Pharmacies earned a record $548 billion from prescription dispensing revenues in 2022, and 15 pharmacies account for 75 percent of that figure, according to Drug Channels.
The market share from the top 15 dipped from 2020 to 2021 and again from 2021 to 2022, according to past reports. They accounted for 78.6 percent of the market in 2020, 76.9 percent in 2021 and 75.6 percent in 2022, according to the site's past reports.
The decrease from 2021 to 2022 is because of Walgreens' losses after the Prime Therapeutics deal, the report said.
Five of the largest pharmaceutical companies are owned by companies that also have a pharmacy benefit manager, including CVS with Caremark, Cigna with Express Scripts, Centene with Envolve Health, Humana with CenterWell and UnitedHealth Group with Optum.
Top 15 ranked by prescription revenue:
1. CVS Health Corp. — $140.1 billion (chain, long-term care, mail and specialty)
2. Walgreens Boots Alliance — $85.2 billion (chain, mail and specialty)
3. Cigna (Evernorth/Express Scripts) — $61.3 billion (mail and specialty)
4. UnitedHealth Group (OptumRx) — $37.8 billion (mail, specialty and community)
5. Walmart Stores — $24.1 billion (mass merchant, mail and specialty)
6. The Kroger Co. — $16.8 billion (supermarket and specialty)
7. Rite Aid Corp. — $12.9 billion (chain, mail and specialty)
8. Humana (CenterWell) — $9.7 billion (mail and specialty)
9. Albertsons Co. — $6.4 billion (supermarket)
10. Publix — $6.1 billion (supermarket)
11. Costco Wholesale Corp. — $3 billion (mass merchant)
12. BrightSpring Health Services — $2.8 billion (long-term care)
13. Centene (Envolve Health) — $2.7 billion (specialty)
14. Ahold Delhaize — $2.7 billion (supermarket)
15. CarepathRx — $2.4 billion (specialty)
The 2023 ranking will likely shift with the upcoming merger of Albertsons and Kroger, and CarepathRx's plan to sell its BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy to Elevance Health, the report said.