CVS Health (CVS) earnings Q1 2026

CVS Health on Wednesday blew past first-quarter earnings and revenue estimates and raised its 2026 guidance, as its once-troubled insurance business showed improvement. 

CVS, which operates the nation’s largest pharmacy chain, sees full-year profit coming in between $7.30 and $7.50 per share. That’s up from a previous guidance of $7 to $7.20 per share. 

The company also expects revenue of at least $405 billion in 2026, up from its prior outlook of at least $400 billion. 

The majority of that $5 billion increase is “reflective of the tailwinds we’re seeing” for insurer Aetna, CVS CFO Brian Newman said in an interview with CNBC.

All of the health-care giant’s business segments, including insurance, its retail pharmacy and health services unit, surpassed Wall Street’s revenue expectations. But Aetna’s results are likely top of mind for investors, who have watched high medical costs batter major health insurers for the last two years. 

The results indicated continued progress in CVS’s broader turnaround plan, which has involved cutting $2 billion in costs, closing underperforming stores, shuffling leadership and reducing costs within privately run Medicare Advantage plans.

“From an investor lens, we said let’s put out realistic, reasonable targets and then find pathways to outperform. And we did that throughout at the end of last year and the quarter,” Newman said. “So to beat and raise, which I think is probably the fourth or fifth consecutive, it feels like we’re delivering on that.”

“So confident in the year, but still taking a cautious or prudent view,” he added, noting that medical costs are still too high.

Shares of CVS rose more than 4% in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Here’s what CVS reported for the first quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

• Earnings per share: $2.57 adjusted vs. $2.20 expected
• Revenue: $100.43 billion vs. $95.09 billion expected

The company posted net income of $2.94 billion, or $2.30 per share, for the first quarter. That compares with net income of $1.78 billion, or $1.41 per share, for the same period a year ago. 

Excluding certain items, such as restructuring charges and capital losses, adjusted earnings were $2.57 per share for the quarter.

CVS booked sales of $100.43 billion for the first quarter, up 6.2% from the same period a year ago, as all three of its business segments showed growth. 

CVS’s report also adds to an overall solid first quarter for the broader health insurance sector, though the second quarter will prove even more crucial for those companies as they get a clearer read on medical costs.