CVS Health Corp Beats Analysts’ Q3 Expectations (CVS)

Before Tuesday’s opening bell, CVS Health Corp (CVS), which recently changed its name from CVS Caremark, released its third quarter results. Despite lower earnings, the company was able to beat analysts’ expectations. 

CVS Earnings in Brief

CVS reported net income of $948 million, or 81 cents per share, down from $1.26 billion, or $1.02 per share, a year ago. Excluding special items, earnings were $1.15 per share – above analysts’ estimate of $1.13 per share. Revenue rose to $35.02 billion from $31.93 billion last year. Analysts expected to see revenue of $34.74 billion. Looking forward, CVS expects to see Q4 earnings between $1.18 and $1.21 per share. Analysts expect to see earnings of $1.21 per share. For FY2014, the company expects to see earnings between $4.47 and $4.50 per share. Analysts expect to see earnings of $4.49 per share.

CEO Commentary

President and CEO Larry Merlo commented: “I’m very pleased with our strong results in the third quarter, which reflect better-than-expected revenue growth across the enterprise and expanding retail gross margins. The 2015 PBM selling season continued to be highly successful with a significant number of new business wins across all lines of business.”

CVS Dividend

CVS paid its last 27.5 cent dividend on November 3. We expect the company to declare its next quarterly dividend in December. It is likely that the company will boost its dividend in its next payout.

Stock Performance

CVS Health Corp shares were up 88 cents, or 1.02%, during pre-market trading Tuesday. The stock is up 20.33% YTD.

CVS Dividend Snapshot

As of market close on November 3, 2014

Click here to see the complete history of CVS dividends.