CVS Well being and Wall Avenue share the identical view of the pharmacy chain’s progress potential as COVID-19’s affect on the corporate begins to ease.
Common analyst expectations for 2022 earnings of $8.20 per share match inside CVS Well being’s anticipated preliminary forecast for the brand new 12 months, Chief Monetary Officer Shawn Guertin stated Wednesday morning, promising to supply extra particulars on the firm’s annual investor assembly Dec. 9.
Firm shares which have already superior greater than 30% up to now this 12 months jumped once more in morning buying and selling after Guertin made his feedback on a name with analysts to debate third-quarter outcomes.
The chief famous that the common 2022 forecast would signify about 8% progress from the corporate’s baseline 2021 forecast of $7.55 per share. That determine does not depend capital features or elements like a wage enhance the corporate introduced earlier this 12 months.
CVS Well being runs a drugstore chain with greater than 10,000 retail areas. It additionally sells medical health insurance by way of its Aetna arm and manages pharmacy advantages for giant clients like employers and insurers.
Clients have been filling extra prescriptions — the core ingredient of CVS Well being’s enterprise — and returning to its shops, prodded partly by the necessity to get COVID-19 vaccinations or checks.
Guertin stated the corporate expects demand for vaccines and checks to start slowing. The variety of vaccines delivered within the third quarter dropped to 11 million from 17 million within the second quarter.
The current authorities resolution to permit kids ages 5 to 11 to get the preventive photographs may have solely a “modest” affect, the CFO added.
Subsequent 12 months, CVS Well being expects the variety of COVID-19 vaccines and checks its shops ship to fall to effectively below half of what it delivered this 12 months. That which can dent CVS Well being’s drugstore enterprise. However that may very well be balanced by fewer pandemic-related claims and prices for the insurance coverage facet.
Within the lately accomplished third quarter, CVS Well being delivered better-than-expected outcomes as internet revenue soared 30% to $1.59 billion.
The corporate posted adjusted earnings of $1.97 per share. That is 10% increased than the common analyst forecast of $1.79 per share, in keeping with FactSet. Complete income grew 10% to $73.8 billion.
Income from the corporate’s greatest enterprise, pharmacy advantages administration, grew 9% to $39.05 billion, helped by extra pharmacy claims and progress in dear specialty medication.
The corporate’s Aetna insurance coverage enterprise, which covers greater than 23 million individuals, noticed gross sales climb almost 10%.
Gross sales from established drugstores additionally jumped 10% within the third quarter in comparison with final 12 months, when the pandemic had extra of an affect on client purchasing.
Shares of CVS Well being Corp., primarily based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, climbed greater than 4% to $95.51 as broader markets slipped in noon buying and selling.
