CVS Mulling Breakup of Retail, Insurance Units, Reports Say

Key Takeaways

• CVS Health reportedly is considering potentially separating its retail pharmacies and Aetna health insurance operations.

• The company’s board is reviewing a number of options as it looks to improve its profitability after recent quarters have seen CVS lower its full-year outlook, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported.

• The chain’s management reportedly met with hedge fund Glenview Capital Management, which owns roughly 1% of CVS’s shares, on Monday to discuss ideas to improve the business.

CVS Health (CVS) reportedly is considering a breakup of its retail pharmacies and Aetna health insurance unit amid struggling results and pressure from investors, according to Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.

The reports say no plans have been finalized, and CVS’s board is still reviewing how a breakup would work financially and whether its CVS Caremark pharmacy benefits management unit would be paired with the retail pharmacies or insurance side of the business.

CVS completed its nearly $70 billion acquisition of Aetna in November 2018.

CVS Executives Reportedly Met With Hedge Fund Monday

CVS management reportedly met with Glenview Capital Management on Monday, as the hedge fund with a roughly 1% stake in the company looked to voice its thoughts on how it could improve, according to the Journal. Separately Monday, the company informed employees of layoffs affecting roughly 2,900 jobs, largely at the corporate level, as part of its broader cost-cutting efforts, the Journal reported.

“CVS Health’s management team and Board of Directors are continually exploring ways to create shareholder value,” a CVS spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Investopedia. “We remain focused on driving performance and delivering high-quality healthcare products and services enabled by our unmatched scale and integrated model.”

The reported consideration of substantial changes comes as the company has lowered its full-year guidance for three consecutive quarters as the Medicare segment of Aetna’s business has seen costs rise more than expected, and the newly reported pressure from investors.

CVS shares, which rose 2.4% Monday on the reported meeting with Glenview Capital, were up a further 2.2% at $64.27 in premarket trading. Still, they are down about 19% so far this year.

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