CVS to Split Into Two Companies — Stock Drops 11%

Healthcare giant CVS just announced a major shake-up: it plans to split itself into two completely separate companies by the first half of 2028. The news surprised investors, and CVS shares (small pieces of ownership in a company) fell about 11% on Wednesday.

What exactly is being split? Right now, CVS is a giant "one-stop" health company. It owns three big things:

• About 9,000 retail drugstores (the pharmacies you walk into)
• Aetna, a major health insurance business (which CVS bought for $78 billion back in 2018)
• Caremark, a "PBM" or *pharmacy benefit manager* — a middleman that negotiates drug prices for insurers and employers

After the split, there will be two separate public companies:

• CVS Health — keeps the insurance and PBM businesses, run by current CEO David Joyner
• CVS Pharmacy — the drugstores, led by Prem Shah

If you own CVS stock today, you'll end up owning shares in both new companies.

Why do this? CEO David Joyner says the company is acting "out of a position of strength," not weakness. CVS stock has jumped about 70% since Joyner took over in October 2024, and the company is now worth around $117 billion. By splitting, each company can focus on what it does best.

Here are some key numbers:

• Pharmacy business: $37.66 billion in 2025 sales
• Insurance business: $36.29 billion in revenue
• Healthcare services: $51.24 billion
• CVS's latest quarter beat Wall Street expectations, with total sales of $108.40 billion

One worry: Some investors fear the drugstores could lose an advantage by no longer being tied directly to the PBM. But Joyner says the two businesses will keep working together through contracts.

There's also growing political pressure. PBMs have been criticized for unclear pricing, and some states have passed laws banning companies from owning both PBMs and pharmacies. Splitting up may help CVS sidestep this scrutiny.

Bottom line: CVS is reversing years of efforts to become a giant all-in-one health company — and betting that two focused businesses will perform better than one.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/04/cvs-to-split-off-drugstore-business.html