Retail pharmacy lifts CVS Health in the first quarter

CVS Health reported an increase of 2.6% in revenues to around $45.7 billion for the first quarter of 2018 compared to the prior year period. Net income rose 4.7% to $998 million or $0.98 per share. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.48, beating market estimates.
The quarterly results benefited from higher prescription volumes within the retail pharmacy business and a lower income tax rate.
In the Pharmacy Services segment, revenues grew 3.2% to about $32.2 billion, primarily driven by growth in pharmacy network and specialty claim volume as well as brand inflation. Pharmacy network claims processed during the quarter increased 6%. In the Retail/LTC segment, revenues rose 5.6% to about $20.4 billion, driven primarily by an increase in the same-store prescription volume of 8.5%. https://news.alphastreet.com/cvs-health-1q-2018-earnings/