CVS Health Corporation’s (CVS – Free Report) fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.92 were up 12.3% year over year. The adjusted EPS also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. This one-time adjustment excludes the impact of a $1.5 billion income tax benefit resulting from the latest tax reform.

Reported EPS from continuing operations came in at $3.22 per share, a 102.5% surge from the year-ago period.

Full-year 2017 adjusted EPS came in at $5.90, a 1% improvement from the year-ago adjusted number.

Net revenues in the fourth quarter increased 5.3% year over year to $48.39 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.8%.

CVS Health Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

CVS Health Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | CVS Health Corporation Quote

Revenues for the year 2017 were $184.77 billion, a 4.1% improvement from 2016. Revenues also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $183.88 billion.

Quarter in Details

Pharmacy Services revenues increased 9.3% to $34.2 billion in the reported quarter, driven by growth in specialty pharmacy volumes, higher pharmacy network volumes as well as brand inflation. This was, however, partially offset by increased generic dispensing and continued price compression.

Pharmacy network claims processed during the quarter climbed 8.2% to 389.7 million on a 30-day equivalent basis, backed by net new business growth. Also, the Mail Choice processed claim count was 69 million, up 5.9% on a 30-day equivalent basis on continued adoption of Maintenance Choice offerings and a rise in specialty pharmacy claims.

Revenues from CVS Health’s Retail/LTC were up by a marginal 0.3% year over year to $20.9 billion. According to the company, a 2.5% increase in same store prescriptions on a 30-day equivalent basis and brand inflation were partially offset by continued reimbursement pressure and an increase in the generic dispensing rate.