Investor Relations

CVS is a publicly held corporation, which means that it allows anyone from the public to purchase shares of its stock.  By purchasing a share of the CVS stock you become a part owner of the corporation.  CVS makes it very easy for their shareholders to keep informed and in touch with what is going on with the company and its earnings through there investor sections on the company website.  The largest way in which the company reaches out to its investors and the public to inform them about the company earnings is through the annual report.  This report also shows the company’s activities throughout the past year, and discusses its upcoming plans.  It can be used to make sure investors understand the value of the companies stocks and bonds, and provide accurate information about the company’s performance.  This annual report is a good opportunity for the public relations team of the company to report the activities of the company in a credible, informative, and well-mannered way.  Also this is a good time to show the investors that you appreciate their involvement.  CVS used to send out its annual report in the mail, but because of new technology and wanting to help the environment, the CVS annual reports are now offered online and sent via email. 

The CVS annual report is broken up into several different sections.  The annual report begins with the introduction of the company telling you its mission, values, and purpose.  It then continues to go on to the financial highlights, a letter to the shareholders from the CEO, pharmacy benefits management, retail pharmacy, intergraded pharmacy care, Q&A with Per Lofberg and Larry Merlo the presidents of CVS Caremark pharmacy services and CVS/pharmacy, a section on the positive impact CVS has made on its community, and then finally more shareholder information and financial information.  This annual report is not just a means to present the financial reports, but is also a means to reach out to the investors and to other publics and to show what CVS is all about in a positive way.  The information provided in this report is very informative and makes you feel good about the company and what it is all about. 

        

One of the most interesting parts of the annual report is the letter to the shareholders from the CEO.  The CEO during CVS 2009 annual report was Thomas M. Ryan.  The first thing that we see when looking at this letter is a picture of Thomas Ryan.  I believe it is a good idea by CVS to place a picture of him at the top of the letter to let the investors know and get a feel for whom it is that is speaking out to them.  I believe that investors will feel good after reading this letter.  The letter from the CEO is very informative, sincere, and optimistic about the future.  In this letter the earnings are summarized and future endeavors are discussed.  Ryan discusses the anticipation for higher retention levels and more business opportunities for 2011.  He discusses the rise in profit and the expansion of minute clinic offerings in their stores.  This message leaves you thinking that CVS is a successful company and it plans on coming more successful as the years continue.  Hearing this from the CEO directly helps to insure the costumers that they are investing in a powerful and growing corporation. 
 

The last news release that was written about CVS’ earnings was titled CVS Caremark Reports Third Quarter Financial Results.  This letter although written in technical language rather then reader-friendly, is still very informative and sense can be made out of it from the average investor.  I believe this news release does instill confidence in its investors because it shows a decrease in spending and increase in profit in certain areas during the last three months.  The quote from the CEO Tom Ryan is the main reason I feel good about this news release.  He states, “I am pleased with our third quarter results, which were at the higher end of our expectations.”  Hearing this from the CEO himself makes me feel confident that my investment with CVS would be save if I were an investor. The news release is well written, factual, and credible.  The only thing that I believe could have been done better, is to make this release more reader-friendly instead of packed with percentages and numbers.  Adding more conversation peaces in between the statistics could help make it easier for certain investors to understand and that way they are not confused or boggled by the information in front of them.