sophisticated and rapidly evolving techniques, such as adversarial AI, and during political or military unrest. Our adoption of AI also may create new attack surfaces or methods and generally increase cybersecurity and data protection risks and costs. A cybersecurity incident might involve a material data breach or other material impact to the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and operations of our technology systems or data, which might result in harm to patients, consumers, or employees; litigation or regulatory action; disruption of our business operations; loss of customers or revenue; cash flow impacts; and increased expense. Additionally, it may take considerable time for us to investigate and evaluate the full impact of incidents, particularly for sophisticated attacks. These factors may inhibit our ability to provide prompt, full, and reliable information about the incident to our customers, regulators, and the public. Any cybersecurity incident might have a materially adverse impact on our business, our operations, our reputation, and our financial position or results of operations.
We experience significant problems with information systems or networks.
We rely on sophisticated information systems and networks to perform our business operations, such as to obtain, rapidly process, analyze, and manage data that facilitate the purchase and distribution of thousands of inventory items from distribution centers. We provide remote services that involve hosting customer data and operating software on our own or third-party systems. Our customers rely on their ability to access and use these systems, and their data, as needed, and our ability to compete effectively is increasingly dependent on access to, and interpretation of, data. Data quality impacts customer ordering, order fulfillment and higher order processing. If we fail to effectively implement and maintain data governance structures across our businesses, to effectively interpret and utilize such data, or protect the integrity of such data, including systems powered by or incorporating AI and machine learning, our operations could be impacted, and we may be at a competitive disadvantage. Our networks and hosting systems are also vulnerable to interruption or damage from sources beyond our control. When those information systems or networks are disrupted, or if the timely delivery of medical care or other customer business requirements are impaired, we experience injury to patients or consumers, litigation or regulatory action, disruption of our business operations, loss of customers or revenue, cash flow impacts, and increased expense. In addition, hardware, software, and other applications and updates procured from third parties may contain defects that have, or may in the future, unexpectedly restrict access to or interfere with the proper operations of our information systems and hardware. Any such problems might have a materially adverse impact on our business, our reputation, and our financial position or results of operations.
Our technology products or services might not conform to specifications or perform as we intend.
We sell and provide services involving complex software and technology that may contain errors, especially when first introduced to market. Healthcare professionals delivering patient care tend to have heightened sensitivity to system and software errors. If our software and technology services are alleged to have contributed to faulty clinical decisions, compromised continuity of patient care, or injury to patients, we might be subject to regulatory scrutiny or, claims by users of our software or services and/or their patients. Errors or failures might damage our reputation and negatively affect future sales. A failure of a system or software to conform to specifications might constitute a breach of warranty that could result in repair costs, contract termination, refunds, or claims for damages. These risks can be heightened upon the adoption of new technologies, including AI, and may introduce new or expanded risks, such as data inaccuracy, unreliability, or bias. Any of these types of errors or failures might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.
Pharmaceutical and medical products that we distribute might not conform to specifications or perform as intended.
We distribute pharmaceutical, medical, and other FDA-regulated products manufactured by third parties and by our private label businesses, including medications that may be temperature sensitive or have limited shelf lives. Our systems and procedures are designed to maintain the safety and efficacy of the products throughout the sourcing and distribution process. Issues affecting product safety or efficacy can arise from manufacturing, storing, distributing, dispensing or using products, and can result in adverse consequences such as safety alerts, seizures, bans, recalls, withdrawals or other market action, suspensions, and other regulatory actions and sanctions, civil lawsuits, increased costs, disruptions, delays, and reputational damage. Any of these types of issues or results might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.
We might not realize expected benefits from business process initiatives.
From time to time, we implement restructuring, cost reduction, or other business process initiatives that result in significant charges and expenses. These initiatives might fail to achieve our desired objectives or have unintended consequences such as distraction of our management and employees, business disruption, attrition beyond any planned reduction in workforce, inability to attract or retain key personnel and reduced employee productivity. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We might be unable to successfully complete or integrate acquisitions or other strategic transactions.
Our growth strategy includes consummating acquisitions or other strategic transactions that either expand or complement our business. To fund these strategic transactions, we may require financing that may not be available on acceptable terms. We may not receive governmental approvals needed to complete proposed transactions, or such approvals may be subject to delays or conditions that reduce transaction benefits. Achieving the desired outcomes of these strategic transactions involves significant risks including: diverting management’s attention from other business operations; challenges with assimilating the acquired businesses, such as integration of operations, systems, and technologies; failure or delay in realizing operating synergies; difficulty retaining key acquired company personnel; unanticipated accounting or financial systems issues with the acquired business, which might affect our internal controls over financial reporting; disputes with the sellers of acquired businesses; unanticipated compliance issues in the acquired business; unknown or unanticipated cybersecurity issues; challenges retaining customers of the acquired business; unanticipated expenses or charges to earnings, including depreciation and amortization or potential impairment charges; and risks of known and unknown assumed liabilities in the acquired business. These risks at times have adversely affected, and could in the future adversely affect, our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of an acquisition, and might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
From time to time we are adversely impacted by delays or other difficulties with divestitures.
When we decide to sell or otherwise divest assets or a business, we may encounter difficulty in finding buyers or exit strategies on acceptable terms or in a timely manner, which could delay the achievement of our strategic objectives. After the disposition, we might experience greater dissynergies than expected, and the impact of the divestiture on our revenue or profit might be larger than we expected. We might have difficulties with pre-closing conditions such as governmental approvals, which could delay or prevent the divestiture. We might have financial exposure in a divested business, such as through minority equity ownership, financial or performance guarantees, indemnities, or other obligations, such that conditions outside of our control might negate the expected benefits of the disposition. Any of these risks could adversely affect our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of a divestiture and might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We might not realize the expected tax treatment from our split-off of Change Healthcare.
On March 10, 2020, the Company completed a separation of its interest in Change Healthcare LLC (“Change Healthcare JV”). The divestiture was effected through the split-off of PF2 SpinCo, Inc. (“SpinCo”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company that held all of the Company’s interest in the Change Healthcare JV, to certain of the Company’s stockholders through an exchange offer (the “Exchange Offer”), followed by a merger of SpinCo with and into Change Healthcare Inc. (“Change”), with Change surviving the merger (the “Merger” and, together with the Exchange Offer, the “Transactions”). The Company received an opinion from outside legal counsel to the effect that the Transactions qualified as generally tax-free transactions to the Company and its shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. An opinion of legal counsel is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) or the courts, and the IRS or the courts may not agree with the intended tax-free treatment of the Transactions. In addition, the opinion could not be relied upon if certain assumptions, representations, and undertakings upon which the opinion was based are materially inaccurate or incomplete, or are violated in any material respect. If the intended tax-free treatment of the Transactions is not sustained, the Company and its stockholders who participated in the Transactions may be required to pay substantial U.S. federal income taxes. In connection with the Transactions, the Company, SpinCo, Change, and the Change Healthcare JV entered into the Tax Matters Agreement, which governs their respective rights, responsibilities, and obligations with respect to tax liabilities and benefits, tax attributes, tax contests, and other tax sharing regarding U.S. federal, state, and local, and non-U.S. taxes, other tax matters, and related tax returns. Under the Tax Matters Agreement, Change is required to indemnify the Company if the Transactions become taxable as a result of certain actions by Change or SpinCo, or as a result of certain changes in ownership of the stock of Change after the Merger. If Change does not honor its obligations to indemnify the Company, or if the Transactions fail to qualify for the intended tax-free treatment for reasons not related to a disqualifying action by Change or SpinCo, the resulting tax to the Company could have a significant adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.
We might be adversely impacted by outsourcing or similar third-party relationships.
We rely on third parties to perform certain business and administrative functions for us. We might not adequately develop, implement, and monitor these outsourced service providers, and we might not realize expected cost savings or other benefits. Third-party service providers experience cybersecurity incidents and other disruptions and can fail to perform their obligations due to various causes, which might cause us to incur operational difficulties, additional compliance requirements, or increased costs related to outsourced services. For example, our ability to use outsourcing resources in certain jurisdictions might be limited by legislative action or customer contracts, with the result that the work must be performed at greater expense or we may be subject to sanctions for non-compliance. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.
We may be unsuccessful in achieving our strategic growth objectives.
Our business strategy as a diversified healthcare services company includes investing to build an integrated oncology and specialty care platform and expand our biopharma services business. Our ability to grow those businesses will depend on our: hiring and retaining talented individuals with necessary knowledge and skills; acquiring, developing, and implementing new technologies and capabilities, including AI; forming and expanding business relationships; and successfully competing against providers of similar services. New technologies, such as AI, may not result in the benefits we anticipate, may not enable us to maintain a competitive advantage, and may require us to expend significant resources. We have increased, and expect to continue to increase, our use of AI technology. The AI technologies we employ may become obsolete earlier than planned or we may be unsuccessful at realizing the benefits of these investments. Additionally, some of our historical competitors and a growing number of new competitive entrants have more experience than we do in enabling technologies such as data analytics, machine learning, or AI. We may not achieve our desired return on our investments through our growth strategies. If we fail to achieve acceptable sales and profitability in our strategic growth areas, it might have a materially adverse impact on our business prospects and our financial position or results of operations.
We are impacted by customer purchase reductions, contract non-renewals, payment defaults, and bankruptcies.
Some of our customers from time to time reduce the amounts they purchase from us, do not renew their purchase contracts with us, renew their purchase contracts at less favorable terms, delay or default on their payments to us, or avoid payments to us through bankruptcy proceedings. At March 31, 2025, sales to our largest customer represented approximately 24% of our total consolidated revenues and approximately 23% of our total trade receivables, and those of our ten largest customers combined accounted for approximately 72% of our consolidated revenues and approximately 48% of our trade receivables. Refer to “Other Information about the Business” in Item 1 of Part I above for additional details on our customers. One or more customer purchase reductions, contract non-renewals, renewals at less favorable terms, payment defaults, or bankruptcies might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
Our contracts with governmental entities involve future funding and compliance risks.
Our contracts with governmental entities are subject to risks such as lack of funding and compliance with unique requirements. For example, government contract purchase obligations are typically subject to the availability of funding, which may be eliminated or reduced. In addition, the future volume of products or services purchased by a government customer is often uncertain. Our government contracts might not be renewed or might be terminated for convenience with little prior notice. They might be modified with less favorable terms. Government contracts typically expose us to higher potential liability than do other types of contracts. In addition, government contracts typically are subject to procurement laws that include socio-economic, employment practices, environmental protection, recordkeeping and accounting, and other requirements. For example, our contracts with the U.S. government generally require us to comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Procurement Integrity Act, Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act, and other laws and requirements. New or revised laws, requirements, and policies, or changes in the interpretation of existing laws, requirements, and policies, could adversely affect our business and competitiveness and increase our compliance costs. We are subject to government audits, investigations, and oversight proceedings. Governmental agencies routinely review and audit government contractors to determine whether they are complying with contractual and legal requirements. If we fail to comply with these requirements, or we fail an audit, we may be subject to various sanctions such as monetary damages, criminal and civil penalties, termination of contracts, and suspension or debarment from government contract work. These requirements complicate our business and increase our compliance burden. The occurrence of any of these risks could harm our reputation and might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We might be harmed by changes in our relationships or contracts with suppliers.
We attempt to structure our distribution agreements with manufacturers to ensure that we are appropriately and predictably compensated for the services we provide. Certain distribution agreements with manufacturers include product price inflation as a component of our consideration, and we cannot control the frequency or magnitude of price changes. Laws limiting or reducing product prices, and changes to manufacturers’ pricing policies or practices as a result of changing laws, impact our distribution agreements. We might be unable to renew distribution agreements with manufacturers in a timely and favorable manner. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We might infringe intellectual property rights or our intellectual property protections might be inadequate.
We believe that our products and services do not infringe the proprietary rights of third parties, but third parties have asserted infringement claims against us and may do so in the future. If a court were to hold that we infringed other’s rights, we might be required to pay substantial damages, develop non-infringing products or services, obtain a license, stop selling or using the infringing products or services, or incur other sanctions. We rely on trade secret, patent, copyright, and trademark laws, nondisclosure obligations, and other contractual provisions and technical measures to protect our proprietary rights in our products and solutions. We might initiate costly and time-consuming litigation to protect our trade secrets, to enforce our patent, copyright, and trademark rights, and to determine the scope and validity of the proprietary rights of others. Our intellectual property protection efforts might be inadequate to protect our rights. Our competitors might develop non-infringing products or services equivalent or superior to ours. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
Our use of third-party data is subject to risks and limitations that could impede the growth of our data services business.
