CVS Health Corp. · CVS · FY2024 Q4 · Calendar Q1 2025

CVS outlines Aetna recovery while medical costs remain the key risk

The supplied analysis supports a measured recovery case for CVS: Aetna improvement, pricing initiatives, biosimilars, and cost efficiencies could support performance, but medical-cost trends, regulatory changes, and leverage leave the outlook conditional.

Reported Before market openNYSEHealthcare $119.55B market cap
80quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS — Consensus $0.89
EPS surprise — Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue — Consensus $96.90B
Revenue surprise — Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

prior-close to event-session close
Stock move +14.9% Event window
SPY move -0.3% Same window
Abnormal move +15.3% Stock minus SPY
Volume 3.2× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +4.0% Up to 20 sessions
CVSSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

The current analysis shifts the focus toward execution of the Aetna turnaround and maintained 2025 guidance. It adds reported priorities around extending CostVantage, expanding biosimilars, using AI and digital tools, and executing store optimization, while retaining concerns about medical costs and regulation.

Guidance delta

Management maintained 2025 adjusted EPS guidance of $5.75-$6.00; the supplied analysis identifies medical cost trends as the key upside variable.

Key takeaways

  • The supplied analysis describes progress in the Aetna turnaround, with a 3-5% Medicare Advantage margin target.
  • TrueCost and CostVantage remain central to pharmacy-pricing transparency and margin improvement.
  • Biosimilar adoption, including Humira conversions, is presented as a savings and growth driver.
  • Capital management includes a $2 billion cost-efficiency program, continued dividends, and leverage of 4.7x.

Management priorities

  • Restore Aetna margins through benefit design and cost-trend management.
  • Extend CostVantage to Medicare and Medicaid contracts by 2026.
  • Expand biosimilars, digital health tools, and the store-footprint optimization plan.

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
CVS REVENUE earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 3 future estimate-only quarters. Q1 '24 estimate $89B Q1 '24 actual $88B, miss Q2 '24 estimate $91B Q2 '24 actual $91B, match Q3 '24 estimate $93B Q3 '24 actual $95B, beat Q2 '25 estimate $95B Q2 '25 actual $99B, beat Q3 '25 estimate $99B Q3 '25 actual $103B, beat Q4 '25 estimate $104B Q4 '25 actual $106B, beat Q1 '26 estimate $95B Q1 '26 actual $100B, beat Q2 '26 estimate $100B Q2 '26 actual $106B, beat Q3 '26 estimate $105B Q4 '26 estimate $106B Q1 '27 estimate $104B
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Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusBuy41 ratings
Bullish3585.4%
Neutral614.6%
Bearish00.0%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$93.47Current
$66Low
$107.16Average
$126High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 25, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Leerink Partners Outperform OutperformMaintainOct 12, 2026
UBS Buy BuyMaintainSep 3, 2026
Argus Research Buy BuyMaintainAug 19, 2026
JP Morgan Overweight OverweightMaintainAug 12, 2026
Evercore ISI Group Outperform OutperformMaintainAug 6, 2026
Show 36 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $93.47. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
Leerink PartnersAnalyst unavailable$112$86.16 +19.8%Oct 12, 2026
Piper SandlerAnalyst unavailable$112$93.04 +19.8%Sep 9, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$118$97.23 +26.2%Sep 3, 2026
Argus ResearchAnalyst unavailable$114$95.58 +22.0%Aug 19, 2026
Robert W. BairdMichael Ha$107$96.96 +14.5%Aug 6, 2026
See 87 more

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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

CVS Health Corp. is a health solutions company, which engages in the provision of healthcare services. It operates through the following segments: Health Care Benefits, Health Services, Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness, and Corporate and Other. The Health Care Benefits segment operates as a health care benefits provider. The Health Services segment offers a full range of PBM solutions, delivers health care services in its medical clinics, virtually, and in the home. The Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment dispenses prescriptions in its retail pharmacies and through its infusion operations. The Corporate and Other Segment is involved in management and administrative expenses. The company was founded by Stanley P. Goldstein and Ralph Hoagland in 1963 and is headquartered in Woonsocket, RI.

Historical context

All CVS earnings

Healthcare peers this season

Latest reports in the same sector

Latest beats and misses

Who reports next

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2025-01-29T00:04:08.037886+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-10-25T02:30:41.932068+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-10-25T02:30:41.929320+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-10-25. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.