MCKESSON CORP

We experience costly and disruptive legal disputes.

We are routinely named as a defendant in litigation or regulatory proceedings and other legal disputes, which may include asserted class action litigation, such as those described in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. Regulatory proceedings involve allegations such as false claims, healthcare fraud and abuse, and antitrust violations. Civil litigation proceedings involve commercial, employment, environmental, intellectual property, tort, and other claims. Despite valid defenses that we assert, legal disputes are often costly, time-consuming, distracting to management, and disruptive to normal business operations. The uncertainty and expense associated with unresolved legal disputes might harm our business and reputation even if the matter ultimately is favorably resolved. The outcome of legal disputes is difficult to predict, and outcomes may occur that we believe are not justified by the evidence or existing law. Outcomes include monetary damages, penalties and fines, and injunctive or other relief that requires us to change our business operations and incur significant expense. Accordingly, legal disputes might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.

We experience losses not covered by insurance or indemnification.

Our business exposes us to risks that are inherent in the distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, and administration of pharmaceuticals and medical-surgical supplies, the provision of ancillary services, the conduct of our payer businesses, practice support services, and the provision of products that assist clinical decision-making and relate to patient medical histories and treatment plans. For example, pharmacy operations are exposed to risks such as improper filling of prescriptions, mislabeling of prescriptions, inadequacy of warnings, unintentional distribution of counterfeit drugs, and expiration of drugs. Although we seek to maintain adequate insurance coverage, such as property insurance for inventory and professional and general liability insurance, coverages on acceptable terms might be unavailable, or coverages might not cover our losses. We generally seek to limit our contractual exposure, but limitations of liability or indemnity provisions in our contracts may not be enforceable or adequately protect us from liability. Uninsured or non-indemnified losses might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.

We experience costly legal disputes, government actions, and adverse publicity regarding our role in distributing controlled substances such as opioids.

The Company is a defendant in many litigation matters alleging claims related to the distribution of controlled substances (opioids), as described in Financial Note 17, “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities,” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report. We are sometimes named as a defendant in similar, new cases. The plaintiffs in those cases include governmental entities (such as states, provinces, counties, and municipalities) as well as businesses, groups, and individuals. The cases allege violations of controlled substance laws and other laws, and they make common law claims such as negligence and public nuisance. Many of these cases raise novel theories of liability and can have unexpected outcomes that we believe are not justified by evidence or existing law. Legal proceedings such as these often involve significant expense, management time and distraction, and risk of loss that can be difficult to predict or quantify. It is not uncommon for claims to be resolved over many years. Outcomes include monetary damages, penalties and fines, and injunctive or other relief that requires us to change our business operations and incur significant expense. Although the Company has valid defenses and is vigorously defending itself, some proceedings have been and others may be resolved by negotiated outcome. For example, we are subject to consent decrees issued by state courts that govern our distribution of controlled substances. Not all proceedings, however, are resolved by settlement. Our reputation has been and may continue to be impacted by publicity regarding opioids litigation and related allegations. An adverse outcome of any such legal proceedings might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.

We experience increased costs to distribute controlled substances such as opioids.

Legislative, regulatory, or industry measures related to the distribution of controlled substances such as prescription opioids could affect our business in ways that we may not be able to predict. For example, some states have passed legislation that could require us to pay taxes or assessments on the distribution of opioid medications in those states and other states have considered similar legislation. Liabilities for taxes or assessments or other costs of compliance under any such laws might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.

We are subject to extensive, complex, and challenging healthcare, environmental, and other laws.

As described in “Government Regulation” in Item 1 of Part I above, our industry is highly regulated, and further regulation of our distribution businesses, technology products, and services could impose increased costs, negatively impact our profit margins and the profit margins of our customers, delay the introduction or implementation of our new products, or otherwise negatively impact our business and expose the Company to litigation and regulatory investigations. We incur cleanup costs under environmental laws and may incur additional costs under environmental laws. Additionally, we are subject to various routine and ad hoc inspections and requests for information by government agencies to determine compliance with various statutes and regulations. Any noncompliance by us with applicable laws or the failure to maintain, renew, or obtain necessary permits and licenses could lead to enforcement actions or litigation and might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.

We are subject to extensive and frequently changing laws relating to healthcare fraud, waste, and abuse.

As described in “Government Regulation” in Item 1 of Part I above, federal, state, and local governmental entities in the U.S. and elsewhere continue to strengthen their position and scrutiny over practices that may indicate fraud, waste, and abuse affecting government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Those laws may be interpreted or applied in a manner that could require us to make changes in our operations at added expense. Failures to comply with those laws, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, might expose us to federal or state government investigations or qui tam actions, and to liability for damages and civil and criminal penalties. Such failures might result in the loss of licenses or our ability to participate in Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal and state healthcare programs, or pursue government contracts. These sanctions might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.

We might lose our ability to purchase, compound, store, or distribute pharmaceuticals and controlled substances.

As described in “Government Regulation” in Item 1 of Part I above, we are subject to the operating, quality, regulatory, and security requirements of the DEA, the FDA, various state boards of pharmacy, state health departments, the CMS, and other comparable agencies. Noncompliance with these requirements can result in inspectional observations, warning letters, product recalls, seizures, injunctions, and other administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement actions. Noncompliance, enforcement actions, or adverse decisions by regulators, or the inability to obtain, maintain, or renew permits, licenses, or other regulatory approvals needed for the operation of our businesses might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations and our financial position or results of operations.

Privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity laws increase our compliance burden.

As described in “Government Regulation” in Item 1 of Part I above, we are subject to a variety of privacy and data protection laws that change frequently and have requirements that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Failure to comply with these laws subjects us to potential regulatory enforcement activity, fines, private litigation including class actions, reputational impacts, and other costs. We also have contractual obligations that might be breached if we fail to comply with privacy and data security laws. Our efforts to comply with privacy and data security laws complicate our operations and add to our costs. A significant privacy breach or failure to comply with privacy and data security laws, by us or by external service providers, vendors, or other third parties with which we do business, might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.

Anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws increase our compliance burden.

We are subject to laws prohibiting improper payments and bribery, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, and similar regulations in other jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with these laws might subject us to civil and criminal penalties that might have a materially adverse impact on our reputation, our business operations, and our financial position or results of operations.