What happened
The stock of pharmacy chain store operator CVS Health (CVS -0.22%) was the very picture of health on Wednesday. Investors traded the company's shares up by more than 3% in price on an otherwise gloomy day for the market overall. That wasn't really a surprise, as CVS posted better-than-expected results for its latest quarter.
So what
Well before market open, CVS published its second-quarter figures. These revealed that the sprawling retailer booked just over $88.9 billion in revenue for quite a robust year-over-year increase of more than 10%. On the other hand, the company's generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income fell by 37% to $1.9 billion, which shook out to a non-GAAP (adjusted) per-share figure of $2.21.
CVS explained its top-line improvement to growth in all of its business segments. As for that slide in profitability, the company said this was due to weakness in two facets of its operations, healthcare benefits and pharmacy/consumer wellness.
Nevertheless, both headline numbers convincingly beat the average-analyst projections. The consensus for revenue was $86.4 billion, while that for adjusted net income was $2.13 per share.
The company attributed its diversified business model as a key factor driving its Q2 performance. It quoted CEO Karen Lynch as saying that "We continue to execute on our strategy to expand access to health services across our care delivery channels and strengthen our engagement with consumers to improve their health and well-being."
Now what
CVS also reiterated its guidance for adjusted profitability across the entirety of 2023. It continues to believe it will net $8.50 to $8.70 per share; the current average-analyst estimate for the metric is $8.59. By comparison, the full-year 2022 figure for CVS was $8.69.
