CVS Health grows revenue 8.4% as Aetna streamlines amid rising healthcare costs

While competitors continue to struggle with spiraling healthcare costs, Aetna and CVS are celebrating an 8.4% increase in second-quarter revenues.

The insurer is achieving this through nimble management and making tough decisions, said David Joyner, president and CEO of CVS Health. In a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Joyner explained how CVS is transforming Aetna via technology.

“We enhanced our operations using technology to automate and streamline processes that improve service and reduce friction for our members and healthcare professionals,” he said. “We're starting to see the results of these efforts delivering better experiences while also allowing us to better navigate this elevated utilization environment.”

That increased use of healthcare is being felt by competitors such as UnitedHealth Group, in the midst of a top-down makeover to reverse a steady financial slide.

CVS updated its fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings to $6.30 to $6.40 per share, up from previous guidance of $6 to $6.20 per share. The insurer cut its GAAP earnings guidance but did not provide details on that decision.

Joyner updated analysts on recent meetings with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in which the insurer pledged to “streamline, simplify and reduce unnecessary complexities in healthcare.” CVS ran afoul of government regulators in a pair of June actions.

A government audit uncovered $7 million in CMS overpayments to a Medicare Advantage plan operated by CVS Health, through its Aetna subsidiary. The plan, Coventry Health and Life Insurance Company, had inflated diagnoses for its members between 2018 and 2019, the audit found.

In another case, CVS Caremark, CVS Health's pharmacy benefit management subsidiary, was ordered to pay at least $95 million to the government after a federal court found that Caremark had overcharged Medicare for generic drugs.

Much like their competitors, Aetna is pulling out of markets that are not conducive to the bottom line.

In May, Hartford-based Aetna announced plans to abandon Affordable Care Act health-insurance exchanges nationwide next year. Aetna offers ACA health plans in 17 states with enrollment of about 1 million.

Steve Nelson, executive vice president and president of Aetna, provided an update on the exit efforts.

“We've had very positive conversations with our states,” he said. “We've notified all our members. We continue to provide coverage for them, and we'll focus on that, but we're exiting that business, and that wind down is going really well.”

In Other News:

Weight-loss drugs. Executives updated how Aetna is handling the costly weight-loss drugs. For employer clients, those costs have doubled over the past two years, Joyner said, and now represent 15% of their pharmacy costs.

Known as GLP‑1 drugs, those prescriptions rose more than 400% between 2019 and 2023. Spending increased over 500%, with average costs per prescription exceeding $900 before rebates.

In 2025, GLP-1s accounted for about 10.5% of total pharmacy claims in employer-sponsored health plans—exceeding 10% of total annual claims for those plans.

On July 1, CVS Caremark stopped covering Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, a blockbuster GLP-1 drug that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration since November 2023 for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or who are overweight.

“The egregiously high list prices set by drug manufacturers of GLP-1s for weight loss are the single biggest barrier to patient access,” CVS Health said in a statement. “Our formulary strategy maintains clinically appropriate coverage while using competition to drive lower costs.”

More than 95% of customers are receiving their preferred weight-loss drug, Joyner said.

“However, we know drug therapy alone is not enough to achieve the best outcomes,” he added. “To address this, we offer a powerful weight management program that empowers patients to achieve greater weight loss and drug therapy alone. Importantly, our program participants, on average, achieve double-digit percent weight loss at 12 months, regardless of the drug they use.”

Pharmacy business. In CVS’s pharmacy and wellness segment, total revenues increased 12.5% to $33.58 billion compared to the prior year, “primarily driven by pharmacy drug mix and increased prescription and front store volume, partially offset by continued pharmacy reimbursement pressure,” the company said.

Many pharmacy chains are struggling, with CVS taking over many of Rite Aid's stores after the competitor filed for bankruptcy. Brian Newman, chief financial officer of CVS Health, said CVS pharmacies are running strong.

“Retail pharmacy script share in the quarter grew to approximately 27.8%, an increase of approximately 60 basis points from the same period last year,” he said. “Same-store pharmacy sales in the quarter grew over 18% compared to the prior year, and same-store prescription volumes increased over 6%.”

Quarterly Snapshot:

• Raised cash flow from operations guidance to at least $7.5 billion from approximately $7 billion
• Generated year-to-date cash flow from operations of $6.5 billion
• CVS Pharmacy agreed to acquire certain prescription files and store locations from Rite Aid

Management Perspective:

“Our strong results and updated expectations reflect the power of our diversified business. We are seeing the impact of our intense focus on the execution within our Aetna and pharmacy businesses while managing incremental pressure and health care delivery.”

– President and CEO David Joyner

By The Numbers:

• Total Revenue: $99 billion ($91 billion in Q2 2024)
• Adjusted Operating Income: $3.8 billion ($3.7 billion in Q2 2024)
• Earnings Per Share: Adjusted EPS of $1.81 ($1.83 in Q2 2024)
• Dividend Declared: $0.665 per share
• Stock Price Movement: Shares up 1% to $63.01 at midday Thursday.

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.