After a dismal 2024, CVS Health could be starting to turn itself around. Some investors seem convinced, especially after the retail drugstore chain on Wednesday posted a big beat on fourth-quarter earnings and a 2025 profit outlook that was in line with expectations. Shares of CVS are now up more than 45% for the year, unlike the company's main retail pharmacy rival Walgreens, whose stock is up nearly 3%. Shares of other insurers UnitedHealth Group and Cigna are up about 4% and nearly 8%, respectively. The upbeat quarterly results may be a sign that brighter days are ahead for the CVS – or at least that things may not be as bad as they were last year. The company's stock plummeted more than 40% in 2024 after it missed earnings estimates for three straight quarters and withdrew its annual forecast, largely due to higher-than-expected medical costs in its insurance unit, along with other issues like pharmacy reimbursement pressure. CVS isn't out of the woods yet.