HUM

The health insurer raised its forecast after a solid quarter, but investors focused on the one business so broken it’s forcing a strategic retreat. If you just glanced at the headline numbers from Elevance Health (ELV), a solid beat on revenue and a bigger one on earnings, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a good day. Management even raised its full-year profit forecast. But the stock told a different story, plunging 8.5% by the closing bell. What gives? The market looked straight past the beat and saw a five-alarm crisis in one of the company’s biggest divisions: Medicaid. For a current owner, the quarter puts the company’s “diversified strength” narrative to the test. For a prospective buyer, it raises a critical question: Is the damage in one core segment too deep to ignore, no matter how well the rest of the company is doing? On paper, the results looked fine. Elevance reported adjusted earnings per share of $7.45, sailing past the $6.27 consensus estimate. The company felt confident enough to raise its 2026 adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance to “at least $27.” Other segments are pulling their weight, particularly Medicare Advantage, which is on a path to hit an operating margin of “at least 2% this year.” This is the picture management wants you to see: a well-oiled machine firing on most cylinders. But the market is fixated on the cylinder that has completely seized. The company’s full-year Medicaid operating margin outlook remains a stunningly negative “-1.75%.” More concerning than the loss itself is its stubbornness. Management noted that rate updates from states were actually coming in better than expected, which should have provided some relief. Yet, the forecast didn’t budge. As one analyst on the call essentially asked, “Why isn't there a lift if rates are coming in better?” The silence on that front was deafening, suggesting underlying cost pressures are either worse than acknowledged or simply not under control. When you can’t fix a problem, you get away from it. Elevance announced it “reached a mutual agreement with the District of Columbia to exit the D.C. Medicaid market.” More alarmingly, that’s not a one-off. Management stated they “expect to exit additional Medicaid markets over the next 12-18 months where we do not see a path to sustainable performance.” This action goes beyond trimming the edges, representing a strategic...

UnitedHealth Group crushed Q2 earnings forecasts amid lower-than-expected benefit costs, sending the Dow Jones stock surging past a buy point on Thursday morning. Rival managed-care providers including Humana, Centene and Elevance Health got a sizable lift from the initial warm reception for UnitedHealth's earnings report. Results: UnitedHealth posted Q2 earnings per share of $6.38, up 56% from a weak year-earlier result and 30% ahead of $4.91 forecasts.

Elevance Health raised its profit forecast and the stock promptly fell. Here’s the one number that explains why investors headed for the exits. On paper, Wednesday looked like a victory lap for Elevance Health (ELV). The company beat second-quarter earnings estimates and raised its full-year profit guidance. You’d normally expect a stock to rally on that kind of news. Instead, shares of ELV dropped 8.5% in a single session, badly lagging peers and the broader market. So what gives? Investors looked straight past the good news and fixated on a single, deeply troubled part of the business: Medicaid. What’s So Wrong With the Medicaid Business? While other segments performed well, management revealed a jarring forecast for its government program for lower-income Americans. The company is holding to its full-year Medicaid operating margin outlook of approximately -1.75%, meaning they expect to lose money on every dollar of revenue from a large part of their portfolio. Management called 2026 the “trough year for our Medicaid margin,” but the market wasn’t in a patient mood. How Bad Is It, Really? Bad enough that the company is starting to walk away. Elevance announced it had reached a “mutual agreement” to exit the D.C. Medicaid market. More pointedly, management stated they “expect to exit additional Medicaid markets over the next 12-18 months where we do not see a path to sustainable performance.” When a company starts shrinking a core business because it can’t find a way to make it profitable, investors get nervous. It signals the problems go beyond a temporary blip in costs to a more fundamental issue with state reimbursement rates and the viability of the business itself. But Didn’t Management Say Rates Were Improving? They did, and that’s the crux of the market’s skepticism. On the earnings call, analysts repeatedly tried to square the circle. One asked why, if state reimbursement rates are getting better, the company isn’t improving its negative margin outlook and is instead talking more about exiting states. The lack of a satisfying answer left a cloud over the entire report. The beat and raise in other areas, like Medicare Advantage, simply wasn't enough to offset the red flags waving over the Medicaid segment. Is this truly the bottom for Elevance’s Medicaid woes, or is shrinking the business the only path back to profitability? What Does The Options Mar...

