Total prescription dispensing revenue at U.S. retail pharmacies hit $683 billion in 2024, marking a 9% increase from the previous year, according to a June 16 post from the Drug Channels Institute.
The institute calculated estimated total prescription revenue for the 15 largest pharmacy companies in the U.S. based on 2024 calendar year data. COVID-19 vaccine revenue was excluded from the analysis.
Collectively, the top 15 pharmacy companies accounted for about three-fourths of overall dispensing revenue from retail, mail-order, long-term care and specialty pharmacies. Nearly half of that revenue came from CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cigna and UnitedHealth Group. Elevance Health made the list for the first time after acquiring several pharmacy firms in 2024, including Kroger Specialty Pharmacy.
GLP-1s were the main driver of revenue increases last year, accounting for more than 80% of the overall growth.
Here are the 15 largest pharmacies, ranked by total prescription dispensing revenue in 2024:
1. CVS Health — $100.7 billion (14.7% market share)
2. Walgreens Boots Alliance — $99.5 billion (14.6% market share)
3. Cigna — $72.5 billion (10.6% market share)
4. UnitedHealth Group — $46.5 billion (6.8% market share)
5. Walmart Stores — $32.7 billion (4.8% market share)
6. The Kroger Company — $15.3 billion (2.2% market share)
7. Humana — $10.7 billion (1.6% market share)
8. Rite Aid Corp. — $10.1 billion (1.5% market share)
9. Publix — $9.8 billion (1.4% market share)
10. Albertsons Companies — $9.5 billion (1.4% market share)
11. BrightSpring Health Services — $8.8 billion (1.3% market share)
12. Elevance Health — $5.6 billion (0.8% market share)
13. PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy — $4.7 billion (0.7% market share)
14. Costco Wholesale Corporation — $4.2 billion (0.6% market share)
15. Ahold Delhaize — $3.1 billion (0.4% market share)
