Health Care Services

Inspire IVF Public Company Limited, or IVF, has acquired a 24% stake in Eternity Healthcare 369 Company Limited, or ETERNITY, and the two parties have begun discussing avenues for cooperation and are preparing cross-selling to connect their customer bases and expand joint business opportunities. Kesinee Kuldilok, Chief Executive Officer of IVF, said the partnership will reinforce the strengths of both sides, since ETERNITY specialises in men's health, particularly Urology, while IVF is strong in women's health and fertility treatment, covering egg freezing, IVF and ICSI, allowing the two to extend their health services to cover both women and men more comprehensively. The company has also expanded its services under Inspire IVF in the Wellness segment, which officially opened for service early last month on the G floor of the Ploenchit Center building, while the IVF centre is located on the 5th floor of the same building. The Wellness services cover vitamin infusions, blood tests, screening for 10 types of cancer, cell age testing and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, targeting premium customers, who are currently mostly foreign clients, especially from the Middle East, whose per-capita spending is higher than that of Thai customers. For its second-half 2026 plan, the company will continue to market its IVF business, and in about two weeks it is preparing to market and hold roadshows in India in both B2B and B2C formats, bringing a team of doctors along to provide consultations, while in October it plans to travel to China to tap the B2B segment further, alongside driving the Wellness business and building synergies with ETERNITY.

CVS Health is trading near $94, a 19% discount to the $116.28 average analyst price target and roughly 50% below the $141.05 base-case one-year target in 24/7 Wall St.'s own valuation model. Management raised full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $7.90 to $8.10 from $7.30 to $7.50 and lifted operating cash flow guidance to at least $11.5 billion. Second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.58 beat consensus by 37.97%, and Aetna's medical benefit ratio improved to 87.4% from 89.9%. Full-year 2026 consensus EPS has drawn 22 upward analyst revisions and zero downward revisions over the trailing 30 days. The bull case rests on Aetna's margin recovery proving durable, while PBM re-regulation, 340B pressure, and drug pricing rules remain the sharpest threats to the thesis. The next checkpoint is third-quarter 2026 earnings, expected November 4, 2026, a date not yet confirmed by the company.

CVS Health announced the rollout of updated 2026 to 2027 COVID-19 vaccines across its CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic locations. The vaccines are positioned for broad availability through the company's nationwide network of retail pharmacies and in-store clinics, which CVS Health framed as part of its role in supporting ongoing COVID-19 management and wider public health efforts. The US-based healthcare group, which carries a reported market value of about $121.1b, uses those pharmacies and clinics to distribute vaccines and other preventive services that feed into its broader health solutions offering. The rollout keeps CVS Health aligned with a value-based, preventive care narrative rather than rewriting it, as making updated COVID, flu, RSV and routine shots available in a single visit leans into the company's push to use its clinics and pharmacies as an entry point into its wider health solutions. The real proof point will come through disclosed vaccination volumes and related pharmacy script trends in upcoming quarters, especially any commentary from CVS Health at events such as the Wells Fargo healthcare conference on how multi-vaccine appointments are feeding into its wider care delivery and insurance ecosystem.

Zacks Investment Research has raised its 2026 consensus earnings estimate for BrightSpring Health Services by 16 cents to $1.82 per share, implying 82% growth over the prior-year reported level, while the 2026 revenue consensus stands at $15.26 billion, an 18.2% improvement. The Louisville, Kentucky-based home and community-based healthcare platform, which carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and an $11.62 billion market capitalization, is banking on expanding specialty pharmacy beyond oncology, infusion growth into another 12 to 15 states over the next five years, and deeper payer and hospital system relationships in Provider Services. BrightSpring shares have rallied 61% year to date, against a 3.2% gain for the industry and an 11.1% rise for the S&P 500, leaving its forward P/E of 32.35 well above the industry average of 16.92. Management expects the 2027 Inflation Reduction Act impact on Home and Community Pharmacy to be roughly half of the 2026 impact, though Specialty Pharmacy will continue to face revenue pressure, and integration of Amedisys and LHC plus automation and AI investments carry execution risk through 2026.

