Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) is a 143-year-old healthcare logistics company, but is it defintely the same distributor you thought you knew?

The company is in the middle of a massive strategic pivot, shedding its traditional Products & Healthcare Services segment to become a pure-play home-based care provider-the Patient Direct business-which is projected to deliver between $2.76 billion and $2.82 billion in revenue for its continuing operations in the 2025 fiscal year. That strategic focus is smart, but with a major customer contract loss representing roughly $242 million in Patient Direct revenue creating a near-term headwind, understanding the full story-from its 1882 founding to its mission of Empowering Our Customers to Advance Healthcare-is crucial.

We need to see how this newly focused model, designed for higher margins and an Adjusted EBITDA of up to $382 million, actually works and makes money in the evolving home-based care market.

Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) History

You're looking for the bedrock of Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI), and honestly, it's a story of constant reinvention. What started as a local drugstore distributor in the 19th century is now a global healthcare logistics powerhouse, especially after the strategic pivot toward home-based care in late 2025. This evolution wasn't accidental; it was driven by a series of tough, transformative decisions, especially in the last few years.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

The company's roots run deep, stretching back over 140 years. That kind of longevity in a dynamic industry like healthcare distribution is defintely a testament to its adaptability.

Year established

The company was officially founded in 1882.

Original location

It began as the Owens & Minor Drug Company in downtown Richmond, Virginia.

Founding team members

The business was established by two former traveling salesmen and rivals in the wholesale drug trade: Otho O. Owens and George Gilmer Minor, II (sometimes referred to as Sr.).

Initial capital/funding

Specific dollar amounts aren't available-that's typical for 1882 businesses-but the founders secured crucial funding from partners at Brown, Davis, & Co., a grocery wholesaler. This initial backing allowed them to focus on underserved rural and small-town pharmacists.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

The company's history is a clear map of strategic acquisitions and divestitures, showing a deliberate move from a regional drug wholesaler to a diversified, global medical supply chain expert. The core shift was moving into medical/surgical supplies, and then, more recently, into direct-to-patient care.

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The biggest story here is the company's recent strategic pivot, which is dramatically reshaping its future. The old model of broadline medical-surgical distribution is giving way to a focused home-based care platform.

Here's the quick math: the full-year 2025 revenue guidance is between $10.85 billion and $11.15 billion, with Adjusted EBITDA projected in the range of $560 million to $590 million. But what's truly transformative is how that revenue is being generated now and what's coming next.

• The 1990s Shift to Fee-for-Service: The company pioneered a fee-for-service logistics pricing model (OMSolutions), moving away from the traditional cost-plus model. This positioned them as a supply chain management partner, not just a box mover.
• The Direct-to-Patient Pivot: The 2017 acquisition of Byram Healthcare and the 2022 acquisition of Apria, Inc. were the game-changers. This created the Patient Direct segment, which is now the core focus.
• The 2025 Strategic Sale: The most recent and critical decision is the announced sale of the Products & Healthcare Services segment in late 2025. This is a massive simplification, pivoting the company to focus almost entirely on the more attractive home-based care space.

To be fair, this focus is already showing up in the numbers: the Patient Direct segment's reported revenue from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2025 was $697.3 million. That's a clear signal of where the company is putting its capital and energy. If you want to dive deeper into the ownership and who is betting on this new direction, you can check out Exploring Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

The company is simplifying to be stronger. That's the takeaway.

Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Ownership Structure

Owens & Minor, Inc. is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: OMI), and its control is overwhelmingly held by institutional investors, a common feature for established healthcare logistics firms. This structure means large funds, not individual shareholders, drive the majority of the company's governance and trading volume.

Owens & Minor's Current Status

As of November 2025, Owens & Minor is strategically transitioning to focus on its Patient Direct segment, which is centered on home-based care, following the announced divestiture of its Products & Healthcare Services segment. This streamlined focus is expected to drive value in the growing home healthcare market, a smart move given favorable demographic trends. The company's full-year 2025 guidance for continuing operations projects Revenue between $2.76 billion and $2.82 billion, with Adjusted EBITDA expected to range from $376 million to $382 million. You can dig deeper into the company's financial health and its strategic pivot in Breaking Down Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Owens & Minor's Ownership Breakdown

The ownership structure is heavily concentrated among institutional holders, which includes major asset managers like BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. This level of institutional control-nearly all of the outstanding shares-means management is defintely sensitive to the concerns of a few large, sophisticated investors. Here's the quick math on the breakdown:

Owens & Minor's Leadership

The company's strategic direction is steered by a seasoned executive team and an independent board, ensuring governance aligns with the new Patient Direct focus. The leadership has been making clear, decisive moves to simplify the business model.

