Earnings Preview: CVS Caremark's EPS, Revenue Expected to Rise - CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Caremark CVS announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, November 3, 2011. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's third quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Wall Street expects an EPS of 67 cents/share and revenues of $26.77 billion. CVS Caremark's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of 65 cents/share on revenues of $23.88 billion. We'll have to wait for Thursday to see if the company has accomplished the estimated 3.1% rise in EPS and 12.1% increase in revenues on a year-over-year basis.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
EPS Estimate	$0.64	$0.55	$0.79	$0.64
EPS Actual	$0.65	$0.57	$0.80	$0.65

Stock Performance:

At last check, shares of CVS Caremark were trading at $36.84. Since January 1st, shares have given investors a return of 7.4%. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 7.8%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts is a Moderate Buy. Over the past three months this rating's strength has declined slightly.

Competitors:

Want to check out the performance of CVS Caremark closest competitors? Take a look at some of the company's peers in the consumer staples sector.

BioScrip BIOS: Moderate Buy with a $0.10 recent quarter EPS
GNC Holdings GNC: Moderate Buy with a $0.46 recent quarter EPS

CVS Caremark is in the retail-drug stores industry, which has experienced price/earnings growth of 1.5%.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: CVS Caremark provides prescriptions and related health care services and products.

Take Action:

Now that you're fully prepared, get ready to take quick action if the company reports any numbers significantly different from those listed above. Also, check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap and what-to-do-next guide.

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