We attempt to structure our processes to satisfy contractual and other operative data usage rights and limitations associated with customers, industry partners, and other third-party data flowing through our businesses. These rights and limitations can apply to confidential commercial data and personal data provided to us. Failure to satisfy these data usage rights and limitations can lead to legal claims such as contractual breaches or data protection and privacy law violations. If a court were to hold that our use of data is not consistent with our rights and limitations, we might be required to pay substantial damages; we might need to stop using, sharing, and/or selling certain products and services; or we might incur other financial, legal, and/or reputational consequences. In addition, we might be unable to negotiate and/or obtain at an acceptable cost the data usage rights needed to advance our data strategy growth and AI objectives. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We might be unable to successfully recruit and retain qualified employees.
Our ability to attract, engage, develop, and retain qualified and experienced employees, including key executives and other talent, is essential for us to meet our objectives. We compete with many other businesses to attract and retain employees. Competition among potential employers results in increased salaries, benefits, or other employee-related costs, or in our failure to recruit and retain employees. We may experience sudden loss of key personnel due to a variety of causes, such as illness; and although we must adequately plan for timely succession of key management roles, our succession plans might not be effective, and employees might not successfully transition into new roles. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
Industry and Economic Risks
We might be adversely impacted by healthcare reform such as changes in pricing and reimbursement models.
Many of our products and services are designed to function within the structure of current healthcare financing and reimbursement systems. The healthcare industry and related government programs are changing. Some of these changes increase our risks and create uncertainties for our business.
For example, some changes in reimbursement methodologies (including government rates) for pharmaceuticals, medical treatments, and related services reduce profit margins for us and our customers and impose new legal requirements on healthcare providers. Those changes have included cuts in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement levels, changes in the bases for payments, shifts from fee-for-service pricing towards value-based payments and risk-sharing models, and increases in the use of managed care.
In the U.S., the ACA significantly expanded health insurance coverage to uninsured Americans and changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private payors. Enactment of the IRA and its implementation over the next several years is anticipated to bring meaningful changes in how Medicare pays for drugs and various benefit design changes, which are all intended to reduce the price of drugs. Three central features of the IRA authorize the government to negotiate drug prices for certain Parts B and D drugs over time, establish an inflationary rebate program, and cap patient cost sharing under Medicare Part D. The implementation of these and other features of the IRA may result in significant changes to the pharmaceutical value chain as manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers, managed care organizations, and other industry stakeholders look to implement new transactional flows and adapt their business models. Any such changes to arrangements involving our business as a result of this legislation, such as changes to our distribution agreements with manufacturers impacted by the IRA, may materially affect our business. The extent of the effects of the IRA remains uncertain due to a number of factors, including the potential for future regulations and guidance promulgated by HHS to implement provisions of the IRA. We continue to evaluate the impact of this law on our business.
Private challenges to government healthcare policy may also have significant impacts on our business. For example, many pharmaceutical manufacturers have unilaterally restricted sales under the Public Health Service’s 340B Drug Pricing Program (the “340B program”) to contract pharmacies. The 340B program requires manufacturers to offer discounts on certain drugs purchased by “covered entities,” which include safety-net providers. The Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) has taken the position that a covered entity may dispense such discounted drugs through multiple contract pharmacies. Starting in 2020, some manufacturers began to restrict such practices. Certain manufacturers and HHS continue to litigate these issues. The U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Third and D.C. Circuits have ruled that Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act does not require manufacturers to provide discounted drugs to an unlimited number of contract pharmacies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit also is addressing this issue but has not yet ruled. Separately, several entities have filed lawsuits against HHS and HRSA related to the proposed implementation of rebate models to effectuate 340B pricing. Any changes to our arrangements that result from the rulings in these cases might have an adverse impact on our business.
Provincial governments in Canada that provide partial funding for the purchase of pharmaceuticals and independently regulate the sale and reimbursement of drugs have sought to reduce the costs of publicly funded health programs. For example, provincial governments have taken steps to reduce consumer prices for generic pharmaceuticals and, in some provinces, change professional allowances paid to pharmacists by generic manufacturers.
Although there is substantial uncertainty about the likelihood, timing, and results of these health reform efforts and challenges, their implementation or outcome might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We are adversely impacted by competition and industry consolidation.
Our businesses face a highly competitive global environment with strong competition from international, national, regional, and local full-line, short-line, and specialty distributors, service merchandisers, self-warehousing chain drug stores, manufacturers engaged in direct distribution, third-party logistics companies, and large payer organizations. In addition, our businesses face competition from various other service providers and from pharmaceutical and other healthcare manufacturers as well as other potential customers, which may from time to time decide to develop, for their own internal needs, supply management capabilities that might otherwise be provided by our businesses. We also may face competition from companies that move faster to adopt emerging technologies. Due to consolidation, a few large suppliers control a significant share of the pharmaceuticals market. This concentration reduces our ability to negotiate favorable terms with suppliers and causes us to depend on a smaller number of suppliers. Many of our customers, including healthcare organizations, have consolidated or joined group purchasing organizations and have greater power to negotiate favorable prices. Consolidation by our customers, suppliers, and competitors might reduce the number of market participants and give the remaining enterprises greater bargaining power, which might lead to erosion in our profit margin. Consolidation might increase counterparty credit risk because credit purchases increase for fewer market participants. Consolidation also might affect our ability to achieve our growth objectives through acquisitions and other strategic transactions. These competitive pressures and industry consolidation might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
From time to time we have difficulties in sourcing or selling products due to a variety of causes and are adversely impacted by disruptions or changes in product supply.
We rely on third parties for the supply of pharmaceutical and other products, and our operations are subject to our suppliers’ continued ability to supply the products that we require. From time to time, we experience difficulties and delays in sourcing and selling products due to a variety of causes that result in suppliers’ failure to satisfy production demand. Among these causes are suppliers’ challenges in complying with legal requirements (including product and production quality standards), access to raw materials, inputs, and finished goods, manufacturing shutdowns, and operational and systems difficulties. Supply disruptions also arise from other factors beyond our control, such as product rationalization; government actions or policies (including trade sanctions, tariffs and other trade restrictions, as well as the requisition, diversion, or allocation of inventory); shifts in customer or societal demand for products; labor disputes or shortages; ethical sourcing issues; supplier financial distress; natural disasters and weather-related events; civil unrest; military conflicts; and epidemics or pandemics. In these types of situations, our alternative sourcing efforts are not always fully successful. We might experience extended delays or incur higher sourcing costs or suffer harm to our customer relationships and reputation. Furthermore, changes in the healthcare industry’s or our suppliers’ pricing, selling, inventory, distribution, or supply policies or practices could significantly reduce our revenues and net income. Any of these disruptions or changes might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We are adversely impacted as a result of our distribution of generic pharmaceuticals.
Our generic pharmaceuticals distribution business is subject to both product availability and pricing risks. We might experience disruptions in our supply of generic pharmaceuticals. We have been impacted when, due to regulatory and supply chain challenges, our supplier partners are not able to deliver products that we have committed to source from them. Input cost increases, product discontinuations, and market shortages could result in ClarusONE, our joint venture with Walmart Inc., being unsuccessful in sourcing product to meet the needs of our customers, or could negatively impact our margin. Generic drug manufacturers offer a generic version of branded pharmaceuticals and routinely challenge the validity or enforceability of branded pharmaceutical patents in order to launch the drug pre- or post-loss of exclusivity. Patent holders have asserted infringement claims against us for distributing those generic versions they believed to have infringed a patent, and the generic drug manufacturers may not fully indemnify us against such claims. These risks and outcomes, as well as changes in the nature, frequency, or magnitude of generic pharmaceutical launches, might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We are adversely impacted by changes in the economic environments in which we operate, including from inflation, an economic slowdown, a recession, or fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.
Inflationary conditions result in increased costs associated with our normal business operations and decreased levels of consumer commercial spending and, to the extent we are not able to offset such cost increases from our suppliers, increase the costs which we incur to purchase inventories and services. Inflationary pressure is increased by factors such as supply chain disruptions, labor market tightness, actual or announced tariffs, government policies, interest rate changes, and foreign exchange rate changes. An economic slowdown or a recession could also reduce the prices our customers are able or willing to pay for our products and services and reduce the volume of their purchases. In addition to rising inflation, rising interest rates, the impact of banking failures or perceived failures and related contagion, consumer sentiment, political circumstances, military conflicts, and civil unrest may contribute to recessionary pressure. Our non-U.S. operations, import and export of products sold in non-U.S. dollar (USD) denominations, non-USD intercompany loans, and our substantial international net assets also expose us to foreign currency exchange rate risk. Changes in the economic environments in which we operate might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
Changes affecting capital and credit markets might impede access to credit, increase borrowing costs, and disrupt banking services for us and our customers and suppliers and might impair the financial soundness of our customers and suppliers.
Volatility and disruption in global capital and credit markets, including the bankruptcy or restructuring of certain financial institutions, reduced lending activity by financial institutions, reduced creditworthiness of our customers or suppliers, or decreased liquidity and increased costs in the commercial paper market, might adversely affect the borrowing ability and cost of borrowing for us and our customers and suppliers. Credit rating agencies regularly review our credit and rate our outstanding debt; and any downgrades in our credit ratings might limit our access to public debt markets, decrease financial institutions willingness to lend to us, lead to more restrictive debt covenants, increase our borrowing costs, and adversely affect our earnings. We generally sell our products and services under short-term unsecured credit arrangements. An adverse change in general or entity-specific economic conditions or access to capital might cause our customers to reduce their purchases from us, or delay payments, or fail to pay amounts, owed to us. Suppliers might increase their prices, reduce their output, or change their terms of sale due to limited availability of credit. Suppliers might be unable to make payments due to us for fees, returned products, or incentives. Interest rate increases or changes in capital market conditions, including as a result of macroeconomic events, might impede our or our customers’ or suppliers’ ability or cost to obtain credit. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We might be adversely impacted by tax legislation or challenges to our tax positions.
We are subject to the tax laws in the U.S. at the federal, state, and local government levels and to the tax laws of other jurisdictions in which we operate or sell products or services. Tax laws might change in ways that adversely affect our tax positions, effective tax rate, and cash flow. The tax laws are extremely complex and subject to varying interpretations. For example, the European Union and other countries (including countries in which we operate) have committed to enacting changes to numerous long-standing tax principles impacting how large multinational enterprises are taxed. In particular, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Pillar Two initiative introduces a 15% global minimum tax applied on a country-by-country basis which many jurisdictions have enacted or committed to enact. The impact of these new and potential regulations as well as any other changes in domestic and international tax regulations could have a material effect on our effective tax rate. We are subject to tax examinations in various jurisdictions that might assess additional tax liabilities against us. Our tax reporting positions are sometimes challenged by relevant tax authorities, we might incur significant expense in our efforts to defend those challenges, and we might be unsuccessful in those efforts. Developments in examinations and challenges might materially change our provision for taxes in the affected periods and might differ materially from our historical tax accruals. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations, our cash flows, and our financial position or results of operations.
General Risks
Conditions and events outside of our control, such as widespread public health issues, natural disasters, and geopolitical factors adversely impact our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
From time to time we are adversely affected by conditions and events outside of our control, including: widespread public health issues such as epidemic or pandemic infectious diseases; natural disasters and other catastrophic events such as earthquakes, floods, or severe weather; and geopolitical factors such as terrorism, military conflicts, civil unrest, political circumstances (including changes in international relations), changes or uncertainty in government policies (including with respect to U.S. or international trade), actual or announced tariffs or other trade restrictions, or changes in laws or their interpretation. These conditions and events can disrupt operations for us, our suppliers, our vendors, and our customers, as well as impair product manufacturing, supply, and transport availability and cost in unpredictable ways that depend on highly uncertain future developments. They might affect consumer confidence levels and spending or the availability of certain goods, commodities, raw materials, and other inputs. In response to these types of conditions and events, we might seek alternate sources for product supply, incur additional sourcing or distribution costs, suspend operations, implement extraordinary procedures, or suffer consequences that are unexpected and difficult to mitigate. For example, recently imposed or announced U.S. tariffs, as well as any retaliatory tariffs or other trade restrictions imposed by other countries, might require us to incur substantial additional sourcing costs, raise prices on certain products, or seek alternate supply sources. If we are unable to effectively manage or offset the impact of new tariffs or other trade restrictions, or find alternate sources of supply, we might be competitively disadvantaged or experience reduced profit margins or supply disruptions. Further, we might suffer harm to our customer relationships. Any of the foregoing risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.
