Company Description
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is described as a health solutions company that operates across multiple areas of the U.S. health care and retail pharmacy landscape. According to company disclosures, CVS Health builds "a world of health around every consumer" by combining retail pharmacy locations, walk-in and primary care medical clinics, a large pharmacy benefits manager, and health insurance products and related services within an integrated model.
As of September 30, 2025, CVS Health reports having approximately 9,000 retail pharmacy locations in the United States and more than 1,000 walk-in and primary care medical clinics. These locations include CVS Pharmacy stores and clinics such as MinuteClinic walk-in medical clinics, which provide access points for vaccinations and other health services. The company notes that nearly 85% of Americans live within 10 miles of a CVS Pharmacy, illustrating its broad physical presence across U.S. communities.
CVS Health also operates what it describes as a leading pharmacy benefits manager with approximately 87 million plan members. Through this pharmacy benefit management business, the company manages prescription drug coverage and related services for health plan clients and other customers. In addition, CVS Health serves an estimated more than 37 million people through traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including Medicare Advantage offerings and a standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan that the company characterizes as leading in its category.
The company states that its integrated model uses personalized, technology-driven services to connect people to "simply better health," with the stated goals of increasing access to quality care, delivering better outcomes, and lowering overall costs. CVS Health highlights the use of technology and data to support consumer engagement, including digital tools and AI-driven capabilities deployed across entities such as Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Pharmacy and its Health Care Delivery businesses.
Business segments and integrated model
In public communications, CVS Health refers to a "powerful collection of diversified businesses" that work together across the health care landscape. These include Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Pharmacy and Health Care Delivery. The company indicates that these businesses are connected through an integrated platform that aims to simplify care for consumers, health care professionals and payors.
Aetna, described as a CVS Health business, serves an estimated 37 million people with information and resources to help them make health care decisions. Aetna offers a broad range of health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental and behavioral health plans, medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services, and health information technology products and services. Aetna’s customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care professionals, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates.
CVS Health also references its Health Care Delivery business, which includes primary care and other clinical services. The company notes that it has walk-in and primary care medical clinics and has discussed Health Care Delivery clinic closure charges in its financial disclosures, indicating active management of this part of the enterprise. The company has also cited acquisitions such as Signify Health, Inc. and Oak Street Health, Inc. in connection with acquisition-related integration costs, and it has referenced primary care services in earlier descriptions of its business mix.
Scale, reach and economic impact
CVS Health emphasizes its national footprint and economic role in the United States. In a National Economic Impact Report, the company reports operating in every U.S. state and Washington, D.C., serving approximately 185 million individuals across its businesses. It states that nearly 85% of Americans live within 10 miles of a CVS Pharmacy and that its operations support a large number of jobs and generate tax revenues for local, state and federal programs.
The company describes itself as one of the top U.S. employers, with hundreds of thousands of employees and a broader job impact through its operations and supply chain. CVS Health reports that it invests in community initiatives and volunteer efforts, and it highlights its history dating back more than 60 years to its beginnings as Consumer Value Store in Lowell, Massachusetts. This historical reference underscores the company’s long-standing presence in retail pharmacy and health-related services.
Community and public health initiatives
CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation describe multiple community-focused programs that connect health care, social needs and local partnerships. For example, the CVS Health Foundation has provided grants to organizations such as the American Diabetes Association to expand maternal health initiatives focused on gestational diabetes in New York City. These programs aim to improve early screening, care coordination and access to technologies such as continuous glucose monitoring, as well as address food insecurity through medically tailored meals.
The company also participates in public health responses. In one instance, CVS Health announced that CVS Pharmacy stores and MinuteClinic walk-in medical clinics in South Carolina were offering the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine during a measles outbreak in the state. The company indicated that vaccines were available at select locations and described eligibility guidelines and age ranges for vaccination at CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic sites.
CVS Health further notes investments in affordable housing projects, such as supporting the adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of historic properties into affordable senior housing. The company links these investments to its view that housing is connected to health and community wellbeing, and it cites multi-million-dollar commitments to affordable housing developments in specific states.
Corporate governance and capital markets activity
CVS Health Corporation is incorporated in Delaware and its common stock, with a par value of $0.01 per share, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol CVS, according to its SEC filings. The company files current reports on Form 8-K to disclose material events, including financial results, guidance updates, governance changes and financing transactions.
In one Form 8-K, CVS Health reported that its Board of Directors appointed J. David Joyner, President and Chief Executive Officer, to the additional role of Chair of the Board, effective January 1, 2026. The filing notes that the company issued a press release announcing this appointment and that the Board maintains a Lead Independent Director role.
CVS Health has also reported capital markets transactions, such as issuing multiple series of senior notes under an Underwriting Agreement with investment banks. These notes were issued pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR and are governed by a senior indenture with a corporate trustee. The company described the aggregate principal amounts, maturities and interest rates of these notes and indicated that net proceeds would be available for general corporate purposes, as detailed in the relevant filing.
Financial communications and guidance
The company regularly communicates financial information through press releases and Form 8-K filings. CVS Health has issued press releases announcing quarterly and annual financial results and has provided full-year financial guidance, including projections for total revenues, operating income, adjusted operating income, GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share and adjusted earnings per share. The company also provides guidance on cash flow from operations and discusses long-term growth targets, such as expectations for adjusted EPS compound annual growth over a multi-year period.
CVS Health uses non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted operating income and adjusted EPS, and it provides definitions and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in its communications. The company explains that these adjusted metrics exclude items such as amortization of intangible assets, net realized capital gains or losses, acquisition-related integration costs, goodwill impairment charges, clinic closure charges, opioid litigation charges, office real estate optimization charges, legacy litigation charges, losses on certain assets, restructuring charges, gains on deconsolidation of subsidiaries and gains on early extinguishment of debt, along with related tax impacts.
Risk, litigation and subsidiary developments
CVS Health’s filings describe various legal and restructuring matters affecting parts of its enterprise. For example, the company has recorded opioid litigation charges related to ongoing litigation matters and legacy litigation charges associated with court decisions about past business practices. In addition, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary, Omnicare, LLC, voluntarily initiated chapter 11 proceedings under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to address litigation-related monetary damages and other financial challenges facing the long-term care pharmacy industry. According to the Form 8-K, Omnicare entered into a debtor-in-possession financing agreement to support continued operations during the court-supervised process and to evaluate restructuring options, including a standalone restructuring or sale strategy.
These disclosures illustrate that CVS Health’s overall enterprise includes subsidiaries with distinct risk profiles and regulatory considerations. The parent company uses SEC filings to provide information about such developments and to outline their potential implications for its broader business.
Pharmacies and drug stores sector context
Within the Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry and the broader Retail Trade sector, CVS Health’s activities span retail pharmacy operations, pharmacy benefit management, health insurance products and health care delivery services. The company emphasizes that its integrated structure, extensive retail footprint and technology-driven engagement capabilities position it to connect consumers with health services in local communities, through digital channels and via relationships with health care providers and health plan clients.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
The following FAQs summarize key aspects of CVS Health Corporation based on the information described above.