By Mackenzie Tatananni

The first quarter is in the books, and the S&P 500's best and worst performers are a pharmacy chain and a footwear company -- certainly not the usual suspects.

CVS Health was the N0. 1 stock with gains of 50%. Conversely, Deckers Outdoor did the worst, falling 46%.

CVS shares took off in February after the company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and forecast 2025 earnings to meet Wall Street's expectations.

The results -- unremarkable on their own -- wrapped up a dismal 2024. CVS's various business sectors faced headwinds ranging from rising medical spending to reimbursement pressures.

On Monday, shares were up 0.6% to $67.57. Of 30 firms polled by FactSet, 19 rate the stock at Buy or equivalent, and 11 at Hold.

Now, with earnings a distant memory, a couple of factors are pushing CVS higher. The stock, unlike many peers, is a more diversified play on the healthcare sector. CVS is best known for its 9,000 drugstores nationwide, but it also owns insurance group Aetna and pharmacy-benefits manager Caremark.

And CVS Health is considered a juicy dividend stock. The stock has an annual payout of nearly 4% -- above the average for healthcare dividend stocks in the Russell 1000 index.

Decker Outdoor's miserable quarter builds on its weak performance since last year, with shares down nearly 29% over the past 12 months. The stock declined 1.3% to $11o.08 on Monday.

The maker of Hoka sneakers pulled back 21% in February after the company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that showed a dwindling growth margin and gave soft guidance.

In addition, the stock faces headwinds from uncertainty about the overall economy -- looming fears of a recession puts retail in the crosshairs of lower spending.

Consumer sentiment, which measures how Americans feel about the economy, fell steadily in the first quarter. Sentiment doesn't necessarily correlate to spending, but weaker spending data from January and February indicate that the tides may be turning.

Other top performers in the quarter included Newmont, Philip Morris International, AT&T, and Cencora. Laggards were ON Semiconductor, Tesla, Teradyne, and West Pharmaceutical Services.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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March 31, 2025 12:39 ET (16:39 GMT)

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