McKesson misses quarterly revenue as U.S. pharmaceutical segment weighs, ET HealthWorld

London: McKesson Corp reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter revenue on Wednesday due to soft demand for branded and specialty drugs that dragged sales down in its U.S. pharmaceuticals segment.

The drug distributor’s pharmaceutical segment in the U.S. is its largest unit by revenue that sells drugs used to treat complex conditions such as cancer.

The segment recorded a 7 per cent rise in first-quarter revenue to $71.7 billion, but fell short of analysts’ expectations of $74.1 billion. The Texas-headquartered company raised its fiscal 2025 adjusted per-share profit to between $31.75 and $32.55 compared to its previous forecast of $31.25 to $32.05 per share.

Analysts on average estimated $31.74 per share, according to LSEG data.

Last month, its smaller peer Cencora also raised its annual profit forecast driven by strong demand for high-priced specialty medicines.

On an adjusted basis, McKesson posted per-share profit of $7.88 for the quarter ended June 30, versus analysts’ estimate of $7.21 per share.

The company’s total revenue rose about 6% to $79.28 billion, short of analysts’ estimate of $82.53 billion.

The rise in sales in the reported quarter was helped by higher volumes from specialty products and partly by the demand for GLP-1 medications.

Shares of the company fell about 6% in aftermarket trading. (Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)