NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 31, 2001--Standard&Poor's today revised its outlook on CVS Corp. to negative from stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its single-'A' long-term corporate credit, senior unsecured debt, and senior unsecured bank loan ratings and its 'A-1' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings on CVS. The outlook revision is based on the company's disappointing sales and profit trends in the second and third quarters of 2001 and the expectation that this trend will continue. Despite strong industry fundamentals, management has also lowered its 2002 diluted earnings-per-share growth rate to 8%-10% and its sustainable earnings growth rate to 12%-15%, versus the 16%-18% rate indicated at the May 11, 2001, investor meeting.
