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Most investors know the rule to buy low and avoid the top, and McKesson Corporation (MCK) stock is now on the wrong side of it. The shares closed at a 52-week high of $1,030.12 on October 20, 2026, and at $980.88 on October 29. By that rule, this is a poor time to buy them. Yet the stock has set many highs before, and the people who bought at them already know how their first year went. Does the rule hold for McKesson?
How McKesson Stock Reached Its High
Profit backed McKesson stock's climb to its high and grew even faster than the share price. The shares also jumped 5.3% on October 1, when McKesson extended its drug distribution deal with CVS Health through June 2032. The shares rose 21.9% over the past year before dividends, while net income for the twelve months to June 2026 rose 45.1% from the year before .
This means investors now pay less for McKesson's earnings, not more. Its price-to-earnings multiple, or what investors pay for each dollar of profit, fell from about 32 a year ago to 25.4 now. The whole rise in the price therefore came from higher earnings. Still, reported net income for the latest quarter to June 2026 was lower than a year earlier, though management said adjusted earnings per share rose 20%.
Most of McKesson's sales come from its North American Pharmaceutical business. This medicine distribution segment grew 10.6% in the fiscal year that ended in March 2026. Its Oncology & Multispecialty business serves cancer and other specialist doctors, and it grew faster at 31.4%.
When one business brings most sales, a faster-growing second one keeps growth from resting on it alone. A recent example: Tesla drew 98% of last quarter's deliveries from the Model 3 and Model Y after shelving its $25,000 car. Read Trefis Big Story: How Tesla Blundered .
What Happened After McKesson Stock's Earlier Highs?
The question worth asking is not whether the price is too high, but what happened to people who bought McKesson at its earlier highs. Take a guess: of the 12 earlier 52-week highs McKesson set from October 2016 to October 2025, after how many was the stock higher a year later? The answer is 11. Here is each of those highs and where the stock stood a year later.
| 52-week high |
Stock a year later |
S&P 500, same year |
Lowest point in that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2018 |
-27.6% |
-5.8% |
-36.6% |
| Jul 2019 |
+8.5% |
+4.5% |
-17.8% |
| Jan 2020 |
+18.7% |
+15.4% |
-24.9% |
| Nov 2020 |
+22.9% |
+32.0% |
-5.0% |
| May 2021 |
+59.3% |
-6.1% |
-8.8% |
| Nov 2021 |
+64.0% |
-15.7% |
-4.4% |
| May 2022 |
+14.2% |
+3.6% |
-10.7% |
| May 2023 |
+40.8% |
+27.5% |
-4.2% |
| Jan 2024 |
+19.6% |
+23.7% |
0.0% |
| Jul 2024 |
+14.6% |
+14.7% |
-21.4% |
| Feb 2025 |
+55.5% |
+14.5% |
-0.1% |
| Sep 2025 |
+17.3% |
+15.7% |
-2.2% |
The middle result was a gain of 19.1% a year later. Buying at a high has rarely been a mistake in McKesson's case.
Is A High A Worse Time To Buy?
Not by much, in McKesson's case. Buying on any trading day over the same years yielded a middle gain of 23.1% a year later, which is a little more than the gain after a high. Yet a loss was no more likely after a high. Buyers on any day were higher a year later 85.7% of the time, a smaller share than buyers at a high. A
high has therefore been about as good a time to buy McKesson as any other day.
What Should A Buyer At A High Expect?
A buyer at a McKesson high should expect a dip below the price paid, and a high can go badly. The worst case followed the January 2018 high: the stock was down 27.6% a year later in January 2019.
Three of the 12 highs were followed by a fall of 20% or more at some point in the year, but most dips were much smaller. At its lowest point in the year after a high, McKesson stock was typically 6.9% below the price a buyer paid.
How To Act On MCK?
Now you know McKesson better. Our purpose is to inform you so you can decide for yourself, and acting on one stock, in either direction, carries its own risk.
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