There May Be Some Bright Spots In CVS Health's (NYSE:CVS) Earnings

Soft earnings didn't appear to concern CVS Health Corporation's (NYSE:CVS) shareholders over the last week. Our analysis suggests that while the profits are soft, the foundations of the business are strong.

View our latest analysis for CVS Health

The Impact Of Unusual Items On Profit

To properly understand CVS Health's profit results, we need to consider the US$1.6b expense attributed to unusual items. It's never great to see unusual items costing the company profits, but on the upside, things might improve sooner rather than later. We looked at thousands of listed companies and found that unusual items are very often one-off in nature. And that's hardly a surprise given these line items are considered unusual. Assuming those unusual expenses don't come up again, we'd therefore expect CVS Health to produce a higher profit next year, all else being equal.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

Our Take On CVS Health's Profit Performance

Unusual items (expenses) detracted from CVS Health's earnings over the last year, but we might see an improvement next year. Based on this observation, we consider it likely that CVS Health's statutory profit actually understates its earnings potential! On the other hand, its EPS actually shrunk in the last twelve months. The goal of this article has been to assess how well we can rely on the statutory earnings to reflect the company's potential, but there is plenty more to consider. So while earnings quality is important, it's equally important to consider the risks facing CVS Health at this point in time. For example, CVS Health has 3 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of CVS Health's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with significant insider holdings to be useful.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.