We may be adversely affected by global climate change or by regulatory or market responses to such change.
The long-term effects of climate change are difficult to predict and may be widespread. The impacts may include physical risks (such as rising sea levels or frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions), social and human effects (such as population dislocations or harm to health and well-being), compliance costs and transition risks (such as regulatory or technology changes), costs for critical services (such as transportation costs), and other adverse effects. The effects could impair, for example, the availability and cost of certain products, commodities, transportation, and energy (including utilities), which in turn may impact our ability to procure goods or services, and transport those goods, required for the operation of our business at the quantities and levels we require. We bear losses incurred as a result of, for example, physical damage to or destruction of our facilities (such as distribution or fulfillment centers), loss or spoilage of inventory due to unusual ambient temperatures, and business interruption due to weather events that may be attributable to climate change. These risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operation.
Evolving expectations and regulatory requirements related to governance and sustainability matters may damage our reputation and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Investors, regulators, employees, customers, and other stakeholders continue to focus on companies’ governance and sustainability (“G&S”) practices and policies, including those related to human capital management, climate change, environmental responsibility, and social impact. Given the varied and at times divergent views of different stakeholder groups, any action or inaction by us with respect to G&S matters may be perceived negatively by some stakeholders. Furthermore, the G&S regulatory landscape is evolving and uncertain. New or revised laws and policies, or changes in the interpretation of existing laws and policies, could increase our compliance costs and expose us to legal risks. From time to time, we make statements regarding our sustainability goals. Although we intend to meet these goals, we may be required to expend significant resources to do so, which could impose costs on us. In addition, we could be criticized for the scope or nature of these goals, or for any revisions to our goals. Moreover, we may determine that it is in the best interests of the Company and our stockholders to prioritize other business investments over the achievement of our sustainability goals based on various factors such as our business strategy, technological and regulatory developments, industry standards, and input or pressure from stakeholders. If our G&S practices or outcomes do not align with stakeholder expectations or evolving regulatory requirements, our reputation, stock price, ability to access capital markets, and employee recruitment and retention efforts might be negatively affected. We also could face litigation or government action. Any of the foregoing risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Exclusive forum provisions in our Bylaws could limit our stockholders’ ability to choose their preferred judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for specified legal actions is the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or the United States District Court for the District of Delaware if the Court of Chancery does not have or declines to accept jurisdiction (collectively, “Delaware Courts”). Current and former stockholders are deemed to have consented to the personal jurisdiction of the Delaware Courts in connection with any action to enforce that exclusive forum provision and to service of process in any such action. These provisions of the bylaws are not a waiver of, and do not relieve anyone of duties to comply with, federal securities laws including those specifying the exclusive jurisdiction of federal courts under the Exchange Act and concurrent jurisdiction of federal and state courts under the Securities Act. To the extent that these provisions of the bylaws limit a current or former stockholder’s ability to select a judicial forum other than the Delaware Courts, they might discourage the specified legal actions, might cause current or former stockholders to incur additional litigation-related expenses, and might result in outcomes unfavorable to current or former stockholders. A court might determine that these provisions of the bylaws are inapplicable or unenforceable in any particular action, in which case we may incur additional litigation related expenses in such action, and the action may result in outcomes unfavorable to us, which could have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.
Cybersecurity
As filed, 5,357 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Risk Management and Security
As a diversified healthcare services leader that is dedicated to advancing health outcomes for patients everywhere, cybersecurity risk management is integral to our enterprise risk management strategy. Our management, with involvement and input from external consultants and oversight from our Board of Directors (“Board”), performs an annual enterprise-wide risk assessment (“ERA”) to identify key existing and emerging risks. One of the principal risks identified and assessed through this process is cybersecurity, which remains a key focus for the Company, management, and our Board.
Our Cybersecurity Risk Management Program (“RM Program”) is aligned with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework and other industry best practices. The RM Program is designed to identify, assess and mitigate material cybersecurity risks.
We have implemented cybersecurity controls designed to protect our systems, data and operations from cybersecurity risks. Enterprise-wide cybersecurity and privacy training continue to serve an important role in risk reduction and protection of the Company and our stakeholders. We require periodic access-based and role-based privacy and cybersecurity training, which is updated to reflect changes in the threat environment, audit findings, laws, and regulations. We also engage and educate employees through cybersecurity and privacy awareness programs and communication campaigns. Our Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan (“Response Plan”) provides a framework for responding to cybersecurity incidents. The Response Plan governs activities such as preparation, detection, coordination, eradication, recovery, and appropriate escalations to the Company’s senior management, disclosure committee, Board, and relevant Board committees. The Response Plan is routinely tested, reviewed and updated as appropriate under the leadership of our Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer (“CIO/CTO”) with the assistance of the Company’s Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”).
We also engage internal and external assessors, consultants, auditors, and other third parties, to assess our RM Program . We manage cybersecurity risks associated with third parties, including vendors, service providers, and external users of our systems. This includes conducting due diligence on the third parties we use, as well as the systems of third parties that could adversely impact our business in the event of a cybersecurity incident affecting those third-party systems, and by using contracts to reinforce their cybersecurity obligations.
Although we believe that we maintain reasonable cybersecurity measures, we recognize that cyber threats continue to evolve, and no system is immune to risk.
Both intentional and unintentional occurrences have caused, and could cause in the future, a variety of adverse business impacts to our information systems and data. For a discussion of whether and how any risks from cybersecurity threats have affected or, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company, see “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I above for additional information on risks related to our business, including for example, risks related to privacy and data protection, cybersecurity incidents, third-party relationships, and continuity of our information systems and networks, operational technology, and technology products or services.
Governance
Our CIO/CTO leads management’s assessment and management of cybersecurity risk with the assistance of the Company’s CISO who reports to the CIO/CTO. The CIO/CTO reports to our CFO, is a member of the Executive Operating Team, and provides updates to that group about cybersecurity matters. Our CIO/CTO has more than 29 years of experience managing technology and risks, and advising on cybersecurity issues and our CISO has more than 21 years of relevant experience, is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA).
Cybersecurity is among the risks identified by our ERA for Board-level oversight. The Audit Committee of the Board has oversight of information technology controls related to financial reporting, while the Compliance Committee of the Board has oversight of technology-related risk, including privacy and cybersecurity. The Audit Committee and Compliance Committee meet jointly at least annually to review cybersecurity risks and programs, and they are updated as needed on cybersecurity threats, incidents, or new developments in our cybersecurity risk profile. The chairs of the Audit Committee and Compliance Committee provide updates to the Board after each committee meeting. The CIO/CTO and CISO provide regular updates to the Board, Audit Committee, or Compliance Committee about material risks from cybersecurity threats. The CIO/CTO or CISO also provide regular updates to the Board, Audit Committee or Compliance Committee about cybersecurity trends and regulatory updates, data governance and usage, technology infrastructure, our training and compliance efforts, and implications for our business strategy. In addition to the information provided in these meetings, members of our Board have access to continuing education, which includes topics relating to cybersecurity risks.
Properties
As filed, 1,068 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Because of the nature of our principal businesses, our plant, warehousing, retail pharmacies, offices, and other facilities for all of our reportable segments are operated in widely dispersed locations, primarily throughout North America. Retail pharmacies and most warehouses are typically owned or leased on a long-term basis. We consider our operating properties to be in satisfactory condition and adequate to meet our needs for the next several years without making capital expenditures materially higher than historical levels. Information as to material lease commitments is included in Financial Note 9, “Leases,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
The majority of our properties in Europe within our International segment were divested in fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023, and our remaining European business operations reside in Norway. Refer to Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more details on our European divestitures.
Legal proceedings
As filed, 396 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Certain legal proceedings in which we are involved are discussed in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. Disclosure of an environmental proceeding with a governmental agency is generally included only if we expect monetary sanctions in the proceeding to exceed $1 million, unless otherwise material.
Management's discussion and analysis
As filed, 90,023 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
INDEX TO MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
| Section | Page |
|---|---|
| General | 31 |
| Overview of Our Business | 31 |
| Executive Summary | 33 |
| Trends and Uncertainties | 34 |
| Overview of Consolidated Results | 35 |
| Overview of Segment Results | 40 |
| Foreign Operations | 43 |
| Business Combinations | 43 |
| Fiscal 2026 Outlook | 43 |
| Critical Accounting Estimates | 43 |
| Financial Condition, Liquidity, and Capital Resources | 49 |
| Related Party Balances and Transactions | 53 |
| New Accounting Pronouncements | 53 |
GENERAL
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations, referred to as the “Financial Review,” is intended to assist the reader in the understanding and assessment of significant changes and trends related to the results of operations and financial position of McKesson Corporation together with its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company,” “McKesson,” “we,” “our,” or “us” and other similar pronouns). This discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying financial notes in Item 8 of Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”).
Our fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31. Unless otherwise noted, all references to a particular year refer to our fiscal year.
Our Financial Review within this Annual Report generally discusses fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024 results and year-over-year comparisons between fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024. For a discussion of our year-over-year comparisons between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, refer to Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2024, previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8, 2024.
Certain statements in this Annual Report constitute forward-looking statements. See Item 1 - Business - Forward-Looking Statements in Part I of this Annual Report for additional factors relating to these statements and Item 1A - Risk Factors in Part I of this Annual Report for a list of certain risk factors applicable to our business, financial condition and liquidity, and results of operations.
Overview of Our Business:
We are a diversified healthcare services leader dedicated to advancing health outcomes for patients everywhere. Our teams partner with biopharma companies, care providers, pharmacies, manufacturers, governments, and others to deliver insights, products, and services to help make quality care more accessible and affordable.
We report our financial results in four reportable segments: U.S. Pharmaceutical, Prescription Technology Solutions (“RxTS”), Medical-Surgical Solutions, and International. Our organizational structure also includes Corporate, which consists of income and expenses associated with administrative functions and projects, as well as the results of certain investments and operations. The factors for determining the reportable segments include the manner in which management evaluates the performance of the Company combined with the nature of individual business activities. We evaluate the performance of our operating segments on a number of measures, including revenues and operating profit (loss) before interest expense and income taxes.
The following summarizes our four reportable segments. Refer to Financial Note 20, “Segments of Business,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for further information regarding our reportable segments.
- U.S. Pharmaceutical is a reportable segment that distributes branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar, and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs and other healthcare-related products in the United States (“U.S.”). This segment also provides practice management, technology, clinical support, and business solutions to community-based oncology and other specialty practices. In addition, the segment sells financial, operational, and clinical solutions to pharmacies (retail, hospital, alternate sites) and provides consulting, outsourcing, technological, and other services.
- Prescription Technology Solutions is a reportable segment that combines automation and our ability to navigate the healthcare ecosystem to connect patients, pharmacies, providers, pharmacy benefit managers, health plans, and biopharma companies to address patients’ medication access, affordability, and adherence challenges. RxTS offers technology services, which includes electronic prior authorization, prescription price transparency, benefit insight, dispensing support services, in addition to third-party logistics, and wholesale distribution support across various therapeutic categories and temperature ranges to biopharma customers throughout the product lifecycle.
- Medical-Surgical Solutions is a reportable segment that provides medical-surgical supply distribution, logistics, and other services to healthcare providers, including physician offices, surgery centers, nursing homes, hospital reference labs, and home health care agencies. This segment offers national brand medical-surgical products as well as McKesson’s own line of high-quality products through a network of distribution centers within the U.S. In May 2025, we announced our intention to separate this segment into an independent company.
- International is a reportable segment that includes our operations in Canada and Norway, bringing together non-U.S.-based drug distribution services, specialty pharmacy, retail, and infusion care services. Our Canadian operations deliver medicines, supplies, and information technology solutions throughout Canada and included Rexall Health retail pharmacies. During fiscal 2025, we completed the sale of Rexall and Well.ca businesses in Canada (“Canadian retail disposal group”). This divestiture is further described in the “Canadian Divestiture Activities” section below. Our Norwegian operations provide distribution and services to wholesale and retail customers in Norway where we own, partner, or franchise with retail pharmacies.
