CVS Health Corporation

What does CVS Health own?
CVS Health owns CVS Pharmacy (nearly 10,000 retail locations), CVS Caremark (pharmacy benefits management), Aetna (health insurance), MinuteClinic (retail health clinics), Oak Street Health (Medicare primary care), Omnicare (long-term care pharmacy), Navarro Discount Pharmacies, Longs Drugs, and Coram (infusion and home health services). These brands operate across three segments: Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness.

Is CVS Health publicly traded?
Yes. CVS Health Corporation is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CVS. The company is a component of the S&P 500 and is owned by institutional investors, mutual funds, and individual shareholders. There is no parent company or controlling shareholder.

Who founded CVS Health?
The original Consumer Value Store was founded in 1963 in Lowell, Massachusetts by Stanley Goldstein, Sidney Goldstein, and Ralph Hoagland. The company began as a health and beauty products retailer and added pharmacy departments in 1967. It was acquired by Melville Corporation in 1969 and spun off as an independent public company in 1996.

Where is CVS Health headquartered?
CVS Health is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA. The company's corporate offices, including executive leadership, finance, and strategic operations, are based in Woonsocket, with additional operational offices across the United States.

How many brands does CVS Health own?
CVS Health owns approximately 9 brands across its three operating segments. The most prominent are CVS Pharmacy, CVS Caremark, Aetna, MinuteClinic, Oak Street Health, and Omnicare. The company also operates smaller regional brands including Navarro Discount Pharmacies and Longs Drugs.

Who owns CVS Health?
CVS Health is an independent publicly traded corporation with no parent company. The company is owned by institutional investors, mutual funds, and individual shareholders who hold its NYSE-listed common stock. Major institutional holders include Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation. There is no founder control or dual-class share structure.

What were CVS Health's recent financial results?
For FY2025, CVS Health reported record revenue of $402.1 billion, up 7.8% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $6.75. In Q2 2026, revenue was $106.1 billion, up 7.3%, with adjusted EPS of $2.58, beating analyst estimates of $1.85. Net income nearly tripled to $3 billion. The company raised its 2026 guidance to at least $414 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $7.90 to $8.10.

Has CVS Health made major acquisitions recently?
The most recent major acquisitions were Oak Street Health for approximately $10.6 billion and Signify Health for approximately $8 billion, both in 2023. The largest acquisition in company history was Aetna for approximately $69 billion in 2018. CEO David Joyner has indicated the company has the capital and leadership bandwidth to pursue additional deals across its three business areas.

Stanley Goldstein, Sidney Goldstein, and Ralph Hoagland founded the first Consumer Value Store (CVS) in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1963. The original store focused on health and beauty products. CVS opened its first pharmacy departments in 1967, beginning the shift from a general retail store to a pharmacy-focused business.

In 1969, Melville Corporation acquired CVS. Under Melville ownership, CVS expanded through the 1970s and 1980s, growing to become a regional drugstore chain across the northeastern United States. In 1996, Melville spun off CVS as an independent public company traded on the NYSE, and the new company began acquiring competitors to build national scale.

CVS acquired Revco drugstores in 1997 for approximately $2.9 billion, expanding from the Northeast into the Midwest and Southeast. In 2004, CVS acquired Eckerd drugstores from J.C. Penney for approximately $2.15 billion, adding stores in Texas, Florida, and other southern states. These acquisitions made CVS the largest retail pharmacy chain in the United States by store count.

In 2007, CVS merged with Caremark Rx in a approximately $26.5 billion deal, creating CVS Caremark. This was a transformative acquisition because it combined retail pharmacy with pharmacy benefits management, the business of negotiating drug prices and managing prescription benefits for employers and health plans. The combined company could now serve patients both at the pharmacy counter and through the back-end benefits management process.

In 2014, the company changed its name from CVS Caremark to CVS Health to reflect its expanding healthcare focus beyond pharmacy retail. That same year, CVS stopped selling tobacco products in its stores, a decision that cost the company approximately $2 billion in annual revenue but positioned it as a healthcare company rather than a general retailer.

The most significant acquisition in CVS history came in 2018, when the company acquired Aetna for approximately $69 billion. This deal added health insurance to the portfolio and transformed CVS into a fully integrated healthcare company spanning retail pharmacy, PBM, and insurance. The acquisition closed after a lengthy antitrust review by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2023, CVS acquired Oak Street Health, a primary care provider focused on Medicare patients, for approximately $10.6 billion. The company also acquired Signify Health, a home health and analytics company, for approximately $8 billion in the same year. These acquisitions expanded CVS into value-based primary care and home health services.

CVS faced severe financial challenges in 2024. Aetna's Medicare Advantage business posted a $924 million quarterly operating loss in 2024 as higher-than-expected medical costs among seniors drove the medical benefit ratio above 95%. The company's total net income fell to $4.6 billion from $8.3 billion the prior year. In October 2024, the board replaced CEO Karen Lynch with David Joyner, a company veteran who had been leading the Caremark PBM business.

