BUZZ - CVS stock surges on reports of retail pharmacy business spin-off

November 4 - ** The share price of health insurance company CVS Health (CVS.N) rose by 1.4% in pre-market trading to $92.7

** According to The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday night, the company plans to spin off its approximately 9,000 retail stores, mail-order pharmacy, and MinuteClinic business (link) as a listed company

** The Financial Times also reported on the spin-off plan earlier on Tuesday

** The remaining CVS Health business will retain Aetna insurance, Caremark pharmacy benefits, specialty pharmacy, Oak Street Health, and Signify Health, and CEO David Joyner will continue to lead this business

** This split will dismantle the business structure CVS built nearly 20 years ago by acquiring Caremark and spending $78 billion to acquire Aetna

** JPMorgan stated that the new company will become the largest retail pharmacy chain in the US, with about 9,000 stores and a 28% to 29% market share in the retail prescription drug market

** The brokerage expects that the independently operated pharmacy business, excluding the cost of the spin-off and mail-order pharmacy contributions, could achieve adjusted earnings of $7.7 to $7.8 billion in 2026

** As of the close of the previous trading day, CVS has risen 15.2% so far this year

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