CVS Health Corp (NYSE: CVS) stock rose 1.15% (As on August 4, 11:39:31 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company plans to acquire or take a stake in a primary-care company by the end of the year, as competition heats up with Amazon and Walgreens. The company has delivered better than expected results for the second quarter of FY 22. Pharmacy Services revenues were up 11.7% to $42.81 billion in the reported quarter. The upside was primarily driven by increased pharmacy claims volume, growth in specialty pharmacy and brand inflation, partially offset by continued client price improvements. Total pharmacy claims processed rose 3.9% on a 30-day equivalent basis, attributable to strong net new business, greater utilization and extension of the cough, cold, and flu season compared to the previous year, partially offset by lower COVID-19 vaccinations. Revenues from CVS Health’s Retail/LTC segment were up 6.3% year over year to $26.29 billion. The impressive growth was driven by increased prescription and front store volume, including the sale of COVID-19 OTC test kits and the impact of an extended cough, cold and flu season versus the prior year and pharmacy brand inflation. Within the Health Care Benefits segment, the company registered revenues worth $22.76 billion in the second quarter, up 10.9% year over year.

CVS in the second quarter of FY 22 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $2.40, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $2.14, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 11 percent to $80.64 billion in the second quarter of FY 22, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue by 5.3%. Adjusted operating income decreased $77 million in the three months ended June 30, 2022 compared to the prior year. The decrease in adjusted operating income was primarily driven by declines in the Retail/LTC and Corporate/Other segments, largely offset by increases in the Health Care Benefits and Pharmacy Services segments

The company currently expects adjusted EPS in the band of $8.40-$8.60 (up from the earlier projected $8.20-$8.40). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings is pegged at $8.34.

The company has also updated its full-year operating cash flow projection in the range of $12.5-$13.5 billion (up from the prior projection of $12.0-$13.0 billion).

Meanwhile, medical membership as of June 30, 2022 of 24.4 million decreased 90,000 members compared with March 31, 2022, primarily due to the decrease of approximately 266,000 members in connection with the divestiture of the Company’s international health care business domiciled in Thailand during the second quarter of 2022.