CVS Health earnings top estimates as pharmacy sales get a lift from Covid testing, vaccines

CVS Health‘s fourth-quarter earnings beat Wall Street’s expectations as its pharmacy sales got a lift from providing Covid-19 testing and vaccines.

Shares of the company are up slightly in premarket trading.

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

• Earnings per share: $1.30, adjusted, vs. $1.24 expected
• Revenue: $69.55 billion vs. $68.75 billion expected

The drugstore chain reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $975 million, or 75 cents per share, down from $1.74 billion, or $1.33 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, it earned $1.30 per share, outpacing the $1.24 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Revenue rose to $69.55 billion, from $66.89 billion a year prior. That’s higher than analysts’ expectations of $68.75 billion, according to Refinitiv.

CVS offers Covid-19 testing at many of its stores. The company said it’s administered about 15 million tests nationwide. It’s also given more than 3 million Covid vaccines in over 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 shots to staff and residents at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. It began vaccinations at the facilities in December.

CVS is now taking on an expanded role in providing Covid vaccines at its stores. Last week, the federal government shipped doses directly to retail pharmacies’ stores — including CVS stores in 11 states.

As of market close on Friday, CVS shares are up less than 1% over the past year. The company’s stock, which has a market value of $97.13 billion, touched a 52-week high of $77.23 in mid-January. It closed at $74.21 on Friday.

This story is developing and will be updated.