CVS Health raises 2025 outlook but disappoints with 2026 revenue forecast

 CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) boosted its earnings and revenue expectations for the current fiscal year, even as its initial 2026 sales forecast fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Speaking at its annual investor day, the company raised its adjusted earnings guidance for 2025 for the fourth time, reflecting continued progress in its turnaround strategy.

CVS now anticipates adjusted earnings of $6.60 to $6.70 per share, up from the prior range of $6.55 to $6.65. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected guidance of about $6.63. The company also lifted its revenue outlook, projecting at least $400 billion in annual sales, compared with its previous floor of $397.3 billion and consensus expectations of $398.85 billion.

CEO David Joyner said in a statement, “We are executing with discipline, strengthening our core businesses and delivering meaningful progress across our enterprise.”

During his first year leading the company, Joyner has pushed for cost reductions, reduced the firm’s presence in weaker-performing markets, and refreshed the leadership team as part of a broader operational overhaul.

He added, “As we look ahead, we are focused on building a simpler, more connected and more affordable health care experience for consumers, health care professionals, and payors, delivering value for all stakeholders.”

CFO Brian Newman said the company’s guidance “highlights the power of our diversified enterprise in a constantly evolving industry.”

Shares of CVS climbed more than 3% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

In addition to its nationwide pharmacy network, CVS operates its Caremark pharmacy benefit management arm and the Aetna insurance business. Like rival UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), CVS has been navigating increased costs tied to a rise in elective procedures among patients enrolled in government-backed health plans after the pandemic. Still, those expenses have generally remained in line with analyst expectations.

Looking to fiscal 2026, CVS projected total revenue of at least $400 billion, well below the average analyst estimate of $418.32 billion. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $7.00 to $7.20 per share, compared with expectations of $7.17.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/cvs-health-raises-2025-outlook-but-disappoints-with-2026-revenue-forecast/ar-AA1S0Ghr

China could limit access to Nvidia’s H200 chips despite Trump's nod: report

 China is set to limit access to Nvidia’s (NVDA) advanced H200 chips despite President Donald Trump’s decision to allow the export of the graphics processing units to China as it pushes to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductor manufacturing, the Financial Times reported.

Chinese regulators have been discussing ways to permit limited access to the H200 GPUs, Nvidia’s second-best generation of AI chips, the report added, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Buyers would probably be required to go through an approval process, submit requests to buy the chips and explain why local providers were unable to meet their needs, the report noted.

However, no final decision has yet been made, according to the people.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.

"I have informed President Xi, of China, that the United States will allow NVIDIA to ship its H200 products to approved customers in China, and other Countries, under conditions that allow for continued strong National Security. President Xi responded positively! " said Trump on Truth Social on Monday. Trump added that "$25% will be paid to the United States of America."

Following the green light, Nvidia said, "offering H200 to approved commercial customers, vetted by the Department of Commerce, strikes a thoughtful balance that is great for America."

China has used the ban to push local chipmakers to develop products to compete with Nvidia. Measures include stepping up customs checks of chip imports and offering energy subsidies to data centers using local chips, the report noted.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology — the two regulators in charge of China's years-long semiconductor independence campaign — could apply other measures to ensure the competitiveness of local chips, including banning China’s public sector from buying the H200, the report added.

The return of Nvidia’s chips could be welcomed by Chinese tech companies like Alibaba (BABA), ByteDance (BDNCE), and Tencent (TCEHY) (TCTZF), which have been using more Chinese chips for some basic AI functions but still prefer Nvidia’s products due to higher performance and easier maintenance, according to the report.

Trump has signaled his approval for the export of Nvidia’s advanced chips, but he faces opposition in Congress. A group of U.S. senators has introduced legislation that would prevent the administration from approving exports to China of chips, including the H200, for 30 months, the report noted.

The U.S. could also adopt an approval process that allows sales of H200 chips only to companies it considers "safe," the report added.

Nvidia has already been approved to export the H20 chips, a lower version of the H200 made specifically for China, after the company in August agreed to pay the U.S. government 15% of its revenues from chip sales in China.

