CVS Health is raising its guidance for the year as it blew past Wall Street analysts’ expectations in the second quarter.
The company reported $3 billion in profit for the quarter as well as $106.1 billion in revenue, both of which surpassed analysts’ predictions, according to Zacks Investment Research. By comparison, the company posted $1 billion in profit and $98.9 billion in revenue for the prior-year quarter, per its earnings report released Wednesday.
Through the first half of the year, profits were $5.9 billion and revenue was $206.5 billion. Both figures grew significantly from the $2.8 billion in profit and $193.5 billion in revenue reported in the first six months of 2025.
A key bright spot in Q2 was the company’s Aetna unit, which has been at the center of margin improvement efforts for several years. Revenues were up by 3.5% in the quarter, reaching $37.5 billion due to growth in its government plans.
That revenue increase was partially offset by the company’s decision to exit the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges, the company said.
In addition, Aetna’s medical loss ratio decreased to 87.4% from 89.9% in the prior-year quarter as the company saw improvements in the performance of its government segment. Total membership was 26 million, on par with the 26.7 million reported in Q2 2025.
Meanwhile, revenues at CVS’ health services division — which houses its pharmacy benefit manager, Caremark — were $51.8 billion in the second quarter, up 11.5% from the $46.5 billion reported a year ago.
CVS attributed the growth to pharmacy drug mix and inflation for branded drugs, and said the revenue increases were offset in part by ongoing pricing improvements for clients.
Revenue for CVS’ pharmacy and consumer wellness division stayed largely flat, as the company posted $33.8 billion. By comparison, revenues for the pharmacy unit were $33.6 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Pharmacy drug mix and higher volume, bolstered in part by Rite Aid assets that the company acquired last year, both increased revenue, supported the slim increased, while regulatorily set price reductions on certain drugs, the launch of new generics and pressure on pharmacy reimbursement dragged revenue growth, CVS said.
Due to the performance, the company is raising its guidance from between $7.30 and $7.50 in earnings per share to between $7.90 and $8.10.
In the press release, CEO David Joyner said the improvements reflect the team’s commitment to simplifying the healthcare experience.
“As our businesses work together to deliver a technology-powered care engagement experience, we continue to deliver strong performance,” he said. “We uniquely enable what our customers want the most: simple, connected and convenient access to affordable, quality healthcare, where, when, and how they want it.”