News Summary: CVS Caremark 1Q profit soars 23 pct
News Summary: CVS Caremark's 1st qtr profit jumps 23 pct, helped by impact from generic drugs
THE RESULTS: CVS Caremark Corp. said Monday that its first-quarter net income jumped 23 percent. It earned $956 million, or 77 cents per share, compared with $776 million, or 59 cents per share, last year. Revenue fell slightly to $30.76 billion.
THE EXPECTATIONS: Adjusted earnings totaled 83 cents per share. Analysts expected 79 cents per share on about $30.37 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
KEY FACTOR: An increase in generic drugs helped the company's bottom line because they provide a wider margin between the cost for the pharmacy to purchase the drugs and the reimbursement received.