However, China has restricted tech companies’ access to the H20 chips, noting that the chip’s performance is not significantly better than Chinese alternatives, the report added.

In response to Trump’s Truth Social post, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, “China has consistently advocated that China and the US achieve mutual benefit and win-win results through co-operation."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/china-could-limit-access-to-nvidia-s-h200-chips-despite-trump-s-nod-report/ar-AA1S0aqs

FDA Examines Possible Adult Deaths From Covid Shots in Probe

 

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether Covid-19 vaccines caused deaths in adults, as part of a safety review that earlier appeared to just be focused on children.

The investigation, being conducted across different divisions of the FDA, comes at a time when US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is upending longstanding guidance for a wide range of vaccines.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-09/fda-examines-possible-adult-deaths-from-covid-shots-in-probe

Mark Lazarus On Versant Media’s Strategic Plan To “Build Beyond Cable”

 Versant Media CEO Mark Lazarus kicked off the company’s investor day Thursday by outlining what he called the company’s “mandate to build beyond cable.”

The company, which will formally spin off from Comcast in early January, owns most of the former NBCUniversal cable portfolio as well as a number of digital businesses. With Warner Bros. Discovery, A+E Global Media and other owners of linear networks looking to restructure or sell them amid secular decline due to cord-cutting, Versant has been presumed to be a vehicle to roll up some of those assets. While the trajectory is heading downward, the networks throw off billions in cash.

“This is an incredibly intense time and a challenging time for our industry,” Lazarus said. “We are certainly aware of the trend.” Nevertheless, he said, Versant plans to “defy expectations” with its strategy. “We are a company with a mandate to build beyond cable.”

Contrary to some industry perception, Versant is “not stuck in old media,” Lazarus said. “Our mission is to expand beyond the multi channel universe, and these vertical markets all have significant opportunities. In fact, one of our definitions of Versant is ‘vertically ascendant,’ and we are well on our way. We are a leader in four large and growing markets that are vital to their audiences and their partners. With live programming, you just can’t miss. We have an experience management team that is ready to run with these businesses, and to use this unique combination of financial scale and flexibility to invest today as we build for tomorrow.”

With its golf tee time reservation systems, movie ticketing and other services, Versant plans to bring in half of its estimated $6.6 billion in projected 2026 revenue from non-cable sources. The company’s digital properties handled some 140 million transactions last year, Lazarus noted, making it a significant player in the service economy. As it convened its investor day, Versant said it had acquired film tech firm Indy Cinema, a complement to Fandango; and Free TV, a multicast network operator capable of bringing in revenue from inside and outside the pay-TV bundle.

At the same time it looks beyond traditional cable, Versant plans to invest heavily in storied networks like USA, E! and other networks. Lazarus, who had a lengthy run overseeing the networks during his exec run at NBCU, said he saw first-hand how “under-resourced” they became under Comcast. “But that won’t be the case” under Versant, he pledged, without offering any specific numbers. “We will re-invest in these brands.”

The company has a three-pronged plan, Lazarus said: emphasizing premium content; reach new audiences; and launch and scale digital properties.

Before taking the helm of Versant, Lazarus had been a long-tenured NBCUniversal exec, most recently serving as chairman of NBCU’s Media Group. Sports has been his main metier, including during a run at Turner Broadcasting in the 2000s.

The origins for Versant were in comments from Comcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh in the fall of 2024. He let Wall Street analysts know that the company planned to spin off most of NBCUniversal’s cable portfolio into a stand-alone entity.

While the transaction did not have to jump through the hoops that other deals do, it has taken a bit more than a year for the legal and financial work, staffing and a host of other moves to be completed. On Wednesday, Comcast’s board of directors officially signed off on the spin, which will take effect on January 2. Versant will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VSNT.

As it proceeds with the Versant maneuver, Comcast is also still in the running to acquire the studio and streaming division of Warner Bros. Discovery. Acquiring the asset, whose value is estimated at more than $70 billion, will introduce a host of questions given the combined portfolio of the companies.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/comcast-apos-cable-spinoff-versant-200453106.html

'CME data center shutdown attributable to human error - report'

 The data center shutdown experienced by CME Group in late November has been attributed to human error, according to a report.