CVS Health's Health Services segment posted second-quarter 2026 revenues of $51.80 billion, up 11.5% year over year, while adjusted operating income rose 10% to $1.73 billion. The company reiterated its full-year 2026 adjusted operating income outlook despite updating its view of the 340B program, supported by performance across the broader Pharmacy Services business. The 2026 selling season generated more than $6 billion in new sales, well above the company's historical average, and Caremark's Humira biosimilar strategy has delivered more than $1.8 billion in client savings. Health Care Delivery revenues rose nearly 23% year over year in the quarter, primarily driven by Oak Street Health, as CVS makes technology infrastructure changes, refines payer contracts and adopts a more selective clinic footprint. For comparison, UnitedHealth's Optum health services business reached $129.4 billion in the first half of 2026, and Elevance Health's Carelon posted first-half 2026 revenues of $37.2 billion, up 7.1% year over year.

AMN Healthcare Services reported second quarter revenue of $673.2 million, up 2% from a year earlier, alongside net income of $21.2 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.77, more than double the $0.30 posted in the same quarter of 2025. Within the business, the Nurse and Allied Solutions segment, which includes travel nurse and allied staffing, posted $422 million in revenue, an 11% increase from a year ago, with travel nurse staffing revenue up 10% and the allied division up 8%, while search revenue climbed 27% year over year. Two other segments kept shrinking: Physician and Leadership Solutions revenue fell 6% year over year to $165 million, and Technology and Workforce Solutions revenue dropped 15% to $87 million, dragged down by a 20% decline in vendor management systems revenue. AMN's third-quarter guidance projects Physician and Leadership Solutions down 5% to 7% and Technology and Workforce Solutions down 11% to 13% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA rose 26% year over year to $73.4 million, and the company ended the quarter with $362 million in cash, a leverage ratio of 1.5x, and nothing drawn on its revolving credit facility, though operating cash flow was negative $190 million as AMN returned client deposits tied to first-quarter labor disruption events.

Labcorp Holdings presented a long-term growth strategy and financial forecast at its 2026 Investor Day, reaffirming full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share guidance of $18.10 to $18.55, above the Wall Street estimate of $18.01, and 2026 sales of $14.710 billion to $14.827 billion, edging past the $14.707 billion estimate. That 2026 revenue guidance comprises Diagnostics Laboratories sales of $11.45 billion to $11.53 billion and Biopharma Laboratory Services sales of $3.269 billion to $3.30 billion. Looking to 2029, management targets a compound annual revenue growth rate of 5% to 8% and compound annual adjusted EPS growth of 8.5% to 11.5%, with adjusted operating margin expanding by 75 to 150 basis points by the end of 2029 and compound annual free cash flow growth mirroring adjusted earnings growth. The company set four strategic priorities: leading specialty testing in oncology, neurology, autoimmune diseases and women's health; becoming a preferred partner for health systems and pharmaceutical companies; advancing personalized health solutions; and integrating artificial intelligence and robotics into its operations.

Walgreens is closing roughly 1,200 of its approximately 8,500 U.S. locations through 2027, a retreat that is quietly handing suburban pharmacy customers to CVS. The closures accelerated after Walgreens completed a $10 billion sale to private equity firm Sycamore Partners in August 2025, taking the 124-year-old chain private for the first time; Mike Motz was named chief executive, replacing Tim Wentworth, who stays on as a director, and John Lederer became executive chairman. Company leadership has blamed shrinking pharmacy reimbursement rates, weaker retail traffic, and competition from Amazon Pharmacy for the decision, saying roughly a quarter of stores no longer fit the chain's strategy. CVS, which owns the pharmacy benefit manager Caremark, has not needed a marketing campaign to gain ground, and CVS and Walgreens together now handle nearly 40% of all U.S. retail prescription sales. CVS posted more than $106 billion in revenue and adjusted operating income of roughly $5.2 billion in its second-quarter 2026 results, up more than 35% from a year earlier, and raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share guidance to a range of $7.90 to $8.10. Walgreens has committed to continuing closures through 2027, with roughly 100 more expected before the end of 2026, while CVS is opening small-format stores, folding in leftover Rite Aid real estate, and leaning into GLP-1 access through new partnerships with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

