McKesson raises annual revenue forecast on sturdy demand for specialty medication

(Reuters) -Drug distributor McKesson raised its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast on Wednesday, betting on sturdy progress in its oncology and specialty drug distribution companies.

Shares of the corporate rose about 2% in prolonged buying and selling.

Drug distributors in the USA are increasing their presence out there for specialty medicines, which deal with complicated circumstances similar to rheumatoid arthritis and most cancers, because of their excessive revenue margins.

McKesson now expects adjusted earnings per share within the vary of $38.35 to $38.85 for fiscal 2026, in comparison with its earlier outlook of $38.05 to $38.55 per share. Analysts, on common, anticipate a revenue of $38.33 per share, in accordance with knowledge compiled by LSEG.

Earlier on Wednesday, peer Cencora additionally raised its 2026 revenue forecast and stated it is going to make investments over $1 billion by way of 2030 to develop its U.S. community.

On an adjusted foundation, McKesson earned $9.86 per share within the quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of $9.02 per share.

The corporate reported second-quarter income of $103.15 billion, in comparison with expectations of $104.13 billion.

The drug distributor’s U.S. pharmaceutical unit — its largest phase by income — recorded gross sales of $86.5 billion. That was 8% increased than final yr, however missed the consensus estimate of $87.40 billion.

In September, McKesson stated it could restructure into 4 segments to sharpen concentrate on high-margin companies, similar to most cancers medicines, to spice up progress.

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Modifying by Alan Barona)