Key facts
- CVS said it plans to complete the separation in the first half of 2028.
- CVS forecast 2027 adjusted earnings of at least $8.65 per share, against analysts' estimates of $8.53 per share.
- CVS reported third-quarter profit of $2.09 per share, topping analysts' average estimate of $1.65 per share, per LSEG data.
- Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman cited challenges next year for the pharmacy benefit business tied to a government discount drug pricing program.
- CEO David Joyner said the chain of 9,000 pharmacies, Caremark and Aetna had made marked improvements over the past two years.
- Barclays analyst Andrew Mok cited a lack of financial detail around the breakup as a primary investor concern.
CVS Health said on November 4, 2026 that it will split in two, separating its retail pharmacies from the Aetna insurance business and pharmacy-benefit operations, unwinding a $117 billion healthcare conglomerate. The company said it plans to complete the separation in the first half of 2028.
CVS forecast 2027 adjusted earnings of at least $8.65 per share, ahead of analysts' estimates of $8.53 per share. Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman, on a conference call, described challenges next year for the pharmacy benefit business related to a government discount drug pricing program, as well as a "less robust selling season" with customers and declining membership in health plans.
CVS shares closed down 12.5% at $79.96 on November 4, 2026, a decline Reuters said cut nearly $15 billion in market value. UBS analyst Kevin Caliendo said the split came as a surprise and was perceived as a defensive move against regulation rather than an offensive one.
CEO David Joyner said the chain of 9,000 pharmacies, Caremark pharmacy benefit manager and Aetna had made marked improvements over the past two years, making the new structure possible. He said the company had beaten Wall Street expectations for eight consecutive quarters, and did so again with third-quarter profit of $2.09 per share against an analysts' average estimate of $1.65 per share, according to LSEG data.
Barclays analyst Andrew Mok cited a lack of financial detail around the breakup as a primary investor concern. Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback said CVS has the most exposure to vertical integration in the industry and that management likely moved preemptively rather than wait for a legal or legislative decision.
The split would return CVS to being a standalone pharmacy chain for the first time since 2006, when it bought Caremark. It later acquired Aetna for $78 billion in 2018.