JPMorgan initiated coverage of Hims & Hers Health with a Neutral rating and a December 2027 price target of $32, weighing the direct-to-consumer platform's rapid growth against execution risk in its shift to branded weight-loss drugs. Analyst Bryan Smilek noted the company has about 2.9 million subscribers across specialties including weight loss, women's health and hair loss, and is navigating a strategic transition in its GLP-1 business after saying in March it would prioritize branded, FDA-approved medications and stop advertising compounded GLP-1 offerings. Under a partnership with Novo Nordisk, Hims is said to have fulfilled more than 125,000 Wegovy shipments in the first six weeks of launch, and Smilek wrote that the Novo partnership should more than offset compounded GLP-1 headwinds, projecting 2026 GLP-1 revenue of $1.1 billion, up 46%, split between a decline in compounded sales and a surge in branded volumes. He pointed to a long runway, citing JPMorgan estimates that U.S. cash-pay GLP-1 users could reach more than 8 million by 2030 from about 2.8 million today, while the company targets 2030 revenue of more than $6.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA above $1.3 billion, aided by international expansion, new specialties such as peptides and AI-driven efficiency. Smilek said he is positive on Hims' vertical integration and leading brand scale and expansion across specialties and geographies, but wants to see execution on the branded GLP-1 transition, durable growth in newer specialties and margin expansion.

Hyperion DeFi CEO Hyunsu Jung called President Donald Trump's White House endorsement of Hyperliquid "extremely positive," saying the administration's push to bring the decentralized exchange to the U.S. market in a fully compliant and legal fashion, along with support from agencies like the CFTC, clears the way for broader adoption. Hyperion DeFi holds roughly 1.93 million HYPE, worth over $166 million, on its balance sheet, making it the second-largest HYPE treasury company after Hyperliquid Strategies Inc., and Jung said the company plans to consistently accumulate the token, funded by revenue from expanding business lines and accretive purchases through public markets. Jung added that more HYPE ownership is beneficial given the trend that future new primitives on Hyperliquid will require some quantity of HYPE stake, though he clarified the company is not solely focused on accumulation, running institutional-grade validators for native staking rewards and allocating HYPE to core DeFi primitives such as lending, borrowing, and vault strategies. The HYPD stock is up 37% in a month, while the HYPE token has surged 58%. Hyperion DeFi raised its full-year 2026 adjusted gross profit guidance to $7 million-$8 million, up from $5 million-$7 million, and the Nasdaq-listed company also authorized a $20 million share repurchase program.

InnovAge Holding Corp. reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $989.7 million on September 8, up 15.9%, with company-defined non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA reaching $94.6 million versus $34.5 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 9.6% from 4.0%, while the consolidated GAAP net loss narrowed to $0.7 million from $35.3 million and the loss attributable to shareholders was $2.5 million. Census reached approximately 8,230 participants, up from 7,740, and company-defined non-GAAP center-level contribution margin reached $227.8 million, or 23.0% of revenue, versus 18.0% a year earlier. Fiscal 2027 guidance calls for revenue of $1.05 billion to $1.085 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $105 million to $115 million, implying at the midpoints approximately 7.9% revenue growth, 16.3% adjusted EBITDA growth and a 10.3% adjusted EBITDA margin. The company did not forecast GAAP net income, citing difficulty estimating the adjustments needed to reconcile its adjusted EBITDA outlook, and it added back $57.0 million of litigation costs and settlements in fiscal 2026, compared with $19.4 million a year earlier.

CVS Health raised its 2026 adjusted operating income outlook for its Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment by $220 million to at least $6.4 billion, citing higher prescription volumes and better pharmacy economics. In the second quarter of 2026, adjusted operating income for the segment rose 10.2% year over year to $1.48 billion, same-store prescription volume climbed 7%, and prescriptions filled increased 4.3% on a 30-day equivalent basis, while the segment's gross margin improved to 19.3% from 17.9% a year earlier. The company is also expanding access to GLP-1 therapies through its pharmacy network, MinuteClinic services and cash-pay options, and in July 2026 began the targeted launch of Health100, including Haio, its AI-powered health assistant, while Aetna launched a second-generation Claims Assist Manager that management expects to cut processing time by more than 20% for complex claims requiring manual review. CVS shares have gained 32.9% over the past year, outpacing UnitedHealth Group's 13% rise and Cigna Group's 8% decline, and the stock trades at a forward five-year price-to-sales of 0.29X versus an industry average of 0.53X. The company still faces reimbursement pressure, an insufficient 2027 Medicare Advantage payment update in management's view, and regulatory scrutiny, including challenges to pharmacy ownership laws in Arkansas and Tennessee. The Zacks Consensus Estimate implies 2026 sales growth of 3.8% and EPS growth of 18.1% year over year.

