CVS Shares Sink On Lower Guidance, Revenue Shortfall

CVS Health Corp. shares sank 11.3% in Tuesday premarket trading after the pharmacy chain lowered and narrowed its full-year guidance and missed on revenue. Net income was $1.54 billion, or 1.43 per share, up from $1.25 billion, or $1.10 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.64, beating the $1.57 FactSet consensus. Revenue was $44.6 billion, up from $38.6 billion, but missing the $45.3 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales increased 2.3%, and pharmacy same-store sales rose 3.4%. Pharmacy same-store sales were affected by about 340 basis points because of recent generic drug introductions, the company said. CVS lowered and narrowed its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $5.81 to $5.89 from $5.77 to $5.83. For the fourth quarter, CVS expects adjusted EPS $1.64 to $1.70. Pharmacy network changes, which are expected to cause some prescriptions to migrate out of its pharmacies, and slowing subscription growth are the reason for the guidance cut. CVS expects full-year 2017 adjusted EPS in the range of $5.77 to $5.93, which includes the projected loss of more than 40 million retail prescriptions. The board has approved a new share repurchase program for up to $15 billion. CVS shares are down 14.7% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.3% for the same period.