Shares of CVS Health Corp. rallied 3.6% toward a 2 1/2-year high in premarket trading Tuesday, after the drugstore chain and health care services company reported first-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations, with growth in all segments, and raised its full-year outlook. Net income rose to $2.22 billion, or $1.68 a share, from $2.01 billion, or $1.53 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share grew to $2.04 from $1.91, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.73. Revenue increased 3.5% to $69.10 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $68.36 billion. Pharmacy services revenue rose 3.8% to $36.32 billion to beat the FactSet consensus of $35.41 billion, retail and long-term care revenue grew 2.3% to $23.27 billion to top expectations of $23.11 billion and health care benefits revenue increased 6.7% to $20.48 billion to beat expectations of $20.06 billion. For 2021, the company raised its guidance range for adjusted EPS to $7.56 to $7.68 from $7.39 to $7.55, and affirmed it cash flow outlook of $12.0 billion to $12.5 billion. The stock, on track to open at the highest price seen since November 2018, has climbed 13.8% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.6%.
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