BrightSpring Health Services' Specialty and Infusion business grew revenue 30% year over year in the second quarter, with scripts up 31%, driven by branded limited distribution drug growth, new launches, fee-for-service programs, generics and acute-infusion expansion. The company added two ultra-narrow-network LDDs in the quarter, bringing its total portfolio to 155 programs, and launched 12 LDDs in the first half of 2026, four as exclusive partners and eight as ultra-narrow-network programs. Pharmacy Solutions' adjusted EBITDA rose 44% to $180 million, and management expects continued quarter-over-quarter growth through the remainder of 2026. BrightSpring said it has several hundred clinical liaisons across thousands of prescriber offices and 15 years of LDD experience, infrastructure it can leverage for rare and orphan therapies. Separately, Cigna's Specialty & Care pretax adjusted earnings rose 22% year over year to $1.1 billion, while Humana's second-quarter growth was driven primarily by Medicare Advantage membership and CenterWell expansion.

Quest Diagnostics announced that Apple Health app users in the United States will be able to purchase a tailored laboratory test panel, including over 50 biomarkers, directly through the app on iPhone and iPad later this year. The integration, first announced by Apple at its September event, will allow users to schedule blood draws and biometric readings at one of Quest's approximately 2,000 patient service centers for $119. Results will appear within the Apple Health app shortly after testing, with Quest collaborating with third-party providers to review orders and discuss results at no extra charge. Richard Adams, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Consumer at Quest, said the move aims to bridge clinical and consumer health, addressing preventive health needs for conditions like heart disease and diabetes that affect many American adults.

InnovAge Holding Corp. issued fiscal 2027 guidance for revenue of approximately $1.05 billion to $1.085 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $105 million to $115 million, targeting ending census growth of 5% to 7.5%. The company reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $989.7 million, up 15.9%, and adjusted EBITDA of $94.6 million, compared to $34.5 million in fiscal 2025. CEO Patrick Blair introduced an "InnovAge 3.0" strategy focusing on scaling the PACE platform, including investments in technology and AI, and evaluating de novo markets, M&A, and partnerships. CFO Benjamin Adams noted that California and Colorado, which represent approximately 70% of census, have unresolved rate-setting processes, and the company expects Medicare rates to increase about 1.5% to 2% in fiscal 2027. InnovAge also reported fiscal 2026 net loss of $0.7 million, improved from a net loss of $35.3 million in fiscal 2025.

Tokai announced on the 7th that, with an effective date of November 1, 2026, it will inherit the welfare equipment rental, sales, and home renovation businesses of K-WORKER and Araki Marine through a company split. K-WORKER and Araki Marine will be the splitting companies, and Tokai will be the succeeding company in an absorption-type split, with consideration of 120 million yen to K-WORKER and 186 million yen to Araki Marine. Tokai operates businesses supporting in-home care and currently has a total of 104 business locations across the Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions as the Tokai Group. Meanwhile, K-WORKER operates similar businesses within Tokyo, and Araki Marine within Kumamoto Prefecture. Through this inheritance, Tokai aims to expand its customer base and increase market share.

Quantum Cyber N.V., a Nasdaq-listed autonomous defense technology company, announced it has acquired a Lambda Hyperplane 8-A100 AI compute cluster powered by eight NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs to serve as the dedicated compute backbone for its Swarm Operating System and the AI features of its Quantum Station command-and-control platform. The cluster will be installed at the company's manufacturing facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut, co-locating AI infrastructure with drone production. Quantum Cyber says this marks its transition from an integrator of licensed technologies into an AI-native defense manufacturer with in-house compute, manufacturing, and command layers. The company has already used the cluster to train AI models for autonomous target detection and autolock across aerial and ground targets, and it has reduced live test flying by shifting autonomy iteration to simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing. CEO David Lazar emphasized that owning compute is essential to building a credible swarm platform, noting that the Trump administration is seeking approximately $55 billion for drone and autonomous warfare programs in fiscal year 2027, the largest single-year allocation in U.S. history.

