CVS Caremark posts 3Q profit, results beat Wall Street estimates

CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) on Tuesday reported earnings of $948 million in its third quarter.

On a per-share basis, the Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based company said it had profit of 81 cents. Earnings, adjusted to extinguish debt and for amortization costs, were $1.15 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.14 per share.

The drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager posted revenue of $35.02 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Analysts expected $34.65 billion, according to Zacks.

For the current quarter ending in December, CVS Caremark expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.18 to $1.21. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.21.

The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.47 to $4.50 per share.

CVS Caremark shares have increased 20 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 9 percent. The stock has risen 38 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. CVS stock research report from Zacks: http://www.zacks.com/ap/CVS .

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