Business Acquisitions and Divestitures
Community Oncology Revitalization Enterprise Ventures, LLC
On August 26, 2024, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 70% controlling interest in Community Oncology Revitalization Enterprise Ventures, LLC (“Core Ventures”), an internal business and administrative services organization established by Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, LLC, for approximately $2.49 billion cash, subject to certain customary adjustments. Following the completion of the transaction, Core Ventures will be part of the Oncology platform, and financial results will be reported within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment. The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 expired in late April 2025. We expect the transaction to close during the first quarter of fiscal 2026, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
PRISM Vision Holdings, LLC
On April 2, 2025, we announced the completion of our previously announced acquisition of a controlling interest in PRISM Vision Holdings, LLC (“PRISM Vision”), a leading provider of general ophthalmology and retina management services. We purchased an approximate 80% and PRISM Vision physicians retained a 20% interest. The financial results of PRISM Vision will be reported within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment.
Canadian Divestiture Activities
On December 30, 2024, we completed the sale of our Canadian retail disposal group for an adjusted purchase price consisting of a cash payment of $9 million, received upon closing, and a note of $120 million, measured at fair value and accruing interest upon satisfaction of certain conditions, and payable to the Company at the end of six years. We recorded a charge of $667 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 in total operating expenses to remeasure the Canadian retail disposal group to fair value less costs to sell. The remeasurement adjustment includes a $48 million loss related to the accumulated other comprehensive loss balances associated with the disposal group. Refer to Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,”, to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
Executive Summary:
The following summary provides highlights and key factors that impacted our business, operating results, financial condition, and liquidity for the year ended March 31, 2025:
- For the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year, revenues increased by 16%, gross profit increased by 4%, total operating expenses were flat, and other income, net increased by $70 million. Refer to the “Overview of Consolidated Results” section below for an analysis of these changes;
- Diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations attributable to McKesson Corporation increased to $25.72 in fiscal 2025 from $22.39 in the prior year;
- During the year ended March 31, 2025, we onboarded a new strategic partner within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment;
- During fiscal 2025, we completed the sale of our Canadian retail disposal group and total operating expenses for the year ended March 31, 2025 includes fair value remeasurement charges of $667 million;
- For the year ended March 31, 2025, we recorded restructuring charges of $298 million related to an enterprise-wide initiative to drive operational efficiencies as further described in the “Restructuring Initiatives” section of “Overview of Consolidated Results” below;
- We received $444 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 related to our share of antitrust legal settlements. This amount was recorded as a gain within “Cost of sales” in the Consolidated Statement of Operations within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment;
- For the year ended March 31, 2025, we recognized a net discrete tax benefit of $258 million related to the sales of certain intellectual property between McKesson wholly-owned legal entities based in foreign tax jurisdictions;
- We recorded a charge of $108 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 related to our estimated liability for opioid-related claims as further described in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report;
- For the year ended March 31, 2025, we recognized a net gain of $100 million related to a recapitalization event of one of our investments in equity securities which resulted in an increase to the carrying value of this investment as discussed in Financial Note 15, “Fair Value Measurements,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report;
- On September 10, 2024, we completed a public offering of 4.25% Notes due September 15, 2029 (the “2029 Notes”) in a principal amount of $500 million. Proceeds received from this note issuance, net of discounts and offering expenses were approximately $496 million;
- During the year ended March 31, 2025, we utilized the net proceeds from the issuance of the 2029 Notes, along with cash on hand, to redeem our $500 million outstanding principal amount of 5.25% Notes due February 15, 2026 (the “2026 Notes”) prior to maturity; and
- We returned $3.5 billion of cash to shareholders during fiscal 2025 through $3.1 billion of common stock repurchases through open market transactions and $345 million of dividend payments. In July 2024, our Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved an increase of $4.0 billion in the authorization for repurchase of the Company’s common stock and raised our quarterly dividend to $0.71 from $0.62 per share of common stock. The total remaining authorization outstanding for repurchases of the Company’s common stock at March 31, 2025 was $7.5 billion.
Trends and Uncertainties:
Opioid-Related Litigation and Claims
As described in the discussion of opioid-related matters in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report, we are a defendant in many legal proceedings asserting claims related to the distribution of controlled substances (opioids) in federal and state courts throughout the U.S., and in Puerto Rico and Canada. Other than as to the settlements described in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,”, we have not concluded a loss is probable in any of the matters; nor is any possible loss or range of loss reasonably estimable. An adverse judgment or negotiated resolution in any of these matters could have a material adverse impact on our financial position, cash flows or liquidity, or results of operations.
Rite Aid Bankruptcy Proceedings
During fiscal 2024, our customer Rite Aid Corporation (including certain of its subsidiaries, “Rite Aid”) filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. As a result, we recorded a provision for bad debts of $725 million for the year ended March 31, 2024, representing the uncollected trade accounts receivable from sales to Rite Aid prior to its bankruptcy petition filing.
Rite Aid's restructuring plan was approved by the court and the company successfully emerged from bankruptcy in August 2024. During the year ended March 31, 2025, we reassessed our initial estimates made in conjunction with the previously reserved prepetition balances, including cash received during the period, resulting in a reversal of $206 million recorded within “Selling, distribution, general, and administrative expenses” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and included within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment. During the year ended March 31, 2025, we released $237 million of allowance for doubtful accounts against trade accounts receivables, representing the write-off of uncollectible receivables related to the Rite Aid provision in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. On May 5, 2025, Rite Aid filed a second voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.
We believe the reserves maintained and any adjustments recorded for Rite Aid trade accounts receivable are appropriate and consistent with our accounting policy and assessment of the information currently available. We evaluate our reserves periodically and as circumstances warrant, which may result in changes to our reserves. For additional disclosure of our policy regarding allowances for credit losses, refer to the “Critical Accounting Estimates” section included in this Financial Review.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview of Consolidated Results:
(In millions, except per share data)
| 2025 | Years Ended March 31, 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | $359,051 | $308,951 | 16% |
| Gross profit | 13,323 | 12,828 | 4 |
| Gross profit margin | 3.71% | 4.15% | (44) bp |
| Total operating expenses | $(8,901) | $(8,919) | —% |
| Total operating expenses as a percentage of revenues | 2.48% | 2.89% | (41) bp |
| Other income, net | $202 | $132 | 53% |
| Interest expense | (265) | (252) | 5 |
| Income before income taxes | 4,359 | 3,789 | 15 |
| Income tax expense | (878) | (629) | 40 |
| Reported income tax rate | 20.1% | 16.6% | 350 bp |
| Net income | 3,481 | 3,160 | 10 |
| Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests | (186) | (158) | 18 |
| Net income attributable to McKesson Corporation | $3,295 | $3,002 | 10% |
| Diluted earnings per common share attributable to McKesson Corporation | $25.72 | $22.39 | 15% |
| Weighted-average diluted common shares outstanding | 128.1 | 134.1 | (4)% |
Any percentage changes displayed above which are not meaningful are displayed as zero percent.
bp - basis point
Revenues
Revenues increased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year largely due to market growth in our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment, including higher volumes largely from retail national account customers and growth in specialty pharmaceuticals. Market growth includes growing drug utilization and newly launched products, partially offset by branded to generic drug conversion. This revenue growth was also favorably impacted by higher pharmaceutical distribution volumes in our International segment.
Gross Profit
Gross profit increased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year primarily in our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment driven by growth of specialty pharmaceuticals, growth from retail national account customers, and our share of antitrust legal settlements received in fiscal 2025, partially offset by last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) inventory charges in fiscal 2025 and higher restructuring charges.
Gross profit for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 included gains of $444 million and $244 million, respectively, representing our share of antitrust legal settlements. We recognized these amounts within "Cost of sales" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment.
Gross profit for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 also included a LIFO charge of $82 million and a credit of $157 million, respectively. The LIFO charge in fiscal 2025 compared to a credit in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to higher brand inflation compared to the prior year. Refer to the “Critical Accounting Estimates” section included in this Financial Review for further information regarding the use of the LIFO method of accounting within our U.S. Pharmaceutical business.
Gross profit for the year ended March 31, 2025 was impacted by an inventory impairment charge of $58 million related to restructuring initiatives to drive operational efficiencies and increase cost optimization efforts as discussed in Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report. We recorded this amount related to impairment of inventories within "Cost of sales" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment.
Total Operating Expenses
A summary and description of the components of our total operating expenses for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 is as follows:
- Selling, distribution, general, and administrative expenses (“SDG&A”): consists of personnel costs, transportation costs, depreciation and amortization, lease costs, professional fee expenses, administrative expenses, provision for bad debts and related recoveries, remeasurement charges to fair value less costs to sell, and other general charges.
- Claims and litigation charges, net: These charges include adjustments for estimated probable settlements related to our controlled substance monitoring and reporting, and opioid-related claims, as well as any applicable income items or credit adjustments due to subsequent changes in estimates. Legal fees to defend claims, which are expensed as incurred, are included within SDG&A.
- Restructuring, impairment, and related charges, net: Charges recorded under this component include those incurred for programs in which we change our operations, the scope of a business undertaken by our business units, or the manner in which that business is conducted, as well as long-lived asset impairments.
FINANCIAL REVIEW (Continued)
(Dollars in millions)
| Years Ended March 31, 2025 | 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selling, distribution, general, and administrative expenses | $8,507 | $8,657 | (2)% |
| Claims and litigation charges, net | 108 | 147 | (27) |
| Restructuring, impairment, and related charges, net | 286 | 115 | 149 |
| Total operating expenses | $8,901 | $8,919 | —% |
| Percent of revenues | 2.48% | 2.89% | (41) bp |
Any percentage changes displayed above which are not meaningful are displayed as zero percent.
bp - basis points
Total operating expenses and total operating expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year. Total operating expenses for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 were affected by the following significant items:
Fiscal 2025
- SDG&A includes charges of $667 million to remeasure our Canadian retail disposal group to fair value less costs to sell. The remeasurement adjustment includes a $48 million loss related to the accumulated other comprehensive loss balances associated with this disposal. Of the total charges recorded during the period, $605 million are included within our International segment and $62 million are included within Corporate expenses, net;
- SDG&A includes a credit of $206 million related to the bankruptcy of Rite Aid. Refer to the Rite Aid Bankruptcy Proceedings section of “Trends and Uncertainties” for further discussion;
- Claims and litigation charges, net primarily consists of a charge of $108 million related to our estimated liability for opioid-related claims as discussed in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report; and
- Restructuring, impairment, and related charges, net of $286 million, are discussed below under “Restructuring Initiatives” as well as Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
Fiscal 2024
- SDG&A includes a provision for bad debts of $725 million related to the bankruptcy of Rite Aid in October 2023. Refer to the Rite Aid Bankruptcy Proceedings section of “Trends and Uncertainties” for more information;
- SDG&A includes a fair value adjustment gain of $78 million which reduced our contingent consideration liability related to the Rx Savings Solutions, LLC (“RxSS”) acquisition, as discussed in more detail in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report;
- SDG&A was impacted by lower operating expenses from the completed divestiture of our E.U. disposal group in fiscal 2023, as discussed in more detail in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report;
- Claims and litigation charges, net primarily consists of a charge of $149 million related to our estimated liability for opioid-related claims as discussed in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report; and
- Restructuring, impairment, and related charges, net of $115 million are primarily related to Corporate expenses, net. Refer to the “Restructuring Initiatives” discussion below as well as Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
Goodwill Impairment
We evaluate goodwill for impairment on an annual basis in the first fiscal quarter, and at an interim date if indicators of potential impairment exist. The annual impairment testing performed in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024 did not indicate any impairment of goodwill, and no goodwill impairment charges were recorded in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024. However, other risks, expenses, and future developments, such as government actions, increased regulatory uncertainty, and material changes in key market assumptions limit our ability to estimate projected cash flows, which could adversely affect the fair value of various reporting units in future periods. Refer to the “Critical Accounting Estimates” included in this Financial Review for further information.
