CVS Health (CVS, $70.88) beats Q4 earnings expectations
CVS Health Corp. reported fourth quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations. The healthcare company said it will resume offering insurance plans that offer 'Obamacare' subsidies.
The company’s adjusted earnings for the three months ending in December fell -25% rom the year-ago quarter to $1.30 per share, 6 cents ahead of the Street consensus forecast.
Revenues increased +4% year-over-year to $69.55 billion, again surpassing analysts' estimates of $68.75 billion.
Revenues in rharmacy Services fell -1.9% year-over-year to $33.355 billion, primarily due to “continued price compression and changes in net new business mix, partially offset by growth in specialty pharmacy and brand inflation."
Retail sales climbed +6.6% to $24.062 billion. Same-store sales were up +5.7%. Healthcare benefits division sales increased +11.4% to $19.1 billion as it added Aetna's operations to its business.
"Our goal is to make health care more accessible, more affordable and simpler. In order to do this, we will accelerate the pace of our progress through targeted investments in key areas that will drive our consumer-focused strategy," CEO Karen Lynch said. "We believe that solving consumer health needs will deliver better health outcomes and lower costs while creating future economic benefit for CVS Health and its shareholders. "
For 2021, CVS expects adjusted EPS in the range of $7.39-$7.55. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 earnings is pegged at $7.53.
Full-year operating cash flow is projected in the range of $12 billion-$12.50 billion.
CVS said it would return to selling individual health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as Obamacare.