• Mark A. Beck: Chair of the Board of Directors (appointed in 2020), providing independent oversight and governance.
• Edward A. Pesicka: President & Chief Executive Officer (since March 2019), leading the transformation into a pure-play Patient Direct entity.
• Jonathan A. Leon: Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (appointed September 2024), responsible for the financial strategy and capital deployment for the focused business.
• Perry A. Bernocchi: Executive Vice President, CEO, Patient Direct, who is now leading the core, high-growth business segment.
• Heath H. Galloway: Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, managing legal and corporate governance matters.
• Jennifer A. Stone: Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, focusing on talent and culture to support the organizational pivot.

Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Mission and Values

Owens & Minor, Inc.'s core purpose is clear: to be the essential partner in healthcare, which they codify through a mission focused on empowering customers and a vision to be the dynamic leader connecting patients and providers. This isn't just corporate speak; it's the cultural DNA that guides their strategic pivot to a pure-play Patient Direct business, which is projected to generate between $2.76 billion and $2.82 billion in revenue for the 2025 fiscal year.

Owens & Minor's Core Purpose

You need to know what drives a company beyond its balance sheet, and for Owens & Minor, it's a commitment to the entire healthcare ecosystem, from the hospital to the home. Their long-term aspirations are grounded in a set of core values-IDEAL-that shape every decision, especially as they navigate the divestiture of their Products & Healthcare Services segment, focusing on the higher-margin Patient Direct segment.

Official mission statement

The mission statement is the daily mandate for the company, and it's surprisingly direct. It puts the customer-the healthcare provider-at the center of their operations.

• EMPOWERING OUR CUSTOMERS TO ADVANCE HEALTHCARE®.

This means their work is about more than just moving boxes; it's about providing the logistics and products that let doctors, nurses, and other providers focus on patient care. Honestly, if they fail at supply chain efficiency, the mission fails, so the stakes are defintely high.

Their core values, known internally as IDEAL, are the bedrock for executing this mission:

• Integrity: Upholding the highest ethical standards.
• Development: Fostering growth for teammates and partners.
• Excellence: Delivering superior results.
• Accountability: Taking ownership of actions and outcomes.
• Listening: Understanding customer and teammate needs.

Vision statement

The vision statement maps out the long-term destination, tying their distribution expertise directly into the patient journey, a critical factor as home-based care expands. This ambition guides their 2025 financial outlook, which projects total revenue between $10.85 billion and $11.15 billion.

• To Be the Unstoppable and Dynamic Leader that Connects Patients and Providers to Trusted Healthcare Products and Solutions.

This vision is why they are investing in automation and technology, like the new distribution centers opening in 2025 in West Virginia and South Dakota, to create a more resilient supply chain (a nod to Excellence). If you want to see how this translates to investor value, you should be Exploring Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Owens & Minor slogan/tagline

The company's purpose statement, which acts as its tagline, is a simple phrase that attempts to capture the human element of their work, recognizing that their behind-the-scenes logistics enable life-saving care.

• Life Takes Care™.

This tagline, unveiled in late 2023, is meant to be more than a motto; it's the guiding principle that connects the work of their more than 20,000 teammates worldwide to the patient. It's a powerful and empathetic statement for a company whose adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $560 million and $590 million in 2025.

Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) How It Works

Owens & Minor, Inc. is rapidly transforming into a focused, pure-play home-based care provider, shifting from its legacy role as a broad-based healthcare logistics and products company. The company now primarily generates revenue by delivering essential medical supplies, equipment, and clinical services directly to patients managing chronic conditions in their homes, a model known as the Patient Direct segment.

