CVS to split in two by 2028, separating 9,000 pharmacies from Aetna and Caremark

CVS Health said Wednesday that it intends to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies, with completion expected in the first half of 2028. According to the company's 8-K filing on SEC EDGAR, one company will hold Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Specialty, Oak Street Health and Signify Health. The other, to be named CVS Pharmacy, will hold about 9,000 pharmacies, mail pharmacy, MinuteClinic and the Health100 technology business. Existing shareholders will own shares in both.

In Nasdaq's quote feed at 8:25 AM ET, CVS was indicated at $88.90, down 2.75% from Tuesday's $91.41 close.

What was announced

Item	What CVS said
Company one	Aetna, Caremark, CVS Specialty, Oak Street, Signify. Keeps the CVS Health name for now, led by Chairman and CEO David Joyner
Company two	CVS Pharmacy: about 9,000 stores, mail pharmacy, MinuteClinic, Health100. Led by Prem Shah, now group president
Timing	First half of 2028, subject to board approval and an effective Form 10 registration statement with the SEC
Balance sheets	Both expected to carry a solid investment grade rating and pay a dividend

CNBC reported that the deal would reverse the roughly $78 billion Aetna acquisition and end the vertically integrated model CVS built in 2018. The Financial Times reported the plan on Tuesday, and Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny called it “a complete shock” in a note, adding that the pharmacy business has been winning share and could be stronger standing alone.

The quarter that came with it

CVS's third-quarter release shows revenue of $108.4 billion, up 5.4%, and adjusted earnings of $2.09 a share against $1.60 a year earlier. The insurer's medical benefit ratio, the share of premiums paid out in medical costs, improved to 91.3% from 92.8%. The company raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to at least $8.20 from a range of $7.90 to $8.10, and its operating cash flow guidance to at least $15.5 billion from at least $11.5 billion.

The two halves look different. Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness revenue fell 2.0% in the quarter on price cuts for certain drugs, generic introductions and reimbursement pressure, yet its adjusted operating income rose 10.6%. Health Services, which includes the pharmacy benefit manager, grew revenue 9.5% but adjusted operating income only 2.7%. The pharmacy side is shrinking in sales and growing in profit; the PBM side is the opposite.

The part the headlines skip: regulation

CNBC noted that pharmacy benefit managers face bipartisan scrutiny in Washington and that states have moved to restrict PBM ownership of pharmacies. Cherny's note suggested the split could be a way to avoid that state-level pressure. CVS's own release frames the move as focus and capital flexibility and does not mention regulation, so the regulatory motive is an analyst's read, not a company statement.

Who it touches, and when

Nothing changes for customers now. CVS said patients, clients and members will keep receiving medicine, care and benefits without interruption, and that until separation it will operate as it does today. The practical questions come later:

• Independent pharmacy owners negotiate reimbursement through networks that include Caremark. Whether a separated CVS Pharmacy changes how it competes with them, or how Caremark treats outside pharmacies, is not addressed in the filings.
• Employers that buy Aetna coverage with Caremark drug benefits bundled in will keep both under the healthcare solutions company, which is the pairing CVS says it is protecting.
• Suppliers and landlords of CVS's store base will deal with a standalone retail company with its own balance sheet, the one new counterparty that is created.

What to watch

The Form 10 filing, which will carry separate financial statements for each company, and the 8:00 AM ET investor call, where the company said it would discuss the quarter and the separation. The stock sits 17.4% below its July 21 high, and Nasdaq lists a 52-week range of $69.51 to $110.68, so the market had already priced in some doubt before Wednesday.

Sources: CVS Health 8-K and press releases, Nov. 4, 2026, via SEC EDGAR; CNBC; Nasdaq quote data; Yahoo Finance price history. Premarket quotes can change quickly. This is market information, not investment advice.