CVS Health plans to split into two independent, publicly traded companies following a strategic review, a decision announced alongside better-than-anticipated third-quarter results.
The separation will create one company focused on healthcare services and another on retail pharmacy and community healthcare.
Company net income was $2.17 billion, or $1.68 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $3.98 billion, or $3.13 per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter. Adjusted for one-time events, net income was $2.7 billion, or $2.09 per diluted share, versus $2.04 billion, or $1.60 per diluted share, in the year-before period.
For the third quarter, a Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus estimate pegged CVS earnings at $1.62 and revenues at $105.04 billion.
Revenues were $108.4 billion versus $102.87 billion in the quarter a year prior, the company reported. Operating income was $3.57 billion versus an operating loss of $3.21 billion in the year-earlier period, while adjusted operating income was $4.19 billion versus $3.46 billion.
Total revenues in the Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness segment decreased 2% to $35.5 billion year over year in the quarter, driven by regulatory-related price reductions on certain drugs, the impact of recent generic drug introductions and pharmacy reimbursement pressure. Pharmacy drug mix, increased prescription volume, including contributions from Rite Aid assets acquired in the third quarter of 2025, and brand inflation partially offset the decreases. Front store comparable sales, including general merchandise, slipped 0.6% year over year during the period, while adjusted operating income rose 10.6% to $1.64 billion.
The company increased its adjusted earnings per share guidance to at least $6.98 from a range of $6.84 to $7.04.
“Our colleagues build trust every day through delivering quality health care rooted in our purpose: to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time. Through their continued dedication, each of our businesses delivered another quarter of strong results. We continue to advance our strategy by improving the consumer experience, lowering health care costs, and connecting care for the people we serve,” said David Joyner, CVS Health chairman and CEO, in announcing the third quarter results.
In the split, CVS will create a healthcare operation including its Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Specialty, Oak Street Health and Signify Health divisions referred to as CVS Health, at least initially.
The second company will comprise a national retail pharmacy and community healthcare operation with about 9,000 CVS pharmacies, mail pharmacy, MinuteClinic, including virtual care, and the Health100 technology services business. It will be named CVS Pharmacy.
Joyner will be the chairman and CEO of the healthcare solutions company, and Prem Shah, currently group CVS Health president, will become the CEO of CVS Pharmacy.
“Our history is defined by proactively evolving to stay ahead of what’s next in healthcare, and in today’s environment, that means delivering more affordability, greater access and a simpler experience,” said Joyner. “Over the last two years, we have made meaningful progress: we built a world-class leadership team, strengthened our financials, revitalized operations across the enterprise and drove total shareholder return. From a position of strength and a focus on the long term, we plan to create two focused companies to improve consumer engagement, affordability, and care coordination.”
