CVS Health to Split Into Two Publicly Traded Companies Separating Retail Pharmacy From Insurance and PBM

CVS Health has decided to break itself into two independent, publicly traded companies, separating its retail pharmacy chain from its Aetna insurance and Caremark pharmacy-benefit management operations. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, first confirmed the split after the Financial Times reported the company was exploring such a move. The breakup is expected to be completed in the first half of 2028.

Under the arrangement, current CVS Chief Executive David Joyner will lead the company that retains the CVS Health name, which will house the Aetna insurance unit and the Caremark pharmacy-benefit division. The retail pharmacy business will become a separate listed company. Both entities will trade publicly after the separation.

CVS shares rose in after-hours trading on the news. The breakup marks a dramatic reversal for the country's largest drugstore chain, which spent years assembling a vertically integrated healthcare conglomerate through acquisitions including its roughly $70 billion purchase of Aetna in 2018.