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) came out with quarterly earnings of $6.38 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.94 per share. This compares to earnings of $4.08 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +29.15%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this largest U.S. health insurer would post earnings of $6.46 per share when it actually produced earnings of $7.23, delivering a surprise of +11.92%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. UnitedHealth, which belongs to the Zacks Medical - HMOs industry, posted revenues of $112.03 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.74%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $111.62 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. UnitedHealth shares have added about 26.8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 10.6%. While UnitedHealth has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for UnitedHealth was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zac...

The healthcare giant posts better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and hikes its full-year guidance.

Humana (HUM) could be a solid addition to your portfolio given a notable revision in the company's earnings estimates. While the stock has been gaining lately, the trend might continue since its earnings outlook is still improving. The rising trend in estimate revisions, which is a result of growing analyst optimism on the earnings prospects of this health insurer, should get reflected in its stock price. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements. Our stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- has this insight at its core. The five-grade Zacks Rank system, which ranges from a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record of outperformance, with Zacks #1 Ranked stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 2008. For Humana, there has been strong agreement among the covering analysts in raising earnings estimates, which has helped push consensus estimates considerably higher for the next quarter and full year. The chart below shows the evolution of forward 12-month Zacks Consensus EPS estimate: The earnings estimate of $6.22 per share for the current quarter represents a change of -0.8% from the number reported a year ago. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Humana has increased 26.64% because two estimates have moved higher compared to no negative revisions. For the full year, the company is expected to earn $9.26 per share, representing a year-over-year change of -46.0%. There has been an encouraging trend in estimate revisions for the current year as well. Over the past month, two estimates have moved up for Humana versus no negative revisions. This has pushed the consensus estimate 5.43% higher. The promising estimate revisions have helped Humana earn a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Rank is a tried-and-tested rating tool that helps investors effectively harness the power of earnings estimate revisions and make the right investment decision.You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Our research shows that stocks with Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy) significantly outperform the S&P 500. Humana shares have added 12.7% over the past four weeks, suggesting that investors are betting on its impressive estimate revisions. So...

Insurance giant UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is out with its second quarter earnings on Thursday, raising its full-year outlook alongside its reported $112 billion in quarterly revenue. The stock has jumped in Thursday trading. Mizuho Americas healthcare equity strategist Jared Holz takes a closer look at the insurer's stock performance and the role Medicare Advantage had in its figures.

Investing.com -- Elevance Health’s Health Benefits operating profit collapsed in the second quarter of 2026, igniting a broad premarket selloff across the managed-care sector even as the insurer’s headline earnings handily beat estimates and full-year guidance was lifted. Elevance shares are down 6.7% in premarket trade Thursday after the report showed adjusted operating margin fell to 3.6% from 5.0% year-over-year. UnitedHealth Group, which reports its own Q2 results Thursday, saw its shares fall 2.7% in premarket trading, with investors bracing that Elevance’s Medicaid margin deterioration may prove sector-wide rather than company-specific. Molina Healthcare, a pure-play Medicaid insurer, dropped as much as 9% in premarket — the steepest decline among major sector peers — bringing it sharply back from its 52-week high of $244.89 reached as recently as Tuesday’s session. Humana declined roughly 1.7% in premarket, while Centene and CVS Health fell 4.9% and 2.3%, respectively. Elevance posted Q2 2026 revenue of $50.47 billion, up 2.1% year-on-year and beating analyst consensus by 3.9%, while adjusted EPS of $7.45 came in roughly 20% above the $6.21 consensus estimate. Full-year adjusted EPS guidance was raised to at least $27.00. On the surface, those numbers look strong. Beneath them, the picture is considerably more troubling. The headline EPS figure was materially supported by an $0.80 per-share below-the-line benefit that flattered the reported result. Strip that out, and the core insurance business is under significant pressure. The Health Benefits segment, Elevance’s largest, saw operating profit fall nearly half versus the prior year as lagging Medicaid reimbursement rates and an ongoing Medicare Advantage portfolio repositioning squeezed margins. Management had previously guided investors to treat 2026 as a "trough year" for the segment, and the Q2 data validates that warning. With Elevance’s non-recurring below-the-line support and front-loaded profitability, consensus implies a steep deceleration in core earnings power through the second half. Sell-side analysts project revenue to decline 2.3% over the next 12 months, a sharp contrast to the revenue growth posted in Q2. Membership has also been gradually contracting, with the customer base slipping to 44.95 million in Q2 from 45.42 million the prior quarter, even as revenue per member has risen. Pri...