This strategic pivot, solidified by the announced sale of the Products & Healthcare Services segment, concentrates the business on the higher-margin, high-growth home-based care market, which is expected to generate full-year 2025 revenue between $2.76 billion and $2.82 billion from continuing operations. If you want to dive deeper into who is betting on this shift, you can check out Exploring Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Owens & Minor, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

Following the strategic divestiture, the core offerings are centered around the Patient Direct segment, which includes the Apria and Byram brands, serving the rapidly expanding US home healthcare market.

Owens & Minor, Inc.'s Operational Framework

The company's operational strength lies in its ability to manage a complex, high-touch, direct-to-patient supply chain and revenue cycle. They make money by acting as the critical link between manufacturers, payors (like Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance), and the patient.

Here's the quick math on value creation: the Patient Direct segment achieved an adjusted EBITDA between $376 million and $382 million for 2025 continuing operations by focusing on scale and efficiency. That's a strong margin profile.

• Patient Intake and Qualification: Start with referrals from hospitals and physicians; a crucial first step is verifying complex insurance coverage (Durable Medical Equipment or DME) to ensure reimbursement.
• Supply Chain Automation: Use technology to automate warehouse operations and logistics, managing inventory for thousands of specialized products and ensuring timely delivery to patients' doorsteps across the nation.
• Clinical and Technical Support: Provide clinical professionals to set up equipment (like CPAP machines) and offer ongoing support and education to patients, which is defintely a high-value service.
• Revenue Cycle Management (RCM): Improve collection rates and lower working capital needs by streamlining the billing process with payors, which is a major pain point in healthcare.

Owens & Minor, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

In the home-based care space, scale and payor relationships are everything. Owens & Minor's advantages center on its national footprint and its strategic positioning with major healthcare payors, which is a significant barrier to entry for smaller competitors.

• National Scale and Reach: Possess a nationwide distribution network that allows them to service a vast number of patients efficiently, a critical factor for securing large national payor contracts.
• Strategic Payor Partnerships: Secured a nationwide preferred provider agreement with Optum, which is expected to drive organic growth by directing more patients to the company's services.
• Focus on High-Growth Chronic Care: Concentrating investments on high-demand, chronic conditions like diabetes and sleep supplies, where Patient Direct already saw strong performance and mid-teen expansion in EBITDA.
• Technology Investment: Committing capital to technology and automation to lower the cost-to-serve and enhance the patient experience, which is key to long-term profitability.

Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) How It Makes Money

Owens & Minor, Inc. generates its revenue primarily by acting as a direct-to-patient distributor of home medical equipment (HME) and chronic disease supplies, a strategy solidified by its recent divestiture of the lower-margin Products & Healthcare Services segment.

The company's financial engine is now entirely focused on its Patient Direct business, which provides essential products and services for chronic conditions like sleep apnea, diabetes, and urology, leveraging a nationwide distribution network and expertise in insurance reimbursement.

Owens & Minor's Revenue Breakdown

For the full fiscal year 2025, Owens & Minor's continuing operations-the Patient Direct segment-are projected to deliver revenue in the range of $2.76 billion to $2.82 billion, with management anticipating results toward the lower end of that range.

The company's revenue streams are now segmented by the product categories within this high-growth home-based care market, which is driven by favorable demographic trends and a shift in care settings. The table below illustrates the primary components of this revenue base, though the exact internal percentages are not publicly disclosed by the company.

The Home Medical Equipment & Respiratory stream, anchored by the Apria brand, is a dominant portion of the business, focusing heavily on sleep therapy products, which have shown significant growth.

The Chronic Condition Supplies stream, primarily Byram Healthcare, includes supplies for ostomy, urology, and diabetes, with the ostomy and urology categories exhibiting some of the strongest year-over-year growth in 2025.

Business Economics

The core economics of Owens & Minor's Patient Direct business are rooted in a high-margin, scalable distribution model that benefits from secular tailwinds in home-based care. The business operates as a direct-to-patient distributor, managing the complex process of insurance reimbursement (primarily Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers) for durable medical equipment (DME) and supplies.

