CVS Jumps on Report It Plans to Break Up Health Conglomerate

(Bloomberg) -- CVS Health Corp. is discussing plans to spin off its retail pharmacy business, according to the Financial Times, a shocking retreat for the country's largest drugstore chain.

The move would mark the end of an era for a company that grew from a single store in Lowell, Massachusetts, into one of the largest companies by revenue in the US. Although CVS has closed hundreds of stores in recent years, the company still operates almost 9,000 retail pharmacies, even as rivals like Walgreens and Rite Aid struggled to compete.

CVS shares rose as much as 3.7% in after-hours trading Tuesday following the Financial Times' report. A CVS representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.