CVS Health is executing a multi-year plan to restore Aetna, its insurance business, to target margins, with benefits visible in the first half of 2026 as Health Care Benefits adjusted operating income rose more than $2 billion year over year. The company raised its 2026 Health Care Benefits adjusted operating income outlook to $5.03-$5.37 billion, more than $1 billion above prior guidance, and expects a full-year medical benefit ratio of about 89.75%. Operational initiatives, including Aetna's Claims Assist Manager and the Aetna Clinical Collaboration program, are supporting the recovery. In a peer update, McKesson reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 Oncology & Multispecialty revenues up 33% and adjusted operating profit up 41%, while Align Technology saw teen and growing-patient treatment starts increase 7.2% year over year to 240,000 cases in the second quarter.

Jim Cramer advised investors to own CVS Health Corporation rather than trade it, citing the company's raised guidance, higher price targets, and massive capital plan. CVS Health reported second-quarter revenue of $106.1 billion, up 7.3% year over year, with adjusted EPS rising to $2.58 from $1.81. Management raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $7.90-$8.10 from $7.30-$7.50 and increased operating cash flow guidance to at least $11.5 billion from $9.5 billion. The Health Care Benefits segment's medical benefit ratio improved to 87.4% from 89.9%, and adjusted operating income surged 85.5% to approximately $2.43 billion. However, CVS expects Caremark membership to decline in 2027 as it shifts to lowest net cost pricing, and 340B pressure remains a headwind. The company repaid $3.29 billion of long-term debt in the first half of 2026 and did not repurchase shares.

Guardant Health announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its Guardant360 CDx as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer with ESR1 mutations who may benefit from AstraZeneca's ETCAMAH (camizestrant). This is the first FDA-approved liquid biopsy companion diagnostic for longitudinal testing in breast cancer, enabling repeat testing every three months to detect emerging ESR1 mutations before clinical or radiographic progression. The approval is based on the Phase III SERENA-6 trial, where ctDNA-guided treatment with camizestrant plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 56% compared to continuing an aromatase inhibitor with a CDK4/6 inhibitor. Patients in the new paradigm experienced a 74% longer median progression-free survival (16.0 vs. 9.2 months) and a 47% reduction in risk of deterioration in global health status. Approximately 37,000 U.S. women with advanced HR-positive breast cancer on aromatase inhibitors could benefit. This marks the 29th companion diagnostic indication for Guardant360 CDx, which is covered by Medicare and commercial payers representing over 300 million covered lives.

CVS Health reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $2.58, up 42.5% year over year and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 37.97%, while revenues rose 7.3% to $106.10 billion, surpassing expectations by 5.91%. The company raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $7.90-$8.10 per share from $7.30-$7.50, and lifted its revenue outlook to at least $414 billion from at least $405 billion. Management also increased its cash flow from operations forecast to at least $11.5 billion from at least $9.5 billion, citing improved expectations for the Health Care Benefits and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. Since the earnings report, shares have gained about 1%, outperforming the S&P 500, but estimates have trended downward by 6.08% over the past month. CVS Health holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) with a VGM Score of A.

Pediatrix Medical Group reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of 63 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.5% and up 18.9% year over year, while net revenues rose 4.1% to $487.8 million, surpassing estimates by 2.2%. The company's performance was driven by improved cash collections and a favorable payor mix, partly offset by lower patient volumes and higher operating costs. Management reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $280-$300 million and raised its net income forecast to $147.6-$162.1 million. Shares have gained 3.4% since the earnings report, outperforming the S&P 500, and estimates have trended upward, though the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Hims & Hers Health raised its 2026 revenue outlook after second-quarter sales climbed 38.2% year over year to $753.2 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.1%, though the company posted a net loss of $86.3 million. Subscribers grew 18.5% to about 2.9 million, and monthly online revenue per average subscriber rose 21.1% to $92, driven by a richer product mix and higher uptake of weight-loss offerings. U.S. revenue increased 15.7% to $621.8 million, while rest-of-world revenue reached $131.4 million. Management now expects full-year 2026 revenue of $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion, implying growth of 32% to 41%, up from its prior outlook of $2.8 billion to $3 billion. For the third quarter, the company projects revenue of $880 million to $900 million, or roughly 47% to 50% year-over-year growth. However, gross margin contracted 1,256 basis points to 63.8%, operating expenses rose 48.4% to $577.9 million, and the company recorded a $97.2 million operating loss versus a $26.7 million operating profit a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was $60.3 million, an 8% margin, and the loss-per-share estimate for 2026 has widened from 21 cents to 60 cents over the past 30 days.

