CVS Health’s (NYSE:CVS) fourth-quarter earnings beat Wall Street’s expectations on Tuesday as its pharmacy sales got a lift and it expands COVID-19 testing and vaccines.
The drugstore chain reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $975 million, or 75 cents per share, down from $1.74 billion, or $1.33 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, it earned $1.30 per share, outpacing the $1.24 per share expected by analysts.
Revenue rose to $69.55 billion from $66.89 billion a year earlier. That’s higher than analysts’ expectations of $68.75 billion.
Same-store sales grew 5.3% during the three-month period compared with the same time a year earlier. They jumped by 7.5% in the pharmacy division, as prescription volume rose but were down by 1.8% in the front of store, as customers skipped visits and did not need to buy as much flu and cold medication during the pandemic.
CVS also shared its full-year guidance for the upcoming fiscal year. It projected earnings per share ranging from $6.06 to $6.22 and full-year adjusted earnings per share to $7.39 to $7.55. Its full-year cash flow from operations is projected at $12 billion to $12.5 billion.
CVS offers COVID-19 testing at many of its stores. The company said it has administered about 15 million tests nationwide. It has also given more than three million COVID vaccines in over 40,000 long-term care facilities.
CVS shares dropped 27 cents to $73.94.