Restructuring Initiatives
We recorded restructuring, impairment, and related charges of $286 million and $115 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. These charges were included in “Restructuring, impairment, and related charges, net” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
During the second quarter of fiscal 2025, we approved enterprise-wide initiatives to modernize and accelerate our technology service operating model, which are intended to improve business continuity, compliance, operating efficiency and advance investments to streamline the organization. These initiatives include cost reduction efforts and support other rationalization efforts within Corporate, and the Medical-Surgical Solutions, and U.S. Pharmaceutical segments to help realize long-term sustainable growth. We anticipate total charges related to these initiatives of $650 million to $700 million, consisting primarily of employee severance and other employee-related costs as well as facility, exit and other related costs, including long-lived asset impairments. These programs are anticipated to be substantially complete in fiscal 2028. For the year ended March 31, 2025, we recorded charges of $240 million related to the initiatives, which primarily includes severance and other employee-related costs as well as facility exit and other related costs, including long-lived asset impairments recorded within “Restructuring, impairment, and related charges, net” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, and $58 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 related to inventory impairments recorded within “Cost of sales” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we approved a broad set of initiatives to drive operational efficiencies and increase cost optimization efforts, with the intent of simplifying our infrastructure and realizing long-term sustainable growth. These initiatives included headcount reductions and the exit or downsizing of certain facilities. We recorded charges of $45 million for the year ended March 31, 2024 related to this program. This restructuring program was substantially complete in fiscal 2024.
Refer to Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
Other Income, Net
Other income, net increased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to fiscal 2024 primarily due to net gains of $101 million related to our investments in equity securities of certain U.S. growth stage companies in the healthcare industry and a favorable impact from interest income, partially offset by charges of $87 million related to the termination of the U.K. pension plan and a loss of $43 million related to one of our equity method investments.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased in fiscal 2025 compared to the prior year primarily due to increased average balances of the Company’s loan portfolio in fiscal 2025, and a prior year gain on debt extinguishment of $9 million. These increases were partially offset by increased capitalized interest from higher capital spending, changes in our derivative portfolio in fiscal 2025, and a decline in commercial paper borrowings in fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal 2024. Refer to Financial Note 11, “Debt and Financing Activities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information. Interest expense may fluctuate based on timing, amounts, and interest rates of term debt repaid and new term debt issued, amounts and interest rates of commercial paper borrowings, as well as amounts incurred associated with financing fees.
Income Tax Expense
We recorded income tax expense of $878 million and $629 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our reported income tax expense rates were 20.1% and 16.6% in 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Fluctuations in our reported income tax rates are primarily due to changes in our business mix of earnings between various taxing jurisdictions, including the impact of non-cash pre-tax charges related to the remeasurement of our Canadian retail disposal group to fair value less costs to sell as described in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” and recognized discrete tax items.
For the year ended March 31, 2025, we recognized a net discrete tax benefit of $258 million related to the sales of certain intellectual property between McKesson wholly-owned legal entities based in foreign tax jurisdictions. For the year ended March 31, 2024, we recognized a net discrete tax benefits of $157 million related to the release of a valuation allowance based on management’s reassessment of the amount of our deferred tax assets that are more likely than not to be realized and $104 million related to the repatriation and sale of certain intellectual property between McKesson wholly-owned legal entities that are based in different tax jurisdictions. Refer to Financial Note 6, “Income Taxes,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
Significant judgments and estimates are required in determining the consolidated income tax provision and evaluating income tax uncertainties. Although our major taxing jurisdictions include the U.S. and Canada, we are subject to income taxes in numerous foreign jurisdictions. Our income tax expense, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and uncertain tax liabilities reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. We believe that we have made adequate provision for all income tax uncertainties.
Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 primarily represents the proportionate results of third-party equity interests in ClarusONE Sourcing Services LLP, Vantage Oncology Holdings, LLC, and SCRI Oncology, LLC. The increase in net income attributable to noncontrolling interests was primarily driven by higher volumes in our ClarusONE joint venture.
Net Income Attributable to McKesson Corporation
Net income attributable to McKesson Corporation was $3.3 billion and $3.0 billion for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Diluted earnings per common share attributable to McKesson Corporation was $25.72 and $22.39 for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our diluted earnings per share includes the cumulative effects of share repurchases during each period.
Weighted-Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding
Diluted earnings per common share was calculated based on a weighted-average number of shares outstanding of 128.1 million and 134.1 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Weighted-average diluted shares outstanding for fiscal 2025 decreased from the prior year primarily due to the cumulative effect of share repurchases, as discussed in the “Share Repurchases Plans” section of this Financial Review.
Overview of Segment Results:
Segment Revenues:
(Dollars in millions)
| Segment revenues | Years Ended March 31, 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Pharmaceutical | $327,717 | $278,739 | 18% |
| Prescription Technology Solutions | 5,216 | 4,769 | 9 |
| Medical-Surgical Solutions | 11,386 | 11,313 | 1 |
| International | 14,721 | 14,130 | 4 |
| Corporate | 11 | — | — |
| Total revenues | $359,051 | $308,951 | 16% |
Any percentage changes displayed above which are not meaningful are displayed as zero percent.
U.S. Pharmaceutical
U.S. Pharmaceutical revenues for the year ended March 31, 2025 increased $49.0 billion or 18% compared to the prior year. Within the segment, sales to pharmacies and healthcare providers increased $42.6 billion and sales to specialty practices and other increased $6.4 billion. Overall, these increases were primarily due to higher volumes from retail national account customers and growth in specialty pharmaceuticals, partially offset by branded to generic drug conversions.
Prescription Technology Solutions
RxTS revenues for the year ended March 31, 2025 increased $447 million or 9% compared to the prior year due to increased volumes from our third-party logistics and higher technology services revenues.
Medical-Surgical Solutions
Medical-Surgical Solutions revenues for the year ended March 31, 2025 increased $73 million or 1% compared to the prior year. Within the segment, sales to primary care customers increased $85 million, partially offset by other sales which declined $10 million driven by lower contribution from the kitting and distribution of ancillary supplies used to administer COVID-19 vaccines, and sales to extended care customers which decreased $2 million.
International
International revenues for the year ended March 31, 2025 increased $591 million or 4% compared to the prior year which included $455 million unfavorable effects of foreign currency exchange fluctuations. Within the segment, sales in Canada increased by $950 million largely driven by higher pharmaceutical distribution volumes and sales in Norway increased by $96 million primarily driven by growth in retail pharmacy.
Corporate
Corporate reflects revenues from services derived in the U.S. related to certain technology operations. The increase compared to the prior year was immaterial.
Other Segment Expense, Segment Operating Profit (Loss), and Corporate Expenses, Net:
(Dollars in millions)
| Other segment expense, net (1) | Years Ended March 31, 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Pharmaceutical (2) | $323,715 | $275,953 | 17% |
| Prescription Technology Solutions (3) | 4,341 | 3,934 | 10 |
| Medical-Surgical Solutions (4) | 10,613 | 10,361 | 2 |
| International (5) | 14,934 | 13,811 | 8 |
| Total other expense, net | $353,603 | $304,059 | 16% |
| Segment operating profit (loss) | |||
| U.S. Pharmaceutical | $4,002 | $2,786 | 44% |
| Prescription Technology Solutions | 875 | 835 | 5 |
| Medical-Surgical Solutions | 773 | 952 | (19) |
| International | (213) | 319 | (167) |
| Subtotal | 5,437 | 4,892 | 11 |
| Corporate expenses, net (6) | (813) | (851) | (4) |
| Interest expense | (265) | (252) | 5 |
| Income from continuing operations before income taxes | $4,359 | $3,789 | 15% |
| Segment operating profit margin | |||
| U.S. Pharmaceutical | 1.22% | 1.00% | 22 bp |
| Prescription Technology Solutions | 16.78 | 17.51 | (73) |
| Medical-Surgical Solutions | 6.79 | 8.42 | (163) |
| International | (1.45) | 2.26 | (371) |
bp - basis point
(1) Other segment expense, net includes cost of sales, total operating expenses, as well as other income, net, for our reportable segments.
(2) Other segment expense, net for our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment includes the following:
- a credit of $206 million and a provision for bad debts of $725 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, related to the bankruptcy of our customer Rite Aid in October 2023, as further discussed in the “Trends and Uncertainties” section above;
- cash receipts for our share of antitrust legal settlements of $444 million and $244 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively;
- a charge of $82 million and a credit of $157 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, related to the LIFO method of accounting for inventories;
- restructuring charges of $59 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 for restructuring initiatives, as discussed in Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report;
- charges of $57 million and $74 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, related to our estimated liability for opioid-related claims, as discussed in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report; and
- a loss of $43 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 related to one of the Company’s equity method investments.
(3) Other segment expense, net for our RxTS segment for the year ended March 31, 2024 includes a gain of $78 million resulting from fair value adjustments of our contingent consideration liability related to the RxSS acquisition, as discussed in more detail in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
(4) Other segment expense, net for our Medical-Surgical Solutions segment for the year ended March 31, 2025 includes restructuring charges of $204 million related to a broad set of initiatives to drive operational efficiencies and increase cost optimization efforts, as discussed in Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
(5) Other segment expense, net for our International segment includes a charge of $605 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 to remeasure the assets and liabilities of our Canadian retail disposal group to fair value less costs to sell, as discussed in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
(6) Corporate expenses, net includes the following:
- a charge of $87 million related to the termination of the U.K. pension plan as discussed in Financial Note 13, “Pension Benefits,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report;
- a charge of $62 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 related to the effect of accumulated other comprehensive loss components from our Canadian retail disposal group, as discussed in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report;
- a net gain of $101 million for the year ended March 31, 2025 related to our investments in equity securities of certain U.S. growth stage companies in the healthcare industry, as discussed in Financial Note 15, “Fair Value Measurements,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report;
- charges of $51 million and $75 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, related to our estimated liability for opioid-related claims as discussed in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report; and
- restructuring charges of $68 million and $55 million for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, for restructuring initiatives as discussed in Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
U.S. Pharmaceutical
Operating profit increased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year primarily due to a prior year provision for bad debts of $725 million and a fiscal 2025 credit of $206 million related to the reassessment of our initial estimates made in conjunction with the previously reserved prepetition balances owed by Rite Aid, growth in specialty pharmaceuticals and retail national account customers, and an increase in net cash proceeds received representing our share of antitrust legal settlements. These increases were partially offset by a LIFO charge in fiscal 2025 compared to a credit in the prior year period, an increase in operating expenses to support higher volumes, a charge of $57 million related to our estimated liability for opioid-related claims, and a loss related to one of our equity method investments.
Prescription Technology Solutions
Operating profit increased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year primarily driven by contributions from technology services partially offset by the gain of $78 million recognized in the prior year resulting from a fair value adjustment of our contingent consideration liability related to the RxSS acquisition.
Medical-Surgical Solutions
Operating profit decreased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year primarily due to higher restructuring charges recorded in fiscal 2025 and a decline in the contribution from our primary care business, partially offset by lower expenses resulting from business rationalization initiatives.
International
Operating (loss) for this segment for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to an operating profit for the prior year was largely due to remeasurement charges related to our Canadian retail disposal group, as discussed in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
Corporate
Corporate expenses, net decreased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year primarily due to a net gain of $101 million related to our investments in equity securities of certain U.S. growth stage companies in the healthcare industry, a favorable impact to interest income, and lower charges related to our estimated liability for opioid-related claims. These were partially offset by a fiscal 2025 charge of $87 million related to the termination of the U.K. pension plan, remeasurement charges related to our Canadian retail disposal group, as discussed in Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report, and higher restructuring charges recorded in fiscal 2025 compared to the prior year.
FOREIGN OPERATIONS
Our foreign operations represented approximately 4% and 5% of our consolidated revenues in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, respectively. Foreign operations are subject to certain risks, including currency fluctuations. Refer to Item 1A - Risk Factors in Part I of this Annual Report for a risk factor related to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, and risks from trade and tariffs. We monitor our operations and adopt strategies responsive to changes in the economic and political environment in each of the countries in which we operate. We conduct our business worldwide in local currencies, including the Canadian dollar and Euro. As a result, the comparability of our results reported in U.S. dollars can be affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. In discussing our operating results, we may use the term “foreign currency exchange fluctuations,” which refers to the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates used to convert the local currency results of our operations in foreign countries where the functional currency is not the U.S. dollar. We present this information to provide a framework for assessing how our business performed excluding the effect of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. In computing the foreign currency exchange fluctuations, we translate our current year results of our operations in foreign countries recorded in local currencies into U.S. dollars by applying their respective average foreign currency exchange rates of the corresponding prior year periods, and we subsequently compare those results to the previously reported results of the comparable prior year periods reported in U.S. dollars.
