CVS Health earnings beats expectations for first quarter, raises forecast for year

CVS Health reported a strong first quarter and raised its full-year forecast, as customers came to its stores for Covid-19 vaccinations, tests and prescriptions.

Shares of the company were up 3% early Tuesday in premarket trading.

Here’s what the company reported for the fiscal first quarter ended March 31, compared with what analysts were expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $2.04, adjusted vs. $1.72 expected
• Revenue: $69.1 billion vs. $68.39 billion expected

The health-care company and drugstore chain reported net income of $2.22 billion, or $1.68 per share, up from $2.01 billion, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, it earned $2.04 per share, more than the $1.72 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Revenue rose to $69.1 billion from $66.8 billion a year earlier. That outpaced analysts’ expectations of $68.39 billion.

CVS is a major provider of Covid-19 vaccines and recently began offering same-day appointments for the shots.

As of Monday’s close, shares of CVS were up nearly 14% this year. They closed at $77.69 on Monday, bringing the company’s market value to $101.97 billion.

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