Joyner's turnaround plan involved cutting $2 billion in costs, closing underperforming stores, restructuring Aetna's Medicare Advantage benefits, and exiting the Affordable Care Act individual exchange market entirely for 2026. The turnaround showed results in 2025, with FY2025 revenue reaching a record $402.1 billion and adjusted EPS of $6.75, up from $5.42 in the prior year. Aetna returned to profitability with $1.8 billion in operating income for 2025.

In 2026, the recovery accelerated. Q1 2026 revenue was $100.4 billion, up 6.2%, with adjusted EPS of $2.57. Q2 2026 revenue was $106.1 billion, up 7.3%, with adjusted EPS of $2.58, beating analyst estimates of $1.85. Aetna's medical benefit ratio fell to 87.4% in Q2 2026, down from 89.9% a year earlier and well below the 95% level of late 2024. Net income nearly tripled to $3 billion. CVS raised its full-year 2026 guidance twice, now projecting revenue of at least $414 billion and adjusted EPS of $7.90 to $8.10.

In July 2026, CVS Caremark reached a proposed settlement with the FTC over a lawsuit related to insulin pricing practices. In May 2026, CVS sued to challenge a new Tennessee law that would require PBMs to separate from pharmacy operations. Also in 2026, CVS announced a collaboration with Eli Lilly to make the obesity drug Zepbound and the weight loss pill Foundayo accessible to eligible patients through the CVS Health app.

CVS Health has established science-based targets for carbon emissions reduction and publishes an annual corporate responsibility report. The company's sustainability strategy focuses on energy efficiency in stores and distribution centers, waste reduction, and sustainable product sourcing.

The company has committed to reducing its carbon footprint across its operations, including its nearly 10,000 retail locations, distribution centers, and corporate offices. CVS Health has set science-based targets for emissions reduction, which are independently verified. The company has increased its use of renewable energy and has implemented energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems across its store network.

On ethical grounds, CVS Health maintains compliance programs for pharmaceutical distribution, pharmacy operations, and health insurance services. The company stopped selling tobacco products in 2014, a decision that cost approximately $2 billion in annual revenue but aligned with its positioning as a healthcare company. CVS Health has also implemented opioid stewardship programs and has been involved in national efforts to combat the opioid epidemic through prescription monitoring and naloxone distribution.

The CVS Health Foundation supports community health initiatives, disaster relief, and health education programs. The company has invested in programs to expand healthcare access in underserved communities, though it has also faced criticism for closing pharmacies in some of those same communities.

CVS Health is not a Certified B Corporation. The company does not have cruelty-free or vegan certifications, as these designations are not applicable to a healthcare services company.

CVS Health has received recognition from independent organizations for its corporate performance and workplace practices:

• Fortune Most Admired Companies (2024, 2025): Named one of the world's most admired companies in the healthcare sector
• Fortune 500: Ranked among the top 10 U.S. companies by revenue
• Great Place to Work Certification (2024, 2025): Certified across multiple regions for workplace culture
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index: Included for corporate sustainability performance
• Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index: Top scores for LGBTQ+ workplace equality

These recognitions are based on independent assessments by the respective organizations.

CVS Health faces ongoing regulatory and public scrutiny across multiple areas of its business.

PBM regulation: CVS Caremark, along with Optum Rx and Express Scripts, has been under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission since 2022 over pharmacy benefits manager practices. Critics argue that PBMs contribute to higher drug costs through opaque rebate arrangements and reimbursement practices. In July 2026, CVS Caremark reached a proposed settlement with the FTC over a lawsuit related to insulin pricing. In May 2026, CVS sued to challenge a new Tennessee law that would require PBMs to separate from pharmacy operations, arguing the law is preempted by federal law.

Aetna Medicare Advantage losses: In 2024, Aetna's Medicare Advantage business posted a $924 million quarterly operating loss as the medical benefit ratio exceeded 95%. The losses were driven by higher-than-expected medical costs among seniors and aggressive benefit pricing that had been designed to grow membership. The decline in profitability led to the replacement of CEO Karen Lynch with David Joyner in October 2024. The turnaround has shown significant progress in 2026, with the MBR falling to 87.4% in Q2 2026.

Pharmacy closures: CVS has closed underperforming stores as part of its turnaround plan, drawing criticism from community advocates who argue that closures reduce healthcare access in underserved and rural areas. The company has stated that closures are targeted at locations with low prescription volume and high operating costs.

ACA market exit: CVS exited the Affordable Care Act individual exchange market entirely for 2026, citing unsustainable costs. The exit reduced Aetna's membership by approximately 600,000 and was part of a broader industry retreat from ACA exchanges following the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits.

Integrated model conflicts of interest: The company's ownership of both a PBM (Caremark) and a retail pharmacy (CVS Pharmacy) has drawn scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers who argue that the structure creates conflicts of interest. The FTC's PBM investigation has examined whether vertically integrated healthcare companies steer prescriptions to their own pharmacies at the expense of independent competitors.