In fiscal 2025, we completed the sale of our Canadian retail disposal group. Refer to Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
Additional information regarding our foreign operations is also included in Financial Note 20, “Segments of Business,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
Refer to Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.
FISCAL 2026 OUTLOOK
Information regarding the Company’s fiscal 2026 outlook is contained in the release of our fourth quarter fiscal 2025 financial results included as an exhibit to our Form 8-K furnished to the SEC on May 8, 2025, which is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report. That Form 8-K should be read in conjunction with the cautionary statements in Item 1 - Business - Forward-Looking Statements and Item 1A - Risk Factors, in Part I of this Annual Report.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if the estimate requires us to make assumptions about matters based upon past experience and management’s judgment that were uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made and if different estimates that we reasonably could have used in the current period, or changes in the accounting estimate that are reasonably likely to occur from period to period, could have a material impact on our financial condition or results from operations. Below are the estimates that we believe are critical to the understanding of our operating results and financial condition. Other accounting policies are described in Financial Note 1, “Significant Accounting Policies,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. Because of the uncertainty inherent in such estimates, actual results may differ from these estimates.
Allowances for Credit Losses: Our receivables primarily consist of short-term trade accounts receivable from customers that result from the sale of goods and services. We also provide customer financing arrangements to customers who purchase our products and services. Customer financing primarily relates to guarantees provided to our customers, or their creditors, regarding the repurchase of inventories. We also provide financing to certain customers related to the purchase of pharmacies, which serve as collateral for the loans. We estimate the receivables for which we do not expect full collection based on historical collection rates and specific knowledge regarding the current creditworthiness of our customers and record an allowance in our consolidated financial statements for these amounts.
The Company considers historical credit losses, the current economic environment, customer credit ratings, collections on past due amounts, legal disputes, and bankruptcies, as well as reasonable and supportable forecasts to develop its allowance for credit losses. Management reviews these factors quarterly to determine if any adjustments are needed to the allowance.
Sales to the Company’s ten largest customers, including group purchasing organizations (“GPOs”), accounted for approximately 72% of total consolidated revenues in fiscal 2025 and comprised approximately 48% of total trade accounts receivable at March 31, 2025. Sales to our largest customer, CVS Health Corporation (“CVS”), accounted for approximately 24% of our total consolidated revenues in fiscal 2025 and comprised approximately 23% of total trade accounts receivable at March 31, 2025. As a result, our sales and credit concentration is significant. We also have agreements with GPOs, each of which functions as a purchasing agent on behalf of member hospitals, pharmacies and other healthcare providers, as well as with government entities and agencies. The accounts receivable balances are with individual members of the GPOs, and therefore no significant concentration of credit risk exists. A material default in payment, a material reduction in purchases from GPOs or any other large customers, or the loss of a large customer or GPO could have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations, and liquidity.
Reserve methodologies are assessed annually based on historical losses and economic, business, and market trends. In addition, reserves are reviewed quarterly and updated if unusual circumstances or trends are present. We believe the reserves maintained and expenses recorded in fiscal 2025 are appropriate and consistent in the context of historical methodologies employed, as well as assessment of trends currently available.
At March 31, 2025, trade and notes receivables were $22.6 billion prior to allowances of $472 million. Our provision for bad debts was a credit of $130 million, in fiscal 2025 and a charge of $819 million, and $45 million in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively. At March 31, 2025 and 2024, the allowance as a percentage of trade and notes receivables was 2.1% and 4.5%, respectively. The provision for bad debts for fiscal 2024 included a charge of $725 million within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment related to the bankruptcy of our customer Rite Aid, as discussed in the “Trends and Uncertainties” section of this financial review and the Financial Note 20, “Segments of Business,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. This amount represented the uncollected trade accounts receivable balance due from Rite Aid prior to its bankruptcy petition filing in October 2023. During the year ended March 31, 2025, we reassessed our initial estimates made in conjunction with the previously reserved prepetition balances, including cash received during the period, resulting in a reversal of $206 million recorded within “Selling, distribution, general, and administrative expenses” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and included within our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment. During the year ended March 31, 2025, we released $237 million of allowance for doubtful accounts against trade accounts receivables, representing the write-off of uncollectible receivables related to the Rite Aid provision in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.
An increase or decrease of a hypothetical 0.1% in the fiscal 2025 allowance as a percentage of trade and notes receivables would result in an increase or decrease in the provision for bad debts of approximately $23 million. The selected 0.1% hypothetical change does not reflect what could be considered the best or worst-case scenarios. Additional information concerning our allowances for credit losses may be found in Schedule II included in this Annual Report.
Inventories: Inventories consist of merchandise held for resale. We report inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value, except for inventories determined using the LIFO method which are valued at the lower of LIFO cost or market. The LIFO method presumes that the most recent inventory purchases are the first items sold and the inventory cost under LIFO approximates market. The majority of the cost of domestic inventories is determined using the LIFO method. The majority of the cost of inventories held in foreign and certain domestic locations is based on the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method or weighted-average purchase prices. Rebates, cash discounts, and other incentives received from vendors relating to the purchase or distribution of inventory are considered product discounts and are accounted for as a reduction in the cost of inventory and are recognized when the inventory is sold.
In determining whether an inventory valuation allowance is required, we consider various factors including estimated quantities of slow-moving inventory by reviewing on-hand quantities, outstanding purchase obligations, and forecasted sales. Shifts in market trends and conditions, changes in customer preferences due to the introduction of generic drugs or new pharmaceutical products, or the loss of one or more significant customers are factors that could affect the value of our inventories. We write down inventories which are considered excess and obsolete as a result of these reviews. These factors could make our estimates of inventory valuation differ from actual results.
At March 31, 2025 and 2024, total inventories, net were $23.0 billion and $21.1 billion, respectively, in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The LIFO method was used to value approximately 63% and 62% of our inventories at March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. If we had used the moving average method of inventory valuation, inventories would have been approximately $309 million and $227 million higher than the amounts reported at March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. These amounts are equivalent to our LIFO reserves. A LIFO charge is recognized when the net effect of price increases on pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products held in inventory exceeds the impact of price declines, including the effect of branded pharmaceutical products that have lost market exclusivity. A LIFO credit is recognized when the net effect of price declines exceeds the impact of price increases on pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products held in inventory. We recognized a LIFO charge of $82 million in fiscal 2025, a LIFO credit of $157 million in fiscal 2024, and a LIFO charge of $1 million in fiscal 2023, all within “Cost of sales” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The LIFO charge in fiscal 2025 compared to a LIFO credit in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to higher brand inflation in the current fiscal year. The LIFO credit in fiscal 2024 compared to a LIFO charge in fiscal 2023 was primarily due to lower brand inflation, offset by higher brand inventory levels, lower deflation from off patent launch activity, and lower generics deflation. Our LIFO valuation amount includes both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products.
We believe that the moving average inventory costing method provides a reasonable estimation of the current cost of replacing inventory (i.e., “market”). As such, our LIFO inventory is valued at the lower of LIFO cost or market. As of March 31, 2025 and 2024, inventories at LIFO did not exceed market.
Business Combinations: We account for business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting whereby the identifiable assets and liabilities of the acquired business, including contingent consideration, as well as any noncontrolling interest in the acquired business, are recorded at their estimated fair values as of the date that we obtain control of the acquired business. Any purchase consideration in excess of the estimated fair values of the net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Acquisition-related expenses and related restructuring costs are expensed as incurred.
Several valuation methods may be used to determine the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. For intangible assets, we typically use a variation of the income approach, whereby a forecast of future cash flows attributable to the asset is discounted to present value using a risk-adjusted discount rate. Some of the more significant estimates and assumptions inherent in the income approach include the amount and timing of projected future cash flows, the discount rate selected to measure the risks inherent in the future cash flows, and the assessment of the asset’s expected useful life. Refer to Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information regarding our acquisitions.
Certain business combinations involve the potential for future payments of consideration that is contingent upon the achievement of performance milestones or other agreed-upon events. The liability for the contingent consideration is measured at its fair value as of the acquisition date using unobservable inputs. These inputs include the estimated amount and timing of projected operational and financial information, the probability of achievement of performance milestones or other agreed-upon events, and the risk-adjusted discount rate used to calculate the present value of the probability-weighted projected financial information. Contingent liabilities are remeasured to fair value at each reporting date until the liability is resolved with changes in fair value being recognized within “Selling, distribution, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Changes in any of the inputs may result in a significant adjustment to the fair value.
Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets:
Goodwill
As a result of acquiring businesses, we have $10.0 billion and $10.1 billion of goodwill at March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion of intangible assets, net at March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
We perform an impairment test on goodwill balances annually in the first fiscal quarter and more frequently if indicators for potential impairment exist. Indicators that are considered include significant declines in performance relative to expected operating results, significant changes in the use of the assets, significant negative industry or economic trends, or a significant decline in the Company’s stock price and/or market capitalization for a sustained period of time.
Goodwill impairment testing is conducted at the reporting unit level, which is generally defined as an operating segment or a component, one level below our operating segments, for which discrete financial information is available and where segment management regularly reviews the operating results of that reporting unit.
We apply the goodwill impairment test by comparing the estimated fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying value and an impairment charge is recorded equal to the amount of excess carrying value above the estimated fair value, if any, but not to exceed the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit.
To estimate the fair value of our reporting units, we generally use a combination of the market approach and the income approach. Under the market approach, we estimate fair value by comparing the business to similar businesses, or guideline companies whose securities are actively traded in public markets. Under the income approach, we use a discounted cash flow model in which cash flows anticipated over several periods, plus a terminal value at the end of that time horizon, are discounted to their present value using an appropriate rate that is commensurate with the risk inherent within the reporting unit. In addition, we compare the aggregate of the reporting units’ fair values to our market capitalization as further corroboration of the reasonableness of our concluded fair values.
Estimates of fair value result from a complex series of judgments about future events and uncertainties and rely heavily on estimates and assumptions at a point in time. Judgments made in determining an estimate of fair value may materially impact our results of operations. The valuations are based on information available as of the impairment testing date and are based on expectations and assumptions that have been deemed reasonable by management. Any material changes in key assumptions, including failure to meet business plans, negative changes in government reimbursement rates, deterioration in the U.S. and global financial markets, an increase in interest rates, or an increase in the cost of equity financing by market participants within the industry, or other unanticipated events and circumstances may decrease the projected cash flows or increase the discount rates and could potentially result in an impairment charge. Under the market approach, significant estimates and assumptions also include the selection of appropriate guideline public companies and the determination of appropriate valuation multiples to apply to the reporting unit. Under the income approach, significant estimates and assumptions also include the determination of discount rates. The discount rates represent the weighted-average cost of capital measuring the reporting unit’s cost of debt and equity financing, which are weighted by the percentage of debt and percentage of equity in a company’s target capital structure. Included in the estimate of the weighted-average cost of capital is the assumption of an unsystematic risk premium to address incremental uncertainty related to the reporting units’ future cash flow projections.
The annual impairment testing performed for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023 did not indicate any impairment of goodwill.
Refer to Financial Note 10, “Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.
Long-Lived Assets
Currently, all of our identifiable intangible and other long-lived assets are amortized or depreciated based on the pattern of their economic consumption or a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, ranging from one to 30 years. We review intangible and other long-lived assets for impairment at an asset group level whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability of intangible and other long-lived assets is based on the lowest level of identifiable estimated future undiscounted cash flows resulting from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. Measurement of any impairment loss is based on the excess of the carrying value of the asset group over its fair value. Assumptions and estimates about future values and the remaining useful lives of our purchased intangible assets are complex and subjective. They can be affected by a variety of factors, including external factors such as industry and economic trends, and internal factors such as changes in our business strategy and our internal forecasts.
Our ongoing consideration of all the factors described previously could result in further impairment charges in the future, which could adversely affect our net income. Refer to Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information on our long-lived asset impairments.
