Healthcare · Profile from Healthcare Research Companion
Cencora, Inc. (formerly AmerisourceBergen)
The second-largest US drug wholesaler. It was formed in 2001 when AmeriSource and Bergen Brunswig merged, after regulators had blocked both firms from joining larger rivals. Its defining relationship is with Walgreens: a 2013 deal made it Walgreens' supplier and gave Walgreens a stake that reached ~26% by 2017 and ~28% at its early-2022 peak, and in 2021 it bought most of Walgreens Boots Alliance's European wholesale business. Revenue was ~$321bn in fiscal 2025 on operating margins of about 1%. Its strategy leans harder than its rivals' toward specialty drugs: oncology and specialty distribution, manufacturer services and, since 2024, ownership stakes in specialist physician groups. It renamed itself Cencora in 2023.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2001, by merger of AmeriSource Health (Chesterbrook/Malvern, Pennsylvania) and Bergen Brunswig (Orange, California). Roots go back to Bergen Drug (New Jersey, 1888) and Brunswig Drug (Los Angeles, 1880s) on one side, and Alco Health Services on the other
- Founders / formative leaders
- R. David Yost (AmeriSource CEO, first CEO of AmerisourceBergen, 2001–2011); Robert E. Martini (Bergen Brunswig, first chairman); Steven H. Collis (CEO 2011–2024)
- Headquarters
- 1 West First Avenue, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (FY2025 10-K); earlier Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania (verify date of move)
- Ownership / structure
- Public company, NYSE: COR (ticker ABC until the August 2023 rename). Walgreens Boots Alliance held ~26% by 2017, peaking at ~28% in early 2022, then sold down to ~6% by February 2025, with ~12.6m remaining shares pledged under forward contracts maturing in 2025 (WBA release; whether any position remains is unconfirmed, verify)
- Leadership (2026)
- Robert P. Mauch, President and CEO (since October 2024); Eva C. Boratto, EVP and CFO from 29 June 2026 (ex-CVS and Bath & Body Works CFO), succeeding James F. Cleary (CFO since November 2018)
- Segments
- U.S. Healthcare Solutions (pharmaceutical distribution, specialty distribution and services, physician-group platforms, consulting) and International Healthcare Solutions (Alliance Healthcare wholesale, World Courier, PharmaLex, Innomar in Canada)
- Payer and patient
- Customers are retail and mail pharmacies (Walgreens and Express Scripts are the largest), health systems, specialty physician practices (oncology, retina, urology), veterinarians, and drug manufacturers that pay distribution and service fees. Patients rarely see the name
- Scale
- FY2025 (year to September 2025) revenue $321.3bn (+9.3%); GAAP EPS $7.96; adjusted EPS $16.00 (+16.3%); FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance $17.45–$17.75 at the start of the year, raised to $17.75–$17.95 in August 2026 (reported). ~51,000 employees worldwide (FY2025 10-K)
- Capital / market cap
- Self-funding from operating cash flow and investment-grade debt; large acquisitions funded with debt (Alliance Healthcare 2021, Retina Consultants of America 2025, OneOncology 2026). Non-affiliate market value ~$38bn at 31 March 2025 (FY2025 10-K); higher in 2025–26 as the shares rose (current level not rechecked)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- AmeriSource–Bergen Brunswig merger (2001); Walgreens–Alliance Boots distribution pact and warrants (2013); PharMEDium acquisition and closure (2015–2020); specialty-syringe guilty plea and $625m False Claims settlement (2017–18); national opioid settlement (2021–22); Alliance Healthcare acquisition (2021); Walgreens stake sell-down (2022–25); rename to Cencora and PharmaLex (2023, with a 2025 impairment); specialty MSO push via Retina Consultants of America and OneOncology (2024–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2001
AmeriSource Bergen Brunswig Merger
Merger
2013
Walgreens Alliance Boots Pact and Warrants
Partnership / equity stake
2015
PharMEDium Acquisition and Closure
Acquisition (failed; later shut down)
2017
Specialty Syringe Plea and FCA Settlement
Regulatory settlement (criminal plea and civil False Claims Act settlement)
2021
Alliance Healthcare Acquisition
Acquisition
2021
National Opioid Settlement
Regulatory settlement
2022
Walgreens Stake Selldown
Ownership change (largest shareholder exits; concurrent buybacks)
2023
Rename to Cencora and PharmaLex
Rebrand / acquisition
2024
Specialty MSO Push RCA and OneOncology
Acquisition / vertical integration