Industry Statistics and Trends
Market size and recent performance (2015-2030)
Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 2.2 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $8.3bn in 2025.
Trends and Insights
A booming demand for GLP-1s drives growth but creates financial pressures
- Pharmaceutical wholesaling has experienced strong growth over the past five years. The dominant distributors—Cardinal Health, Cencora and McKesson—will account for over 90.0% of domestic drug distribution revenue in 2025. Revenue growth reflects increased patient demand, higher prescription volumes and the widespread adoption of new therapies, particularly anti-obesity and diabetes drugs in the GLP-1 class. For example, data from the Drug Channels Institute estimates that in 2023, GLP-1 products contributed 42.0% to wholesalers’ overall revenue growth, while during the first half of 2024, they were responsible for 29.0%.
- Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Source: IBISWorld
Industry outlook (2025-2030)
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Trends and Insights
Demographic shifts will underpin rising drug spending
- Demographic shifts, especially a sustained increase in adults aged 65 and older, will drive continued growth in drug spending and use. This aging trend, together with higher rates of chronic disease and longer lifespans supported by improved health and nutrition, will expand the market for prescription and non-prescription drugs, specialty medications and wellness products. As more patients seek ways to manage complex conditions, demand for pharmaceuticals will rise, supporting a strong outlook for pharmaceutical distribution.
Biggest companies in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling in the US
| Company | Market Share (%)
2025 | Revenue
2025 | Profit
2025 | Profit Margin (%)
2025 |
|---|
There are no companies that hold a market share exceeding 5% in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling in the US industry.
Products & Services Segmentation
Source: IBISWorld
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Prescription drugs, Nonprescription drugs and Specialty pharmaceuticals. Prescription drugs is the largest segment of the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling in the US.
Trends and Insights
Prescription drugs drive the bulk of pharmaceutical wholesale revenue
- Prescription drugs are regulated pharmaceutical agents that must be prescribed by a licensed medical professional, such as a physician and are used to prevent or treat medical conditions or diseases. This broad category encompasses all medications requiring authorization from a healthcare provider, ranging from common antibiotics and medications for chronic diseases to more complex treatments. It includes both generic and branded products across various therapeutic classes.
- More insights available in the full report
Table of Contents
About this industry
Industry definition
Pharmacy wholesalers act as intermediaries between pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and healthcare providers. They purchase large quantities of medications, medical supplies and related healthcare products from manufacturers and distribute them to pharmacies and other healthcare facilities.
What's included in this industry?
Products and services covered in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States include Antibiotics wholesaling, Prescription drugs wholesaling, Antiseptics wholesaling, Nonprescription drugs wholesaling, Vitamins wholesaling and Vaccine wholesaling.Companies
Companies covered in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States include .Purchase this report to view all major companies in this industry.
Related Terms
Related terms covered in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States include over-the-counter (otc) medication, generic drug, specialty drug and prescription drug.Industry Code
NAICS 424210 - Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling in the US
Performance
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
Analyst insights
Pharmaceutical wholesalers’ role in the drug supply chain is expanding. While rising prescription drug utilization demands more from wholesalers, regulatory, pricing and comp...
In this chapter (4)
- Current Performance
- Outlook
- Volatility
- Life Cycle
Key metrics
- Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
- Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
- Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
- Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business
Charts
- Revenue, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
- Employees, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
- Businesses, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
- Profit, including historical (2015-2025)
- Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
- Industry Life Cycle
Detailed analysis
- Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
- Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
- Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility
- How contribution to GDP, industry saturation, innovation, consolidation, and technology and systems influence the industry's life cycle phase.
Products and Markets
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
Analyst insight
Brand name drugs are the bulk of wholesalers’ revenue. While branded drugs cost wholesalers more to procure, their higher price tags for downstream buyers support revenue.
In this chapter
- Products & Services
- Major Markets
Key metrics
- Largest market segment and value in 2025
- Product innovation level
Charts
- Products & services segmentation in 2025
- Major market segmentation in 2025
Detailed analysis
- Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
- Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
- Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
- Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services
Geographic Breakdown
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
Analyst insights
The Mid-Atlantic’s active pharmaceutical centers provide wholesalers with an existing infrastructure. Pharmaceutical hubs, including manufacturers, healthcare providers and o...
In this chapter (1)
- Business Locations
Charts
- Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each state
- Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2025
Tables
- Number and share of establishments in each state in 2025
- Number and share of revenue each state accounts for in 2025
- Number and share of wages each state accounts for in 2025
- Number and share of employees in each state in 2025
Detailed analysis
- Geographic spread of the industry across North America, and trends associated with changes in the business landscape
- Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage
Competitive Forces
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
Analyst insights
Consolidating pharmacy chains puts added pressure on wholesalers. As pharmacy chains consolidate, the volume of drugs they order becomes concentrated among fewer entities, cr...
