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Friday, November 6, 2026

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Companies · Friday, November 6, 2026

CVS files a plan to split into two companies

The File desk · Nov. 6, 2026, 6:32 a.m. ET

Partially confirmed3 primary sourcesAdded 6:32 a.m. ET, Nov. 6

Status

Partially confirmed. CVS Health's Form 8-K, filed November 4, 2026, and the attached release say the company intends to separate into two public companies. The release says the split is expected in the first half of 2028 and is subject to conditions. It has not happened.
  • Confirmed
    The filing and Exhibit 99.1 say what this story quotes, including the intended split, the two leadership assignments, and the conditions.
  • Partially confirmed
    Completion, the tax treatment, and the investment-grade expectation are the company's statements about a future transaction.
A , filed November 4, 2026, says the company intends to separate into two publicly traded companies. David Joyner would lead the health-benefits and care business. Prem Shah would lead the pharmacy business.12
A Form 8-K is the current report a public company sends the Securities and Exchange Commission when something important happens between its regular quarterly filings. The index for this report says it was accepted at 6:34:02 on November 4, 2026. The index does not name a time zone. The form says the attached release is furnished, and is not deemed filed for one liability section of the securities laws.1
The release says the health company would include Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Specialty, Oak Street Health, and Signify Health, and would be called CVS Health for now. The pharmacy company would be named CVS Pharmacy. It would include approximately 9,000 CVS pharmacies, plus the mail pharmacy, MinuteClinic, and a technology business called Health100.2
The release says the separation is expected in the first half of 2028. It says the split is intended to be tax-free for CVS Health and its shareholders. It says completion depends on final approval by the board, a taking effect, and confirmation of that tax treatment.2
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. People who fill prescriptions at those pharmacies, and people whose coverage runs through Aetna, are being told the counter and the insurer may become separate companies. The filing is a plan. The shares have not split, and the release says service should not stop while the work continues.
Joyner is chairman and chief executive now, and the release says he would keep those titles at the health company. Shah is group president now, and the release says he would be chief executive of CVS Pharmacy. The release says customers should keep receiving medicine, care, and benefits without an interruption while the company still operates as one.2
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.SEC EDGAR index, Form 8-K, accession 0001193125-26-446150, CIK 0000064803, CVS Health Corp. Filing date 2026-11-04. Accepted 2026-11-04 06:34:02. Items 7.01 and 9.01. The 8-K says that on November 4, 2026, the company issued a press release "announcing its intention to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies in a transaction that is intended to be tax-free." The information in Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, "shall not be deemed filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Signed by Kristina V. Fink, Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET. Index: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64803/000119312526446150/0001193125-26-446150-index.html Form: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64803/000119312526446150/d148827d8k.htm
  2. 2.Exhibit 99.1, "CVS Health Announces Intent to Create Two Distinct Leaders in Healthcare," dated November 4, 2026, Woonsocket, R.I. The company "intends to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies." Health company: Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Specialty, Oak Street Health, and Signify Health, "in the interim, will be referred to as CVS Health." Pharmacy company: "approximately 9,000 CVS pharmacies, mail pharmacy, MinuteClinic (including virtual care), and the Health100 technology services business," to be named CVS Pharmacy. "David Joyner, currently Chairman and CEO of CVS Health, will be the Chairman and CEO of the healthcare solutions company, and Prem Shah, currently Group President of CVS Health, will be the CEO of CVS Pharmacy." "Expected to be completed in the first half of 2028." "intended to be tax-free to CVS Health and its shareholders." Conditions include "final approval by the CVS Health Board of Directors, effectiveness of a filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and receipt of customary confirmation about the tax-free treatment." "Customers, patients and clients will continue to receive their medicine, care, benefits and services, uninterrupted." Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64803/000119312526446150/d148827dex991.htm

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Whether the board gives final approval, whether the becomes effective, and whether the tax treatment is confirmed.
  • The time zone on the acceptance stamp 6:34:02. The index does not name one.
  • What the two companies will be worth, and whether either will keep an investment-grade rating. The release says both are expected to. It does not show a rating.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Form 8-K, CVS Health Corp.

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission · November 4, 2026

    Filed November 4, 2026. The company announces an intention to separate into two public companies and attaches Exhibit 99.1. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET.

    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64803/000119312526446150/d148827d8k.htm

  2. Source 2

    Exhibit 99.1, intent to create two companies

    CVS Health, filed with the SEC · November 4, 2026

    Joyner would lead the health company. Shah would lead CVS Pharmacy, with approximately 9,000 pharmacies. Expected in the first half of 2028. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET.

    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64803/000119312526446150/d148827dex991.htm

  3. Source 3

    EDGAR index, accession 0001193125-26-446150

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission · November 4, 2026

    Form 8-K accepted 2026-11-04 06:34:02. The index does not name a time zone. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET.

    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64803/000119312526446150/0001193125-26-446150-index.html