CVS beats Wall Street estimates in Q2, marking turnaround for pressured stock Anjalee KhemlaniJuly 31, 2025 at 4:30 AM CVS Health (CVS) reported second quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, marking the second quarter of growth after a rough 2024. The healthcare giant reported $98.
- - CVS beats Wall Street estimates in Q2, marking turnaround for pressured stock
Anjalee KhemlaniJuly 31, 2025 at 4:30 AM
CVS Health (CVS) reported second quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, marking the second quarter of growth after a rough 2024.
The healthcare giant reported $98.9 billion in revenue, compared to estimates of $94.6 billion, and up 8.4% year over year. The adjusted earnings per share of $1.81 were above estimates of $1.46.
"We are encouraged by a second consecutive quarter of solid 2025 results, while we continue to navigate a dynamic environment," said CFO Brian Newman in a statement. "As we execute against our strategic priorities, we remain focused on delivering on our financial commitments and advancing initiatives that create long-term value for our stakeholders."
The beat is a bright spot in what has been a tough past year for the company and the industry as a whole. Like other insurers, CVS has been facing increased scrutiny in a number of its business segments, including the higher cost pressures in Medicare Advantage, the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in Washington, D.C., and ongoing softness on the retail front.
Trade-offs for growth
CVS served as a bellwether for insurers last year, as it severely underestimated costs for the senior population and had to lower guidance three times in 2024. The company will soon be the only remaining standalone pharmacy giant to be publicly traded, as competitor Walgreens (WBA) prepares to go private this year.
CEO David Joyner told Yahoo Finance the company is marking the second strong quarter this year, and hoping to continue a slow return to its prior pace of growth.
"We declared [previously] that our focus at the moment was margin recovery, and it was going to come at the expense of growth. And that's hard to do in this business because there are trade-offs," Joyner said.
Still, the company reported a medical loss ratio (MLR) — the amount of premiums it paid out versus collected — in line with peers who are pressured this quarter. CVS reported an MLR of 89.9%, compared to 89..6% in the same quarter last year.
"You can only make so much progress in one year's time. It was always planned to be a multi-year recovery," Joyner said.
FILE - This Oct. 21, 2016, file photo shows a CVS drugstore and pharmacy location in Philadelphia. CVS Health is making prescription deliveries available from its stores nationwide, as retailers continue to adjust to a growing threat from the online giant Amazon. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) ()Higher tech, lower cost?
The higher cost trend in the industry has been attributed to changes in the way the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) reimburse for the Medicare Advantage population. But it also comes at a time when the aging US population is increasing — meaning more older and sicker people are in need of greater care. And that trend is set to accelerate over the next decade.
Joyner said that's why the company is investing in technology — and signed on as one of several large companies on Wednesday to CMS's Health Tech Ecosystem to engage in a more open and integrated system of patient data and information. The goal of the ecosystem, which builds on several prior administrations' efforts, is to create the infrastructure necessary to achieve the goal of data sharing.
"This is a movement, not a mandate. It is a call to action, not a regulation. Let's show what's possible when we work together – and finally bring healthcare into the modern era," CMS said in a statement Wednesday.
Joyner said, "We're trying to solve for the fact that systems aren't talking to one another. We need to do better."
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, provider services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee as AnjKhem on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.
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