In this chapter (4)
- Concentration
- Barriers to Entry
- Substitutes
- Buyer & Supplier Analysis
Key metrics
- Industry concentration level
- Industry competition level and trend
- Barriers to entry level and trend
- Substitutes level and trend
- Buyer power level and trend
- Supplier power level and trend
Charts
- Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2020-2025
- Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart
Detailed analysis
- Factors impacting the industry’s level of concentration, such as business distribution, new entrants, or merger and acquisition activity.
- Key success factors for businesses to manage the competitive environment of the industry.
- Challenges that potential industry entrants face such as legal, start-up costs, differentiation, labor/capital intensity and capital expenses.
- Key success factors for potential entrants to overcome barriers to entry.
- Competitive threats from potential substitutes for the industry’s own products and services.
- Key success factors for how successful businesses can compete with substitutes.
- Advantages that buyers have to keep favorable purchasing conditions.
- Advantages that suppliers have to maintain favorable selling conditions.
- Key success factors for how businesses can navigate buyer and supplier power.
Companies
There are no companies that hold a market share exceeding 5% in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling in the US industry.
Analyst insights
Three wholesalers control over 90.0% of the entire pharmaceutical wholesale market. Cencora, Cardinal Health and McKesson’s grip on the industry shapes drug distribution acro...
External Environment
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
Analyst insights
Mounting scrutiny targeting drug pricing has largely evaded pharmaceutical wholesalers. The Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against pharmaceutical benefit managers highlig...
In this chapter
- External Drivers
- Regulation & Policy
- Assistance
Key metrics
- Regulation & policy level and trend
- Assistance level and trend
Charts
- Regulation & Policy historical data and forecast (2015-2030)
- Assistance historical data and forecast (2015-2030)
Detailed analysis
- Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance
- Major types of regulations, regulatory bodies, industry standards or specific regulations impacting requirements for industry operators
- Key governmental and non-governmental groups or policies that may provide some relief for industry operators.
Financial Benchmarks
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
Analyst insights
Advances in automation are replacing labor-intensive tasks. While integrating automation requires a significant initial investment in technology, it promises long-term saving...
In this chapter
- Cost Structure
- Financial Ratios
- Key Ratios
Key metrics
- Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
- Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
- Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
- Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio
Charts
- Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2025
- Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2025
- Investment vs. share of economy
Data tables
- Industry Multiples (2018-2023)
- Industry Tax Structure (2018-2023)
- Income Statement (2018-2023)
- Balance Sheet (2018-2023)
- Liquidity Ratios (2018-2023)
- Coverage Ratios (2018-2023)
- Leverage Ratios (2018-2023)
- Operating Ratios (2018-2023)
- Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2015-2030)
- Revenue per Employee (2015-2030)
- Revenue per Enterprise (2015-2030)
- Employees per Establishment (2015-2030)
- Employees per Enterprise (2015-2030)
- Average Wage (2015-2030)
- Wages/Revenue (2015-2030)
- Establishments per Enterprise (2015-2030)
- IVA/Revenue (2015-2030)
- Imports/Demand (2015-2030)
- Exports/Revenue (2015-2030)
Detailed analysis
- Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability
Key Statistics
Industry Data
Data Tables
Including values and annual change:
- Revenue (2015-2030)
- IVA (2015-2030)
- Establishments (2015-2030)
- Enterprises (2015-2030)
- Employment (2015-2030)
- Exports (2015-2030)
- Imports (2015-2030)
- Wages (2015-2030)
Top Questions Answered
Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.
What is the market size of the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States in 2025?
The market size of the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States is $8.3bn in 2025.
How many businesses are there in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States in 2025?
There are 321 businesses in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States, which has declined at a CAGR of 1.3 % between 2020 and 2025.
How may import tariffs affect the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States?
The Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States is unlikely to be materially impacted by import tariffs with imports accounting for a low share of industry revenue.
How may export tariffs affect the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States?
The Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States is unlikely to be materially impacted by export tariffs with exports accounting for a low share of industry revenue.
Has the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States grown or declined over the past 5 years?
The market size of the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States has been declining at a CAGR of 2.2 % between 2020 and 2025.
What is the forecast growth of the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States over the next 5 years?
Over the next five years, the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States is expected to grow.
What does the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States include?
Antibiotics wholesaling and Prescription drugs wholesaling are part of the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States.
How competitive is the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States?
The level of competition is very high and increasing in the Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling industry in the United States.
Methodology
How are IBISWorld reports created?
IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.
Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.
IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.
What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?
Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.
Key data sources in the US include:
- US Census Bureau
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics
- US International Trade Commission
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
- Industry and trade associations
- Industry federations or regulators
- Major industry players annual or quarterly filings
Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.
How does IBISWorld forecast its data?
IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.
IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.
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