A Blog by Jonathan Low

 

Feb 13, 2022

CVS Forecasts 80 Percent Drop In 2022 Covid Vaccinations, 50 Percent Test Drop

The USs largest drugstore chain evidently does not believe a new variant is coming, nor that a fourth booster shot is going to gain traction. JL 

Leroy Leo reports in Reuters:

CVS Health Corp said it expected a 70% to 80% drop in the number of COVID-19 vaccines its drugstores will administer this year. The company, which operates one of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, manages pharmacy benefits for employers and health plans and owns the Aetna health insurer, also forecast a 40% to 50% fall in COVID-19 testing at its stores. It said it expects "modest full-year volume growth" in over-the-counter test kits. "Our outlook does not assume any impact from the administration of a fourth COVID-19 booster."

CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) on Wednesday said it expected a 70% to 80% drop in the number of COVID-19 vaccines its drugstores will administer this year and said 2022 profit would be driven by its health insurance and pharmacy benefit management businesses.

Shares of the company fell more than 4% to in early trading after the company left its 2022 earnings forecast unchanged despite beating profit expectations in the fourth quarter.

 

CVS made the comments during a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results, which exceeded Wall Street estimates for profit and sales.

The company, which operates one of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, manages pharmacy benefits for employers and health plans and owns the Aetna health insurer, also forecast a 40% to 50% fall in COVID-19 testing at its stores. It said it expects "modest full-year volume growth" in over-the-counter test kits.

 

CVS said it administered COVID-19 vaccine booster doses during the fourth quarter that it had previously expected to provide in 2022, helping drive a near 13% increase in sales at its retail stores. That was also a factor in not raising the 2022 forecast, it said.

While some countries such as Israel have begun giving out fourth vaccine doses, CVS is not counting on booster shots boosting its business.

 

"Our outlook does not assume any impact from the administration of a fourth COVID-19 booster," Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guertin said on the call.

People walk by a CVS pharmacy store in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021.
People walk by a CVS pharmacy store in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021.

"As such, we expect the contribution of COVID-19 vaccines to be more heavily weighted to the first half of the year."

Demand for COVID-19 vaccines at CVS stores shot up to more than 20 million during the fourth quarter from around 11 million in the preceding quarter as the U.S. booster shot campaign gathered steam.

The company administered over 8 million COVID-19 tests, largely similar to what it recorded in the third quarter.

CVS' sales and profit beat in the quarter was "more pronounced, due to stale and overly conservative estimates that didn’t align with guidance," said Baird analyst Eric Coldwell.

Excluding items, CVS earned $1.98 per share, beating analysts' estimates by 5 cents, according to Refinitiv data.

Sales in its pharmacy services unit, which includes the pharmacy benefit management business, rose to $39.34 billion in the quarter from $36.36 billion.

Total revenue rose 10% to $76.60 billion, topping estimates of $75.67 billion.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

COVID brought many disasters in the global market, the shares was dropped and not taking place now, here we are now the start of 2022 which is another COVID variations year and past we have seen two more variants comes like Delta and Omicron which is highly danger at the moment of talk. Well, talking about my essay of English Literature which is impossible to be complete level and I have to hire cheap essay writing service UK because i really need to complete before the deadline.

Take my online class for me said...

COVID is now coming to an end because people have been vaccinated and our now taking care of themselves by using masks.

Story Writing Services said...

CVS Health projected an 80 percent decline in COVID-19 vaccinations and a 50 percent decrease in testing for 2022. This significant drop indicated the progress in pandemic control, reflecting widespread vaccinations and reduced testing demand. The forecast signaled a positive shift, indicating a hopeful trend toward managing the ongoing health crisis more effectively.

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