• Margin Profile: The Patient Direct segment boasts a significantly higher gross margin profile compared to the divested Products & Healthcare Services segment. The segment's Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 14.5% in Q1 2025.
• Operating Leverage: The company is investing in technology and automation to improve its cost-to-serve, aiming to unlock operating leverage. This means as revenue grows, the profit margin should expand because the fixed costs of its national distribution centers and IT infrastructure are spread across a larger patient base.
• Pricing Strategy: Pricing is largely dictated by government and commercial payer reimbursement rates, which introduces regulatory risk, such as potential changes to Medicare's competitive bidding rules. However, the company's scale and preferred provider status, like the new agreement with Optum Health, help secure favorable contract terms and patient volume.
• Growth Drivers: The market for home healthcare is a $459 billion industry, growing at a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), offering a vast runway for growth. The focus on chronic conditions, where demand is non-cyclical, provides a defintely stable revenue base.

The strategic shift to a pure-play Patient Direct model is a high-stakes, calculated bet on margin expansion and simplified operations.

Owens & Minor's Financial Performance

Owens & Minor's financial performance in 2025 reflects the turbulence of a major strategic pivot, but the underlying Patient Direct segment shows solid health and growth. The company is actively managing the financial fallout from the divestiture while focusing on deleveraging its balance sheet.

• 2025 Adjusted EBITDA: Full-year Adjusted EBITDA for continuing operations is projected to be between $376 million and $382 million. For the first nine months of 2025, year-to-date Adjusted EBITDA was $285 million.
• Earnings Per Share (EPS): The full-year 2025 Adjusted Net Income per share is guided to be in the range of $1.02 to $1.07. Year-to-date adjusted net income per share through Q3 2025 was $0.80.
• Debt and Leverage: Net debt stood at approximately $2.1 billion at the end of Q3 2025. Management's priority is to use the proceeds from the Products & Healthcare Services sale to reduce this debt, targeting a leverage ratio below 3x Adjusted EBITDA by 2026.
• Stranded Costs: The divestiture creates temporary financial drag from annualized stranded costs-expenses that remain after a segment is sold-estimated at approximately $40 million for 2025. These costs are expected to decline as the company optimizes its new, simpler structure.

The 5.7% revenue growth and 17% Adjusted EBITDA increase in Patient Direct for Q1 2025 demonstrate the segment's ability to grow both top-line and profitability. You can dive deeper into the market perception and shareholder base by Exploring Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Market Position & Future Outlook

Owens & Minor, Inc. is executing a dramatic strategic pivot, moving from a diversified healthcare solutions provider to a pure-play leader in the high-growth U.S. home-based care market, which is a $70.66 billion industry in 2025. This shift, centered on its Patient Direct segment, aims to simplify the business model and capture higher-margin, recurring revenue, but it introduces near-term execution risk due to the divestiture.

Competitive Landscape

You need to understand that OMI's competitors in its former life-the massive drug distributors-operate on a scale that dwarfs the Patient Direct business. The company's new strategy is not to compete head-to-head on overall revenue, but to dominate a high-growth niche. Here's the quick math on the major players in the broader U.S. medical supply and distribution space:

Opportunities & Challenges

The company is trading a lower-margin, capital-intensive business for a higher-margin, growth-oriented one. That's a good trade, but it's defintely not a risk-free one. The success hinges entirely on the flawless execution of the Patient Direct strategy and the efficient management of the transition.

Industry Position

Owens & Minor, Inc.'s position is fundamentally changing. By divesting its Products & Healthcare Services segment, the company is abandoning its role as a broad-line medical distributor to compete directly with the giants like McKesson and Cardinal Health in their core pharmaceutical distribution business. Instead, it is becoming a specialized, pure-play Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and home-based care provider.

• New Focus: The company is now unified around its Patient Direct segment, which is projected to generate revenue between $2.76 billion and $2.82 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $376 million to $382 million for the full year 2025.
• Growth Engine: Patient Direct is the core growth engine, delivering mid-single-digit top-line growth and mid-teen expansion in EBITDA in Q1 2025, driven by strong performance in sleep therapy and Wound/Ostomy/Urology (WOU) supplies.
• Investment Thesis: Management is aiming for a simpler business model and a cleaner investment thesis, which should lead to a more appropriate valuation as a home-based care leader.
• Capital Allocation: Gross capital expenditures for 2025 are projected at $205 million to $215 million, prioritizing growth initiatives and operational improvements in the Patient Direct platform.

This pivot positions OMI in a rapidly expanding sector-the U.S. home medical equipment market is valued at $70.66 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 5.61% through 2030. The next concrete step for you is to dive deeper into the new segment's financials: Exploring Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?