Long-lived assets classified as held for sale are measured at the lower of their carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell and are not depreciated or amortized. Fair value is determined based on the total consideration expected to be received by the Company. The fair value of a disposal group, less any costs to sell, is assessed each reporting period it remains classified as held for sale and any remeasurement to the lower of carrying value or fair value less costs to sell is reported as an adjustment to the carrying value of the disposal group. When the net realizable value of a disposal group increases during a period, a gain can be recognized to the extent that it does not increase the value of the disposal group beyond its original carrying value when the disposal group was reclassified as held for sale.
Restructuring Charges: We have certain restructuring reserves which require significant estimates related to the timing and amount of future employee severance and other exit-related costs to be incurred when the restructuring actions take place. We generally recognize employee severance costs when payments are probable and amounts can be reasonably estimated. Costs related to contracts without future benefit or contract termination are recognized at the earlier of the contract termination or the cease-use dates. Other exit-related costs are expensed as incurred. In connection with these restructuring actions, we also assess the recoverability of long-lived assets used in the business, and as a result, we may recognize accelerated depreciation and amortization reflecting shortened useful lives of the underlying assets. Refer to Financial Note 3, “Restructuring, Impairment, and Related Charges, Net,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information on restructuring matters.
Income Taxes: Our income tax expense and deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgments and estimates are required in determining the consolidated income tax provision and in evaluating income tax uncertainties, including those used to conclude on the unrecognized tax position related to opioid-related litigation and claims, and may differ from the actual amounts of tax benefit recognized. We review our tax positions at the end of each quarter and adjust the balances as new information becomes available.
Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the tax and financial statement recognition of revenue and expense. In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets, we consider all available positive and negative evidence including our past operating results, the existence of cumulative net operating losses in the most recent years, and our forecast of future taxable income. In estimating future taxable income, we develop assumptions including the amount of future federal, state, and foreign pre-tax operating income, the reversal of temporary differences, and the implementation of feasible and prudent tax planning strategies. These assumptions require significant judgment about the forecasts of future taxable income and are consistent with the plans and estimates we use to manage the underlying businesses.
Changes in tax laws and rates could also affect recorded deferred tax assets and liabilities in the future. Should tax laws change, our tax expense and cash flows could be materially impacted.
In addition, the calculation of our tax liabilities includes estimates for uncertainties in the application of complex new tax regulations across multiple global jurisdictions where we conduct our operations.
We recognize liabilities for tax and related interest for issues in the U.S. and other tax jurisdictions based on our estimate of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes and related interest will be due. If our current estimate of tax and interest liabilities is less than the ultimate settlement, an additional charge to income tax expense may result. If our current estimate of tax and interest liabilities is more than the ultimate settlement, a reduction to income tax expense may be recognized. Refer to Financial Note 6, “Income Taxes,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information on income tax matters.
Loss Contingencies: We are subject to various claims, including claims with customers and vendors, pending and potential legal actions for damages, investigations relating to laws and regulations and other matters arising out of the normal conduct of our business. When a loss is considered probable and reasonably estimable, we record a liability in the amount of our best estimate for the ultimate loss. However, the likelihood of a loss with respect to a particular contingency is often difficult to predict, and determining a meaningful estimate of the loss or a range of loss may not be practicable based on the information available and the potential effect of future events and decisions by third parties that will determine the ultimate resolution of the contingency. Moreover, it is not uncommon for such matters to be resolved over many years, during which time relevant developments and new information must be reevaluated at least quarterly to determine both the likelihood of potential loss and whether it is possible to reasonably estimate a range of possible loss. When a material loss is reasonably possible, or probable but a reasonable estimate cannot be made, disclosure of the proceeding is provided. Legal fees are expensed as incurred when the legal services are provided.
We review all contingencies at least quarterly to determine whether the likelihood of loss has changed and to assess whether a reasonable estimate of the potential loss or range of the loss can be made. As discussed above, development of a meaningful estimate of loss or a range of potential loss is complex when the outcome is directly dependent on future negotiations with or decisions by third parties, such as regulatory agencies, the court system, and other interested parties.
In conjunction with the preparation of the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report, we considered matters related to ongoing controlled substances claims to which we are a party. For the year ended March 31, 2024, the Company recorded a charge of $149 million within “Claims and litigation charges, net” in the Consolidated Statement of Operations to reflect its portion of a proposed settlement with a nationwide class of acute care hospitals, and the corresponding liability was included within “Other accrued liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. For the year ended March 31, 2025, we recorded a charge of $114 million within “Claims and litigation charges, net” in the Consolidated Statement of Operations to reflect the Company’s portion of the settlement with representatives of a nationwide group of certain third-party payors, of which $57 million was recorded within Corporate expenses, net, and U.S. Pharmaceutical, respectively. The corresponding liability was included within “Other accrued liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. At March 31, 2025, our estimated accrued liability for opioid-related claims was $6.4 billion. Because of the many uncertainties associated with the remaining opioid-related litigation matters, we are not able to reasonably estimate the upper or lower ends of the range of ultimate possible losses for all opioid-related litigation matters. We are not able to predict the outcome in these matters, and an adverse judgment or negotiated resolution in any of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows or liquidity. Refer to Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.
FINANCIAL CONDITION, LIQUIDITY, AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
We expect our available cash generated from operations and our short-term investment portfolio, together with our existing sources of liquidity from our credit facilities, commercial paper program, and other borrowings will be sufficient to fund our short-term and long-term capital expenditures, working capital, and other cash requirements. We remain adequately capitalized, including access to liquidity from our $4.0 billion revolving credit facility. At March 31, 2025, we were in compliance with all debt covenants, and believe we have the ability to continue to meet our debt covenants in the future.
The following table summarizes the net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash for the periods shown:
(Dollars in millions)
| Net cash provided by (used in): | Years Ended March 31, 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating activities | $6,085 | $4,314 | $1,771 |
| Investing activities | (733) | (1,072) | 339 |
| Financing activities | (3,965) | (3,342) | (623) |
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (16) | 6 | (22) |
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $1,371 | $(94) | $1,465 |
Operating Activities
Operating activities provided cash of $6.1 billion and $4.3 billion for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Cash flows from operations can be significantly impacted by factors such as the timing of receipts from customers, inventory receipts, and payments to vendors. Additionally, working capital is primarily a function of sales and purchase volumes, inventory requirements, and vendor payment terms.
For the year ended March 31, 2025, net cash provided by operating activities increased by $1.8 billion compared to the prior year period. This increase was primarily due to the following:
- the Company’s net income increased by $321 million and was favorably impacted by higher net non-cash items of $549 million, compared to the prior year period driven by factors discussed in more detail in the “Overview of Consolidated Results” section of this Financial Review, including an increase in cash receipts for our share of antitrust legal settlements of $200 million;
- an increase in cash of $3.7 billion related to accounts payable as a result of customary vendor payment scheduling, and higher purchases to support business growth, partially offset by timing related to the day of the week on which the period ends;
- a decrease in net cash of $981 million related to accounts receivable primarily due to growth in specialty pharmaceuticals sales and higher volumes from retail national account customers in our U.S. Pharmaceutical segment;
- a decrease in net cash of $976 million related to higher inventory purchases to support business growth; and
- a decrease in cash driven by higher income tax payments in fiscal 2025 compared to the prior year.
Investing Activities
Investing activities used cash of $733 million and $1.1 billion for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Investing activities for the year ended March 31, 2025 includes $537 million and $322 million, respectively, in capital expenditures for property, plant, and equipment and capitalized software. Investing activities for the year ended March 31, 2025 was also impacted by the receipt of proceeds of $189 million related to investments in equity securities, as discussed in Financial Note 15, “Fair Value Measurements,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
Investing activities for the year ended March 31, 2024 includes $431 million and $256 million, respectively, in capital expenditures for property, plant, and equipment and capitalized software, as well as $272 million of net cash payments for acquisitions.
Financing Activities
Financing activities used cash of $4.0 billion and $3.3 billion for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Financing activities for the year ended March 31, 2025 includes $3.1 billion of cash paid for share repurchases and $345 million of cash paid for dividends. Financing activities also includes cash receipts and cash payments of $15.1 billion related to short-term borrowings of commercial paper in fiscal 2025. On September 10, 2024, we completed a public offering of 4.25% Notes due September 15, 2029 in a principal amount of $500 million. Proceeds received from this note issuance, net of discounts and offering expenses, were $496 million. We utilized the net proceeds from this note issuance along with cash on hand to redeem our $500 million outstanding principal amount of 5.25% Notes due February 15, 2026 prior to maturity at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest through the settlement date.
Financing activities for the year ended March 31, 2024 includes $3.0 billion of cash paid for share repurchases and $314 million of cash paid for dividends. Financing activities also includes cash receipts and cash payments of $20.0 billion related to short-term borrowings of commercial paper in fiscal 2024.
On June 15, 2023, we completed a public offering of 4.90% Notes due July 15, 2028 in a principal amount of $400 million and 5.10% Notes due July 15, 2033 in a principal amount of $600 million, for proceeds received, net of discounts and offering expenses, of $397 million and $592 million, respectively. A portion of the net proceeds from these notes was utilized to fund the repurchase of our then outstanding 3.80% Notes due March 15, 2024 (the “2024 Notes”) discussed below, while the remaining net proceeds was available for general corporate purposes.
On June 16, 2023, we completed a cash tender offer for any and all of our then outstanding 2024 Notes with a principal amount of $918 million, which was made concurrently with the June 15, 2023 notes offering described above. Using a portion of the proceeds from the June 15, 2023 notes offering, we paid an aggregate consideration of $268 million to repurchase $271 million principal amount of the 2024 Notes. Following the consummation of this tender offer, on June 16, 2023, we irrevocably deposited U.S. government obligations with the trustee under the indenture governing the 2024 Notes sufficient to fund the payment of accrued and unpaid interest of the remaining $647 million principal amount of the 2024 Notes as it became due, and of the principal amount of those 2024 Notes on their March 15, 2024 maturity date.
Cash used for other financing activities generally includes shares surrendered for tax withholding and payments to noncontrolling interests.
Share Repurchase Plans
The Board has authorized the repurchase of common stock. We may repurchase common stock from time-to-time through open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchase programs, or by combinations of such methods, any of which may use pre-arranged trading plans that are designed to meet the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). The timing of any repurchases and the actual number of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of factors, including our stock price, corporate and regulatory requirements, tax implications, restrictions under our debt obligations, other uses for capital, impacts on the value of remaining shares, cash generated from operations, and market and economic conditions.
Effective January 1, 2023, our repurchase of common stock, adjusted for allowable items, are subject to a 1% excise tax as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Excise taxes incurred on share repurchases of an entity’s own common stock are direct and incremental costs to purchase treasury stock, and accordingly are included in the total cost basis of the common stock acquired and reflected as a reduction of stockholders’ equity within “Treasury shares” in our Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Deficit. Excise taxes do not reduce our remaining authorization for the repurchase of common stock. Excise taxes of $26 million and $25 million were accrued for shares repurchased during the year ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. On October 30, 2024, we made a payment of $25 million for fiscal 2024 excise taxes previously accrued. As of March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024, the amount accrued for excise taxes was $26 million, and $25 million, respectively, within “Other accrued liabilities” in our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Information regarding the share repurchase activity over the last two fiscal years was as follows:
(In millions, except price per share)
| Share Repurchases (1) Total Number of Shares Purchased (2) | Average Price Paid Per Share | Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Programs (3) (4) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance, March 31, 2023 | $3,613 | ||
| Share repurchase authorization increase in fiscal 2024 | 6,000 | ||
| Shares repurchased - Open market | 6.9 | $436.46 | (2,998) |
| Balance, March 31, 2024 | 6,615 | ||
| Share repurchase authorization increase in fiscal 2025 | 4,000 | ||
| Shares repurchased - Open market | 5.8 | $543.05 | (3,146) |
| Balance, March 31, 2025 | $7,469 |
(1) This table does not include the value of equity awards surrendered to satisfy tax withholding obligations or forfeitures of equity awards.
(2) The number of shares purchased reflects rounding adjustments.
(3) The remaining authorization outstanding for repurchases of common stock excludes $26 million and $25 million of excise taxes incurred on share repurchases for the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
(4) In July 2023 and July 2024, the Board authorized the Company to repurchase up to an additional $6.0 billion and $4.0 billion shares of common stock, respectively, both of which have no expiration date.
