CVS Health Reports Q4 Beat but Maintains Full-Year Outlook
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 10 2026
0mins
Should l Buy CVS?
Source: seekingalpha
- Strong Earnings Performance: CVS Health's Q4 2025 revenue grew approximately 8% year-over-year to $105.7 billion, exceeding market expectations by $2.1 billion, although adjusted EPS fell about 8% to $1.09, still beating forecasts by $0.09, indicating robust overall business performance.
- Growth in Health Insurance Segment: Revenue from CVS's Health Care Benefits segment rose about 10% year-over-year to $36.3 billion, with a medical benefit ratio steady at 94.8%, reflecting improvements in government health plans and demonstrating the company's sustained competitiveness in the health insurance market.
- Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness Growth: This segment recorded $37.7 billion in revenue during the period, indicating approximately 12% year-over-year growth, with prescriptions filled increasing by 6.3% on a 30-day equivalent basis, showcasing strong consumer demand that further propelled overall revenue growth.
- Declining Profitability: Despite CVS's diluted EPS rising approximately 77% year-over-year to $2.30, primarily due to a $1.9 billion tax benefit, its gross margin fell by 50 basis points to 5.2%, indicating challenges in cost control, necessitating attention to the recovery of profitability in the future.
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Analyst Views on CVS
Wall Street analysts forecast CVS stock price to rise
17 Analyst Rating
16 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 78.200
Low
91.00
Averages
96.71
High
105.00
Current: 78.200
Low
91.00
Averages
96.71
High
105.00
About CVS
CVS Health Corporation is a health solutions company. The Company's segments include Health Care Benefits, Health Services, Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness and Corporate/Other. Health Care Benefits segment offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental and behavioral health plans, PDPs and Medicaid health care management services. Health Services segment provides a full range of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) solutions through its CVS Caremark operations and delivers health care services in its medical clinics, virtually, and in the home. Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment dispenses prescriptions in its CVS Pharmacy retail locations and through its infusion operations, provides ancillary pharmacy services including pharmacy patient care programs, diagnostic testing and vaccination administration, and sells a wide assortment of health and wellness products and general merchandise.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Commitment to Health Equity: This initiative is part of CVS Health's broader commitment to advancing health equity and expanding access to care by investing in the next generation of healthcare professionals, particularly those from diverse backgrounds who wish to serve in areas with critical healthcare needs.
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- Regulatory Streamlining: Legislation passed by Congress in November simplifies the regulatory process for transitioning prescription drugs to OTC status, including full, conditional, and partial switch pathways, which is expected to accelerate drug availability and enhance patient convenience in medication access.
- Increased Transparency: Makary emphasized that OTC sales would bypass insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, potentially lowering drug prices and increasing transparency, with cash prices for OTC medications possibly being lower than patients' copays for prescription drugs, thereby alleviating financial burdens on patients.
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See More
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