CVS vs. MCK: CVS Health vs. McKesson Stock Comparison

September 7, 2026

How do CVS Health (CVS) 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

CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK) both belong to the Health Care Providers & Services industry, though CVS is classified under Health Care Services while MCK falls under Health Care Distributors.

Company profile comparison for CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Profile Item	CVS	MCK
Name	CVS Health Corporation Common Stock	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 Providers & Services	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Services	Health Care Distributors
Market Capitalization	123.73 billion USD	105.86 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	November 10, 1994
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CVS

MCK

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) 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 CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	CVS	MCK
Total Return (1Y)	35.45%	31.83%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	18.21%	30.68%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	5.48%	35.20%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CVS

MCK

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) 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 CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	CVS	MCK
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	31.24%	31.23%
Beta (5Y)	0.59	0.29
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-56.79%	-27.17%
Avg. Volume (3M)	7.92M	1.02M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CVS 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 CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	CVS	MCK
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.00	0.89
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.39	1.51

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: CVS Health (CVS) earns 6.21% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; McKesson (MCK) has no ROE this period.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.21%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 14.51%
CVS: 6.21%
Median: 4.31%
Q1: -15.70%
Min: -56.60%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 14.51%
Median: 4.31%
Q1: -15.70%
Min: -56.60%
MCK: --

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 1.19% and McKesson (MCK) at 1.12% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.19%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.14%
Median: 1.95%
CVS: 1.19%
Q1: -7.34%
Min: -30.69%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.12%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.14%
Median: 1.95%
MCK: 1.12%
Q1: -7.34%
Min: -30.69%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 3.86% and McKesson (MCK) at 1.35% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.86%

Max: 38.55%
Q3: 13.91%
Median: 6.64%
CVS: 3.86%
Q1: -2.87%
Min: -27.93%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.35%

Max: 38.55%
Q3: 13.91%
Median: 6.64%
MCK: 1.35%
Q1: -2.87%
Min: -27.93%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	CVS	MCK
ROE (TTM)	6.21%	--
ROA (TTM)	2.97%	4.74%
Net Margin (TTM)	1.19%	1.12%
Operating Margin (TTM)	3.86%	1.35%
Gross Margin (TTM)	13.65%	3.63%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 7.85% 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.

CVS Health (CVS) 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 CVS Health (CVS) at -62.02% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in earnings momentum.

CVS Health (CVS) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	CVS	MCK
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.85%	12.36%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.63%	13.39%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-62.02%	49.22%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-24.73%	15.31%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 0.87 and McKesson (MCK) at 0.89 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.87

Max: 7.62
Q3: 4.06
Median: 1.95
Q1: 1.34
CVS: 0.87
Min: 0.46

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.89

Max: 7.62
Q3: 4.06
Median: 1.95
Q1: 1.34
MCK: 0.89
Min: 0.46

CVS Health (CVS) vs. McKesson (MCK): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: CVS Health (CVS) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96 against its industry range, while McKesson (MCK) reports no figure this period.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.96

Max: 1.96
Q3: 1.01
CVS: 0.96
Median: 0.64
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 1.96
Q3: 1.01
Median: 0.64
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00
MCK: --

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	CVS	MCK
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.87	0.89
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.96	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.74	0.94

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 2.74% and McKesson (MCK) at 0.36% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.74%

CVS: 2.74%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.36%

MCK: 0.36%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 70.18% and McKesson (MCK) at 8.80% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

70.18%

CVS: 70.18%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

8.80%

MCK: 8.80%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	CVS	MCK
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.74%	0.36%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	70.18%	8.80%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 25.53 and McKesson (MCK) at 24.33 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.53

Max: 79.35
Q3: 45.56
Median: 27.58
CVS: 25.53
Q1: 20.24
Min: 1.56

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

24.33

Max: 79.35
Q3: 45.56
Median: 27.58
MCK: 24.33
Q1: 20.24
Min: 1.56

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 0.30 and McKesson (MCK) at 0.26 fetch a relatively low price per dollar of sales, landing in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.30

Max: 9.55
Q3: 4.54
Median: 2.26
Q1: 1.13
CVS: 0.30
Min: 0.03

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.26

Max: 9.55
Q3: 4.54
Median: 2.26
Q1: 1.13
MCK: 0.26
Min: 0.03

CVS Health (CVS) 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 -24.84, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile CVS Health (CVS) reports 1.55, ranking against industry peers normally.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.55

Max: 12.65
Q3: 6.10
Median: 3.23
Q1: 1.71
CVS: 1.55
Min: -2.21

MCK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-24.84

Max: 12.65
Q3: 6.10
Median: 3.23
Q1: 1.71
Min: -2.21
MCK: -24.84

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and McKesson (MCK)
Metric	CVS	MCK
P/E Ratio (TTM)	25.53	24.33
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.30	0.26
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.55	-24.84
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	6.53%	6.42%