Selected Measures of Liquidity and Capital Resources
(Dollars in millions)
| March 31, 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $5,956 | $4,585 |
| Working capital | (6,206) | (4,387) |
| Days sales outstanding for: (1) | ||
| Customer receivables | 22 | 22 |
| Inventories | 24 | 26 |
| Drafts and accounts payable | 57 | 58 |
| Debt to capital ratio (2) | 125.3% | 124.0% |
(1) Based on year-end balances and sales or cost of sales for the last 90 days of the year.
(2) This ratio describes the relationship and changes within our capital resources, and is computed as the sum of total debt divided by the sum of total debt and McKesson stockholders’ deficit, which excludes noncontrolling interests and accumulated other comprehensive loss.
Cash equivalents, which are readily convertible to known amounts of cash, are carried at fair value. Cash equivalents are primarily invested in AAA-rated U.S. government money market funds, short-term deposits with financial institutions, and short-term commercial papers issued by non-financial institutions. Deposits with financial institutions are primarily denominated in U.S. dollars and the functional currencies of our foreign subsidiaries, including Canadian dollars. Deposits could exceed the amounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the U.S. and similar deposit insurance programs in other jurisdictions. We mitigate the risk of our short-term investment portfolio by depositing funds with reputable financial institutions and monitoring risk profiles and investment strategies of money market funds.
Our cash and cash equivalents balance as of March 31, 2025 and 2024 included approximately $2.9 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively, of cash held by our subsidiaries outside of the U.S. Our primary intent is to utilize this cash for foreign operations for an indefinite period of time. Although the majority of cash held outside the U.S. is available for repatriation, doing so could subject us to foreign withholding taxes and state income taxes. We may remit foreign earnings to the U.S. to the extent it is tax efficient to do so. We do not anticipate the tax impact from remitting these earnings to be material. Following enactment of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the repatriation of cash to the U.S. is generally no longer taxable for federal income tax purposes.
Working capital primarily includes cash and cash equivalents, receivables, inventories, and prepaid expenses, net of drafts and accounts payable, short-term borrowings, current portion of long-term debt, current portion of operating lease liabilities, and other accrued liabilities. Our businesses require substantial investments in working capital that are susceptible to large variations during the year as a result of inventory purchase patterns and seasonal demands. Inventory purchase activity is a function of sales activity and other requirements.
Consolidated working capital decreased at March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in drafts and accounts payable from increased purchasing driven by increased sales and timing, and an increase in the current portion of long-term debt. These were partially offset by an increase in receivables, net and inventories, net, driven by higher sales and timing, an increase in cash and cash equivalents, and a decrease in other accrued liabilities.
Our debt to capital ratio increased for the year ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior year primarily due to share repurchases and dividend payments as well as repayments of long-term debt, partially offset by net income attributable to McKesson for the year and issuance of new long-term debt.
In July 2024, we raised our quarterly dividend from $0.62 to $0.71 per share of common stock for dividends declared on or after such date by the Board. Dividends were $2.75 per share in fiscal 2025 and $2.40 per share in fiscal 2024, and we paid total cash dividends of $345 million and $314 million in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, respectively. We anticipate that we will continue to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future. However, the payment and amount of future dividends remain within the discretion of the Board and will depend upon our future earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, legal requirements, and other factors.
Material Cash Requirements:
The table and information below presents our significant financial obligations and commitments as of March 31, 2025:
(In millions)
| On balance sheet | Total | Years Within 1 | Over 1 to 3 | Over 3 to 5 | After 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total debt (1) | $5,654 | $1,184 | $1,612 | $1,736 | $1,122 |
| Operating lease obligations (2) | 2,078 | 313 | 565 | 423 | 777 |
| Other (3) | 72 | 18 | 10 | 22 | 22 |
| Off balance sheet | |||||
| Interest on borrowings (4) | 1,240 | 179 | 330 | 245 | 486 |
| Purchase obligations (5) | 8,823 | 8,804 | 11 | 7 | 1 |
| Other (6) | 395 | 111 | 240 | 9 | 35 |
| Total | $18,262 | $10,609 | $2,768 | $2,442 | $2,443 |
(1) Represents maturities of the Company’s long-term obligations, including finance lease obligations. Refer to Financial Note 11, “Debt and Financing Activities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
(2) Represents undiscounted minimum operating lease obligations under non-cancelable operating leases having an initial remaining term over one year and is not adjusted for imputed interest. Refer to Financial Note 9, “Leases,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
(3) Includes estimated benefit payments for our unfunded benefit plans and minimum funding requirements for our pension plans as well as the contingent consideration liability related to our acquisition of RxSS in November 2022.
(4) Represents interest that will become due on our fixed rate long-term debt obligations.
FINANCIAL REVIEW (Concluded)
(5) Primarily relates to the expected purchase of goods and services, including inventory and capital commitments, from vendors in the normal course of business.
(6) Includes agreements under which we have guaranteed the repurchase of our customers’ inventory and our customers’ debt in the event these customers are unable to meet their obligations to those financial institutions. Refer to Financial Note 16, “Financial Guarantees and Warranties,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
The material cash requirements table above excludes the following obligations:
At March 31, 2025, the Company had accrued liabilities of $6.4 billion related to the settlement of opioid-related litigation claims with U.S. governmental entities, including Native American tribes, and certain non-governmental plaintiffs as described in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. The majority of this amount relates to governmental entities opioid settlement payable in annual installments through 2038 pursuant to the schedule set forth in the agreement. As of March 31, 2025, $776 million is estimated to be paid within the next twelve months.
At March 31, 2025, the liability recorded for uncertain tax positions, excluding associated interest and penalties, was approximately $1.1 billion. The ultimate amount and timing of any related future cash settlements cannot be predicted with reasonable certainty. Refer to Financial Note 6, “Income Taxes,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for additional information on income tax matters.
At March 31, 2025, our banks and insurance companies have issued $206 million of standby letters of credit and surety bonds. These were issued on our behalf and are mostly related to our customer contracts and to meet the security requirements for statutory licenses and permits, court and fiduciary obligations, pension obligations in Europe, and our workers’ compensation and automotive liability programs.
Capital Resources
We fund our working capital requirements primarily with cash and cash equivalents, proceeds from short-term borrowings from our commercial paper issuances, and longer-term credit agreements and debt offerings. Funds necessary for future debt maturities and our other cash requirements, including any future payments that may be made related to our total estimated litigation liability of $6.4 billion as of March 31, 2025 payable under the terms of various settlement agreements for opioid-related claims, are expected to be met by existing cash balances, cash flow from operations, existing credit sources, and future borrowings. Long-term debt markets and commercial paper markets, our primary sources of capital after cash flow from operations, are open and accessible to us should we decide to access those markets. Detailed information regarding our debt and financing activities is included in Financial Note 11, “Debt and Financing Activities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
We believe that our future operating cash flow, financial assets, and access to capital and credit markets, including our credit facilities, give us the ability to meet our financing needs for the foreseeable future. However, there can be no assurance that an increase in volatility or disruption in the global capital and credit markets will not impair our liquidity or increase our costs of borrowing.
RELATED PARTY BALANCES AND TRANSACTIONS
Information regarding our related party balances and transactions is included in Financial Note 19, “Related Party Balances and Transactions,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
New accounting pronouncements that we have recently adopted, as well as those that have been recently issued but not yet adopted by us, are included in Financial Note 1, “Significant Accounting Policies,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
Market risk
As filed, 3,567 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Interest rate risk: Our long-term debt bears interest predominately at fixed rates, whereas our short-term borrowings are at variable interest rates. Our cash and cash equivalents balances earn interest at variable rates. At March 31, 2025 and 2024, we had $5.7 billion and $4.6 billion, respectively, in cash and cash equivalents. At March 31, 2025 and 2024, we also had fixed-to-floating interest rate swaps with a total notional amount of $750 million and $1.3 billion, respectively. The effect of a hypothetical 50 basis points increase in the underlying interest rate on our cash and cash equivalents, net of short-term borrowings and fixed-to-floating interest rate swaps, would have resulted in a favorable impact of $8 million and $4 million to our earnings in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, respectively.
Foreign currency exchange rate risk: We conduct our business worldwide in U.S. dollars and the functional currencies of our foreign subsidiaries, primarily the Canadian dollar. We are also exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk related to our foreign currency-denominated notes, intercompany loans denominated in non-functional currencies, and certain foreign subsidiaries, primarily the Euro, British pound sterling, and Canadian dollar. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates could have a material adverse impact on our financial results that are reported in U.S. dollars.
In September 2024, we announced an agreement to sell our Rexall and Well.ca businesses in Canada (“Canadian retail disposal group”). We completed the sale of the Canadian retail disposal group on December 30, 2024. In July 2021, we announced our intention to exit our businesses in Europe and completed the divestitures of our Austrian business in fiscal 2022, and the U.K. disposal group and the E.U. disposal group in fiscal 2023. Refer to Financial Note 2, “Business Acquisitions and Divestitures,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information on these divestitures. The completion of these divestitures has reduced our foreign currency exchange rate risk as it relates to the Euro and British pound sterling.
We have certain foreign currency exchange rate risk programs that utilize cross-currency swaps which are intended to reduce the income statement effects from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and have been designated as net investment hedges, fair value hedges, or cash flow hedges. These programs reduce but do not entirely eliminate foreign currency exchange rate risk. However, our risk management programs are designed such that changes in the value of the underlying exposure would be largely offset by the potential changes in the value of the risk management portfolios. Refer to Financial Note 14, “Hedging Activities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for more information on our cross-currency swaps.
The Company and its subsidiaries are periodically exposed to balances denominated in currencies other than their functional currency. At March 31, 2025 and 2024, the effect of a hypothetical adverse 10% change in the foreign currency exchange rates on underlying balances not reported in the functional currencies of the Company and these subsidiaries would not have resulted in a material impact to our earnings in fiscal 2025 or fiscal 2024. Refer to Financial Note 1, “Significant Accounting Policies,” under the section “Foreign Currency Translation” for more information regarding our exposure to transactional gains and losses.
Controls and procedures
As filed, 1,480 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, with the participation of other members of the Company’s management, have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of the end of the period covered by this report and have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as required by paragraph (b) of Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 or 15d-15.
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management’s report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) and the related report of our independent registered public accounting firm are included in this Annual Report, under the headings, “Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting” and “Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm,” and are incorporated herein by reference.
Changes in Internal Controls
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by paragraph (d) of Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 or 15d-15 that occurred during our fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Figures reported in this filing
Standardized line items from the XBRL in this filing, for the period ended 2025-03-31. Comparative periods it repeats are left out.
| Line item | Period | Value | XBRL concept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $359.05bn | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax |
| Cost of revenue | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $345.73bn | us-gaap:CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold |
| Gross profit | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $13.32bn | us-gaap:GrossProfit |
| Selling, general and administrative | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $8.51bn | us-gaap:SellingGeneralAndAdministrativeExpense |
| Operating income | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $4.42bn | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss |
| Interest expense | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $265.0m | us-gaap:InterestExpenseNonoperating |
| Income tax | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $878.0m | us-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit |
| Net income | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $3.29bn | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss |
| Diluted EPS | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $25.72 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted |
| Basic EPS | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $25.86 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareBasic |
| Diluted shares (weighted) | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | 128,100,000 shares | us-gaap:WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding |
| Operating cash flow | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $6.08bn | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities |
| Capital expenditure | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $537.0m | us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment |
| Dividends paid | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $345.0m | us-gaap:PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock |
| Share repurchases | 12 months2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 | $3.15bn | us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock |
| Cash and equivalents | At period end2025-03-31 | $5.69bn | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue |
| Current assets | At period end2025-03-31 | $55.40bn | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent |
| Total assets | At period end2025-03-31 | $75.14bn | us-gaap:Assets |
| Current liabilities | At period end2025-03-31 | $61.60bn | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent |
| Long-term debt | At period end2025-03-31 | $5.65bn | us-gaap:LongTermDebt |
| Shareholders' equity | At period end2025-03-31 | −$2.07bn | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity |
Source: SEC EDGAR, the filing index for accession 0000927653-25-000036. Last ingested by Listed: Nov 6, 2026, 13:45 ET. Listed shows no prices and gives no investment advice.