Editor’s Note: CVS Health's Merlo makes a strong case on 'Mad Money'

It is pretty interesting what some very good financial news will do for a company and its chief executive. 

Just ask Larry Merlo, CVS Health’s CEO and president, who was the toast of Wall Street on Wednesday after the company posted solid third-quarter earnings and gave some pretty pithy comments about its immediate future. 

Merlo found his way to Jim Cramer’s "Mad Money" on CNBC on Wednesday evening where the TV host gushed about the performance of CVS Health during the quarter, which saw a 36.5% increase in total revenue and a 13.8% increase in operating income from the previous year’s same quarter. The acquisition of Aetna last year played a big role in the company’s bright financial picture. 

Merlo was equally upbeat, pointing out that the retail chain’s emergence as a full health care company is responsible for much of the growth. “Innovation has become part of our DNA,” he told Cramer and his audience, adding that the chain and its 300,000 employees has become very good at offering customers added benefits like home delivery and in-store services. 

Merlo added that educating the consumer about healthcare is also an important part of its mission and that the company is playing a role in reducing overall healthcare costs. “We are very excited about our strategy,” he said on the show. “What we see validates the strategy is the right one.”

Perhaps other retailers should take a page from CVS Health’s playbook. With Amazon committed to grabbing traditional retail volume from the trade, traditional merchants must find a way to differentiate themselves. CVS seems to have found a good path. Other retailers need to discover their own ways to get consumers to notice them.