People walk past a CVS Pharmacy store in Manhattan’s New York area.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
CVS Health’s fourth-quarter earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations Tuesday as pharmacy sales picked up and it expands Covid-19 testing and vaccines.
Shares of the company were up 1.4% in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported for the fiscal fourth quarter ended December 31, compared to what analysts expected, based on an analyst survey by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: adjusted at $ 1.30 versus expected $ 1.24
- Revenue: $ 69.55 billion vs. $ 68.75 billion expected
The drugstore chain reported fourth-quarter net profit of $ 975 million, or 75 cents a share, compared to $ 1.74 billion or $ 1.33 a share a year earlier.
Excluding items, it earned $ 1.30 per share, more than the $ 1.24 per share expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Sales rose from $ 66.89 billion a year earlier to $ 69.55 billion. That’s higher than analyst expectations of $ 68.75 billion.
Same store sales grew 5.3% over the three month period compared to the same time a year earlier. They were up 7.5% in the pharmacy division as prescription volume grew, but fell 1.8% in-store as customers skipped visits and reduced the need to purchase flu and cold medications during the pandemic.
CVS also shared its full year outlook for the coming fiscal year. Projected earnings per share ranged from $ 6.06 to $ 6.22 and adjusted earnings per share for the full year to $ 7.39 to $ 7.55. Full year cash flow from operating activities is estimated at $ 12 billion to $ 12.5 billion.
CVS offers Covid-19 testing in many of its stores. The company said it has conducted about 15 million tests nationwide. It has also given more than 3 million Covid vaccines in more than 40,000 long-term care facilities. The drugstore chain and its competitor, Walgreens, struck a deal with the federal government in October to provide the photos to staff and residents of nursing homes and residential care centers. It started in December with vaccinations in the facilities.
CVS is now taking a greater role in the delivery of Covid vaccines in its stores. Last week, the federal government sent doses directly to pharmacy stores, including CVS locations in 11 states.
CVS Chief Executive Karen Lynch said the chain will focus more on offering a wider range of health care services, beyond just filling out prescriptions.
“Our goal is to make healthcare more accessible, affordable and simpler,” she said in a press release. “To do this, we will accelerate the pace of our progress through targeted investment in key areas that will drive our consumer-centric strategy.”
As of Friday’s market close, CVS shares rose less than 1% over the past year. The company’s stock, which has a market value of $ 97.13 billion, hit a 52-week high of $ 77.23 in mid-January. It closed at $ 74.21 on Friday.
Read the full press release here.
This story is under development and will be updated.