ABT vs. MCK: Abbott Laboratories vs. McKesson Stock Comparison

July 23, 2026

How do Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but ABT is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies while MCK is classified in Health Care Providers & Services.

Company profile comparison for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Profile Item	ABT	MCK
Name	Abbott Laboratories	McKesson Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Equipment	Health Care Distributors
Market Capitalization	173.61 billion USD	97.04 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	November 10, 1994
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ABT

MCK

GSPC

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	ABT	MCK
Total Return (1Y)	-18.04%	17.01%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-2.45%	26.58%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-1.58%	33.94%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ABT

MCK

GSPC

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	ABT	MCK
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	26.27%	30.21%
Beta (5Y)	0.60	0.31
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-39.64%	-27.17%
Avg. Volume (3M)	13.53M	1.18M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ABT and MCK are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	ABT	MCK
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.84	0.43
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-1.18	0.70

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Neither Abbott Laboratories (ABT) nor McKesson (MCK) reports a ROE value for this period, so a direct comparison isn’t possible.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 53.65%
Q3: 13.93%
Median: 3.71%
Q1: -16.92%
Min: -59.21%
ABT: --

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 53.65%
Q3: 13.93%
Median: 3.71%
Q1: -16.92%
Min: -59.21%
MCK: --

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): Neither stock reports ROE, so the chart shows available benchmark boxes without value markers.

Net Margin (TTM)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 11.65% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of McKesson (MCK) at 1.18%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.65%

Max: 30.40%
ABT: 11.65%
Q3: 8.56%
Median: 1.55%
Q1: -9.20%
Min: -34.34%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.18%

Max: 30.40%
Q3: 8.56%
Median: 1.55%
MCK: 1.18%
Q1: -9.20%
Min: -34.34%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 14.15% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of McKesson (MCK) at 2.21%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.15%

Max: 37.54%
ABT: 14.15%
Q3: 12.86%
Median: 5.54%
Q1: -4.10%
Min: -25.61%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.21%

Max: 37.54%
Q3: 12.86%
Median: 5.54%
MCK: 2.21%
Q1: -4.10%
Min: -25.61%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	ABT	MCK
ROE (TTM)	--	--
ROA (TTM)	--	4.99%
Net Margin (TTM)	11.65%	1.18%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.15%	2.21%
Gross Margin (TTM)	56.77%	3.60%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 5.67% and McKesson (MCK) at 12.36% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

McKesson (MCK) at 49.22% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at -51.31% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in earnings momentum.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	ABT	MCK
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.67%	12.36%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	0.51%	13.39%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-51.31%	49.22%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.65%	15.31%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Short-term liquidity can only be read on one side of this pairing: McKesson (MCK) shows current ratio of 0.85 against its industry benchmark, while Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has no reading this period.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 7.79
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.03
Q1: 1.34
Min: 0.04
ABT: --

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.85

Max: 7.79
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.03
Q1: 1.34
MCK: 0.85
Min: 0.04

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): ABT does not report current ratio, so it has no value marker; MCK is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65 against its industry range, while McKesson (MCK) reports no figure this period.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.65

Max: 2.02
Q3: 0.99
ABT: 0.65
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 2.02
Q3: 0.99
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00
MCK: --

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): MCK does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; ABT is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	ABT	MCK
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	0.85
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.65	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.26	0.70

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 2.44% and McKesson (MCK) at 0.38% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.44%

ABT: 2.44%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.38%

MCK: 0.38%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 78.96% and McKesson (MCK) at 8.26% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

78.96%

ABT: 78.96%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

8.26%

MCK: 8.26%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	ABT	MCK
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.44%	0.38%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	78.96%	8.26%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 32.89 and McKesson (MCK) at 21.65 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

32.89

Max: 73.47
Q3: 45.86
ABT: 32.89
Median: 30.56
Q1: 21.37
Min: 0.91

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

21.65

Max: 73.47
Q3: 45.86
Median: 30.56
MCK: 21.65
Q1: 21.37
Min: 0.91

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

McKesson (MCK) at 0.24 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 3.73 prices around its industry’s middle — MCK costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.73

Max: 8.58
Q3: 4.23
ABT: 3.73
Median: 2.05
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.04

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.24

Max: 8.58
Q3: 4.23
Median: 2.05
Q1: 1.10
MCK: 0.24
Min: 0.04

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

McKesson (MCK) reports a negative P/B ratio of -45.79, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Abbott Laboratories (ABT) reports 3.33, ranking against industry peers normally.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.33

Max: 12.13
Q3: 5.82
ABT: 3.33
Median: 2.96
Q1: 1.56
Min: -2.02

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-45.79

Max: 12.13
Q3: 5.82
Median: 2.96
Q1: 1.56
Min: -2.02
MCK: -45.79

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	ABT	MCK
P/E Ratio (TTM)	32.89	21.65
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.73	0.24
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.33	-45.79
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	5.83%