CVS Corporation Holds 2005 Analyst/Investor Meeting; Company Raises Earnings Guidance.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. -- At its 2005 Analyst/Investor Meeting today in New York City, CVS Corporation (NYSE:CVS) will address its recent performance and key drivers for future growth.

"The pharmacy industry is projected to grow from about $236 billion in 2004 to $720 billion by 2015, more than tripling over the next decade," stated Tom Ryan, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of CVS Corporation. "With the largest retail store base in the country and a significant PBM/Mail Order/Specialty pharmacy business, CVS is in the 'sweet spot' for growth opportunities."

The Company summarized the key drivers of the pharmacy industry's projected growth. These include the aging population requiring an increased number of prescriptions as the baby boomers begin to turn 65 next year; the discovery of new drug therapies; the influx of generic drugs that make prescription utilization more affordable; and the 2006 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

"CVS is uniquely positioned to capture a disproportionate share of the anticipated industry growth," continued Mr. Ryan. "We hold the #1 or #2 share in most of the markets in which we operate. Our script growth has outpaced the retail industry and we are clearly picking up steam. With our people, our processes, our systems and our focus on customer service excellence, we expect to continue to grow our share in both existing and new markets," continued Mr. Ryan. "Furthermore, our 2004 acquisition of the former Eckerd stores in the high-growth Florida and Texas markets unquestionably provides us with a multi-year turnaround opportunity. Through the acquisition of Eckerd Health Services our PharmaCare business has significantly broadened its opportunities in the fast-growing mail order and specialty pharmacy sectors."

Dave Rickard, Chief Financial Officer of CVS, stated, "The great news to report today is that our sales results in the acquired Texas stores have turned positive. A month ago we said that Florida was trending positively and that Texas was improving, but negative. Now both Florida and Texas sales are growing. We are very happy with the progress on the integration and the performance of these stores."

Mr. Rickard continued, "Given our solid performance year-to-date in our core business as well as in the acquired stores, our ability to garner a greater amount of purchasing synergies from our recent acquisition than we originally anticipated and the rapid increase in generic utilization, we are raising our full-year diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of $2.70-$2.75, up from our previous guidance of $2.66-$2.72. We are also raising our second quarter diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of $0.61-$0.63, up from our earlier guidance of $0.59-$0.61. Of course, those numbers are on a pre-split basis."

On May 12, 2005, the Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a two-for-one stock split to be effected in the form of a stock dividend, distributable on June 6, 2005 to shareholders of record on May 23, 2005.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company strongly recommends that you become familiar with the specific risks and uncertainties outlined under the caption "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2005 and in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 2, 2005.

CVS is America's #1 retail pharmacy, operating more than 5,400 retail and specialty pharmacy stores in 36 states and the District of Columbia. With more than 40 years of dynamic growth in the retail pharmacy industry, CVS is committed to being the easiest pharmacy retailer for customers to use. CVS has created innovative approaches to serve the healthcare needs of all customers through its CVS/pharmacy(R) stores; its online pharmacy, CVS.com(R); and its pharmacy benefit management, mail order, and specialty pharmacy subsidiary, PharmaCare(R). General information about CVS is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's website, at http://investor.CVS.com, as well as through the press room portion of the Company's website, at www.cvs.com/pressroom.