McKessonvs.UnitedHealth
MCK vs UNH · both in Distribution & pharmacy infrastructure, part of the Medicine, pharma & life science value chain: Wholesalers, distribution and pharmacy chains that get medicines to patients.
UnitedHealth is about 3.6× larger than McKesson by market cap; McKesson trades at the lower P/E (21.9 vs 25.6); year to date, UnitedHealth leads (+20.8% vs +6.5%).
Side by side
| MCK | UNH | |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $101B | $362B |
| Price | $905.09 | $396.59 |
| Today | +3.6% | −0.5% |
| Return YTD | +6.5% | +20.8% |
| Return 1Y | +26.7% | +29.7% |
| P/E | 21.9 | 25.6 |
| P/S | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| P/B | 17.1 | 3.5 |
Data as of 2026-08-26 · updates daily after U.S. close
The two companies
McKessonMCK
Medicines reach the counter through wholesalers, and McKesson is one of them: its customers run from pharmacies to hospitals and clinics across the US. Alongside distribution it sells services to pharmacy operators and runs an oncology network.
Full MCK profile →UnitedHealthUNH
Insurance is UnitedHealthcare's job. Optum is everything else: clinics on the ground, Optum Rx managing pharmacy benefits and a health data business behind both. Insurer and care provider sit under a single owner.
Full UNH profile →More MCK & UNH comparisons
Other head-to-heads in the Distribution & pharmacy infrastructure segment.