McKesson Stock Rides An 8-Day Winning Streak To An 11% Gain
McKesson (MCK) stock is on an 8-day winning streak, up 11.0% since the run began. That added about $11.9 billion to the company’s market value, which now stands at about $119.9 billion. The stock closed at $1,010.43 on Monday, October 19, its highest close of the past year.
MCK Versus The S&P 500
Returns for MCK and the S&P 500 over the streak and the periods around it, all ending Monday, October 19 and including dividends:
| Return Period | MCK | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Day | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| 8 Days (Current Streak) | 11.0% | -1.4% |
| 1 Month (21 Trading Days) | 15.5% | 0.6% |
| 3 Months (63 Trading Days) | 22.0% | 2.7% |
| Year To Date | 23.5% | 13.4% |
| 1 Year (252 Trading Days) | 30.8% | 17.4% |
Is This Move About McKesson Or The Market?
The market explains little of this: the S&P 500 lost 1.4% over the same 8 sessions, including dividends, against McKesson’s +11.0%. 3 other S&P 500 stocks are currently on winning streaks of 8 days or longer. Over the past three months the stock is up 22.0%, a window that includes the streak; over the other 55 sessions of that window it was up 9.9%.
What The Numbers Say About The Rally
On the fundamentals, revenue grew 8.8% over the last twelve months, against a median of 8.1% for S&P 500 Health Care stocks; its operating margin is 1.7%, versus a median of 17.6%; and the stock trades at 26.1 times trailing earnings against a median of 27.9. The read is mixed: revenue growth above the median and a multiple below the median on one side, margins below the median on the other.
A climb like this is worth respecting, and worth testing. Our Guidance Momentum screen tracks the stocks whose companies just raised their own forward numbers.
For anyone who would rather back the theme than one company, a health care ETF like XLV holds the whole group, not just this stock. It is still a concentrated bet on one theme, which is the gap the portfolio below is built to close.
Streaks End. Discipline Compounds
A run like this is genuinely useful information: something about this business has the market’s full attention. But streaks are where discipline gets tested, because the urge to chase strength is strongest right before it pauses.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio channels that urge into a system: roughly 30 businesses selected for consistent cash generation, strong margins, and resilient balance sheets, sized and rebalanced with rules rather than excitement. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Enjoy the streak; own the process.