CVS Health rides improving Medicare business to better-than-expected first quarter

CVS Health hiked its 2025 forecast above Wall Street’s expectations after improving Medicare benefits contributed to a better-than-expected first quarter.

The health care giant said Thursday that it also got a boost from better star ratings for its Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run versions of the federal government coverage program.

CVS Health and other health insurance providers have been struggling for several quarters now with rising costs from their Medicare Advantage customers. The company’s report Thursday comes a few weeks after rival UnitedHealth slashed its 2025 forecast after dealing with a bigger-than-expected spike in care use.

Overall, CVS Health booked adjusted earnings of $2.25 per share as the company’s profit soared 60% to $1.78 billion in the year’s first quarter. Total revenue climbed 7% to $94.59 billion.

Analysts expect earnings of $1.70 per share on $93.66 billion in revenue for the first quarter, according to the data firm FactSet.

For the full year, CVS Health now expects adjusted earnings to range from $6 to $6.20 per share.

The company forecast in February adjusted earnings of $5.75 to $6 per share. Analysts expect $5.92.

The guidance hike was unexpected so early in the year, Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny said in a research note. He added that the company's results showed positive signs across all business segments.

CVS Health Corp., based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, runs one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains and a huge pharmacy benefit management business that operates prescription drug coverage for employers, insurers and other big clients. It also covers 27 million people through its Aetna insurance arm.

The company also said Thursday that it would leave the Affordable Care Act’s individual marketplaces next year. It currently covers about a million people in that market across 17 states. CEO David Joyner told analysts the company saw no near or long-term path to improving this business after dealing with “continued underperformance.”

Aetna had previously left the ACA’s marketplace in 2017 before eventually returning.

Company shares jumped more 8% to $72.14 at the start of trading Thursday, while broader indexes rose slightly.

The stock has already climbed more than 48% so far in 2025 after sinking over 40% last year. CVS Health’s rough 2024 included several guidance cuts and the resignation of former CEO Karen Lynch.