Shares of CVS Health Corp. CVS, -5.45% dropped 2.6% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the health services and drugstore operator reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations but provided a mixed full-year outlook. Net income rose to $1.31 billion, or 98 cents a share, from $973 million, or 74 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.98 was above the FactSet consensus of $1.83.
Revenue grew 10.1% to $76.60 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $75.66 billion. The company said it administered more than 20 million COVID-19 vaccines during the quarter and more than 8 million COVID-19 tests. Among CVS’s business segments, Health Care Benefits revenue rose 8.4% to $20.70 billion, Pharmacy Services sales increased 8.2% to $39.34 billion and Retail/LTC sales grew 12.7% to $27.11 billion. For 2022, the company affirmed its adjusted EPS guidance range of $8.10 to $8.30, compared with the FactSet consensus of $8.27, but revised its cash flow outlook lower to $12.0 billion to $13.0 billion from $12.5 billion to $13.0 billion. The stock has soared 19.5% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 SPX, +1.45% has slipped 3.5%.