A spokesperson told Bloomberg that onsite staff and contractors at the CH1 data center operated by CyrusOne had failed to follow standard procedure for draining cooling towers ahead of freezing temperatures.

CyrusOne's Aurora data center– CyrusOne

This was the cause of a “chiller plant failure affecting multiple cooling units,” as previously reported by DCD.

The outage lasted around 11 hours on November 28, preventing traders from accessing futures prices for a number of commodities and stocks.

Shortly after the outage, CyrusOne said that it had added “additional redundancy to the cooling systems.”

CME Group, formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings, is one of the world’s largest derivatives exchanges. It provides a range of benchmark products for traders spanning rates, equities, metals, energy, cryptocurrencies, and agriculture.

The CH1 data center, located in Aurora, Illinois, was initially operated by CME itself before being sold to CyrusOne under a 15-year sale-leaseback deal in 2016 worth $130 million. Following successive waves of expansions, the 450,000 sq ft (41,806 sqm) campus now spans three data centers and offers 109MW of IT capacity.

CyrusOne is jointly owned by private equity firms KKR & Co. and Global Infrastructure Partners. It operates 55 data centers.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/cme-data-center-shutdown-attributable-to-human-error-report/

Aimei Health Extends Business Combination Deadline Again

 Aimei Health Technology Co., Ltd has extended the deadline for completing its initial business combination from December 6, 2025, to January 6, 2026, by depositing an extension payment of $34,330.96 into its trust account. This marks the thirteenth extension under the company’s current Articles of Association. On December 5, 2025, the company issued an unsecured promissory note to its sponsor, Aimei Health Ltd, and United Hydrogen Group Inc., each contributing half of the extension payment. The note is convertible into private units of the company, providing flexibility for the payees before the business combination is finalized.

https://www.tipranks.com/news/company-announcements/aimei-health-extends-business-combination-deadline-again-6

ASH: FDA okays Gamida aplastic anaemia therapy as data drops

 The first cell therapy for severe aplastic anaemia – Gamida Cell's Omisirge – has been approved by the FDA, as positive results from a pivotal trial were presented at the ASH congress.

Omisirge (omidubicel) is an off-the-shelf cell therapy that has been approved since 2023 as a therapy to reduce the risk of infection in patients with blood cancers who receive a haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

The extension of its label to include severe aplastic anaemia comes on the back of an open-label, single-arm study in 19 patients aged six and over with severe aplastic anaemia, a rare, life-threatening haematologic disorder in which the bone marrow fails to produce sufficient blood cells. Untreated SAA can result in 80% to 90% mortality in one to two years.

Treatment for SAA depends on age and usually consists of either immunosuppressive therapy and/or hematopoietic stem cell transplant, preferably from a matched sibling or otherwise related donor. If a donor is not available, an umbilical cord transplant from an unrelated donor can be tried, although these tend to have delayed recovery of the bone marrow as well as an increased risk of infections while the patient is immunosuppressed.

Omisirge is a ready-prepared therapy based on cord blood stem cells that have been chemically enhanced with nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, which increases the quantity and the functionality of the cells.

The approval means that for patients without a family donor, formally with almost no treatment options, Omisirge offers the possibility of a cure with high survival rates and manageable toxicity. It also cuts the treatment time from a regular cord blood procedure from around 25 days to eight days.

In the study reported at ASH, 95% of patients treated with Omisirge achieved a rapid recovery in infection-fighting neutrophil cells, with a median time to recovery of eight days. The patients, with a median age of 20, had not responded to conventional treatments for aplastic anaemia. Overall survival and disease-free survival came in at 94%.

There were no cases of severe or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), where the donated cells mount an immune response against the transplant recipient, although three patients had mild GvHD. Autoimmune cytopenias occurred in around a quarter of the patients.

The approval of Omisirge for severe aplastic anaemia in patients aged six and over with no matched HSCT donor is "revolutionary in the therapeutic landscape and fundamentally changes how we approach treatment," said Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), who added that earlier treatment "has potential to alter one's life course."

https://pharmaphorum.com/news/ash-fda-okays-gamida-aplastic-anaemia-therapy-data-drops