CVS Says 2022 Revenue Beat Guidance in Preliminary Results

CVS Health Corp. said its revenue for all of fiscal 2022 exceeded its guidance that topped out at $314 billion.

(Bloomberg) — CVS Health Corp. said its revenue for all of fiscal 2022 exceeded its guidance that topped out at $314 billion.

Adjusted earnings per share for the year were close to the top end of its guidance of $8.55 to $8.65 a share, the company said Monday in a filing of preliminary results, in part because of buybacks that reduced its share count. Analysts expect $8.63 a share.

The company also said it was on track to close its purchase of home-health and technology services provider Signify Health Inc. for about $8 billion during the first half of 2023. The acquisition is part of the company’s push further beyond its roots as a drugstore chain into primary care.

CVS’s drugstore chain is coping with headwinds that include diminished concerns about the pandemic, which has translated into fewer visits for Covid-19 tests and vaccinations that bring foot traffic into its stores. The company is looking for growth in its insurance unit, and said that membership in its Medicare Advantage plan will increase in the low-to-mid-single digit percentage range during fiscal 2023.

The shares rose as much as 1.7% at the New York market open. They lost 9.7% last year.

CVS said it plans to share the results with investors at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference that begins Monday in San Francisco. Investors will be listening for Chief Executive Officer Karen Lynch’s comments on the company’s outlook for the coming years.

Last quarter top company executives acknowledged factors that will hurt 2024 revenue, including loss of a pharmacy benefits contract from insurer Centene Corp. Also, a national plan within CVS’s Aetna unit was rated at 3.5 out of 5 stars on Medicare’s quality scale for 2023, down from a previous rating of 4.5 the year prior. The ratings help determine reimbursement from the US health-care program for the elderly, and are expected to hurt 2024 revenue.

(Updates with share buybacks in second paragraph)

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