Inspire IVF Public Company Limited (IVF) has announced the use of LUNA Robotics robots to present information to investors at the Opp Day event, marking the first time in Thailand. The robot will present data on behalf of executives, while the CEO and CFO will only handle Q&A sessions. The company plans to pilot the robot at a new branch within three months and collaborate with partner hospitals that do not yet offer IVF services to reduce personnel costs and promote its services. Additionally, IVF has established a subsidiary named M22 Company Limited (M22) to expand into the non-healthcare sector and has held discussions with UBTECH Robotics (UBT), a major Chinese humanoid robot company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2023, with the goal of developing a platform for selling robots and AI to external organizations in the future.

Labcorp Holdings has introduced the Elecsys pTau-217 blood test, the first FDA-cleared single biomarker test for Alzheimer's disease, which expands access through primary and specialty care with a minimally invasive blood draw. The company also announced a long-term alliance with the National Association of Community Health Centers to support clinical leadership and community health outcomes across the largest US primary care network. These moves highlight how Alzheimer's diagnostics and broader healthcare delivery are changing quickly, and they align with Labcorp's strategy to use its scale and assay portfolio to drive routine test orders. The key proof point will be whether ordering volumes for pTau-217 and related tests build meaningfully within primary care and the NACHC network through 2027 without compressing pricing or margins.

Chemed Corporation reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $6.06, up 41.9% year over year and surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.2%. Revenues totaled $673.3 million, up 8.8% from the year-ago quarter and topping estimates by 1.9%. The company raised its 2026 guidance, now expecting adjusted EPS in the range of $25.00-$25.75, up from the previous $24.00-$24.75, and revenue growth excluding Medicare Cap of 8.25-9.25%, up from 6.5-7.5%. Shares have gained about 1.7% since the earnings report, underperforming the S&P 500, and analysts have made no estimate revisions in the past two months. Chemed holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) with a VGM Score of B.

CVS Health is building momentum in its Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness segment, which generated nearly $34 billion in second-quarter revenues and raised its full-year adjusted operating income guidance to at least $6.4 billion, up $220 million from prior guidance. The segment, which includes nearly 9,000 retail locations, benefited from the acquisition of prescription files from 626 former Rite Aid and Bartell Drugs pharmacies, adding more than nine million patients. Same-store pharmacy sales grew approximately 3%, while adjusted operating income rose more than 10% to nearly $1.5 billion, despite headwinds from regulatory-related drug price reductions and pharmacy reimbursement pressure. In related peer updates, DaVita announced a value-based care agreement with Humana for chronic kidney disease patients, and Cardinal Health agreed to acquire two businesses for roughly $360 million in cash. CVS shares have risen 31.1% over the past year, and the company holds a Zacks Rank #3.

Cigna Healthcare is introducing Medical with Smart Coverage, a new option for qualifying high-deductible health plans that provides eligible members up to $7,000 for covered injuries, illnesses, or hospitalizations, alongside Simple File Sync Plus, which automatically matches medical claims with supplemental benefits. The launch, set for January 1, 2027, initially targets U.S. clients with 500 to 2,999 employees, with broader availability in 2028. Citing a Cigna and Ipsos survey, nearly 60% of Americans are financially unprepared for a health event, and 44% have spent at least $1,000 out of pocket after a diagnosis. Cigna notes that employees are more than 2.5 times likelier to enroll in high-deductible plans when supplemental benefits are available. Competitors UnitedHealth Group and Elevance Health offer similar connected-benefits solutions, such as UnitedHealthcare's Benefit Ally and Anthem's Whole Health Connection.