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 16, 2026, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings is currently pegged at $4.84 per share on revenues of $110.05 billion. Second-quarter earnings estimates witnessed one downward revision and no upward movement over the past 60 days. The bottom-line projection indicates an increase of 18.6% from the year-ago reported number. But the Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues suggests a year-over-year decline of 1.4%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research For the current year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealth’s revenues is pegged at $443.74 billion, implying a decline of 0.9% year over year. However, the consensus mark for current-year earnings per share is pegged at $18.32, implying an improvement of 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth beat the consensus estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 0.8%. This is depicted in the figure below. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated price-eps-surprise | UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Quote Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for the company this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That’s not the case here. UNH currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for premium revenues for the second quarter indicates a 2.2% year-over-year decline, whereas our model estimate suggests a 3.1% fall. Lower contributions from both the UnitedHealthcare division and Optum Health are expected to have caused the decrease. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealthcare’s total domestic commercial customers suggests a 1.5% year-over-year decline, whereas our estimate implies a 1.6% slip. The consensus mark for Medicare Advantage members indicates an 11% year-over-year decrease. The same for Medicaid memberships implies a 6.5% fall from the year-ago level. These are likely to have pushed total memberships in the domestic market down from the year-ago period....

Never miss an important update on your stock portfolio and cut through the noise. Over 7 million investors trust Simply Wall St to stay informed where it matters for FREE. Humana’s share price has surged over the last year, yet its valuation checks paint a more balanced picture, suggesting the stock no longer looks obviously cheap or clearly expensive at current levels. Humana is up 68.6% over the past year, which puts extra focus on whether today’s price still leaves much room for error. The expansion of Humana’s Medicaid presence through the upcoming Illinois HealthChoice program can support longer term earnings potential, while investor attention on future Medicare Advantage membership and profitability adds a risk that expectations prove too optimistic. Humana scores 3 out of 6 on our valuation checks, pointing to a mixed picture rather than a clear bargain or a clear overvaluation. The issue now is whether Humana’s recent rally has already priced in these growth opportunities, or if the current valuation still leaves a reasonable margin for future surprises. Humana delivered 68.6% returns over the last year. See how this stacks up to the rest of the Healthcare industry. The P/E ratio is a common way to judge what you are paying for each dollar of Humana’s earnings, which fits a mature, profit-generating insurer like this reasonably well. Humana currently trades on a P/E of 41.9x, above both the Healthcare sector average of 25.0x and the peer group average of 37.3x. However, a more tailored fair P/E, which takes into account Humana’s growth profile, margins, scale and risk, sits at 44.6x. That leaves the current multiple a little below this fair level rather than at a clear premium. Despite the recent attention around Humana’s selection for the Illinois HealthChoice Medicaid program, the market price still aligns reasonably closely with what this P/E framework suggests. Overall, the stock does not screen as clearly cheap or stretched on earnings compared with a fitted benchmark. On the P/E multiple, Humana looks roughly fairly valued rather than obviously underpriced or expensive. See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. Simply Wall St Narratives for Humana pick up where this valuation puzzle leaves off by spelling out which expectations on Humana’s future growth, margins and earnings would need to hold for the sto...

Humana Inc. (HUM), headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, provides medical and specialty insurance products. With a market cap of $47.2 billion, the company offers coordinated health care through health maintenance organizations, point-of-service plans, and administrative services products. The medicare giant is expected to announce its fiscal second-quarter earnings for 2026 before the market opens on Wednesday, Jul. 29. Ahead of the event, analysts expect HUM to report a profit of $6.17 per share on a diluted basis, down 1.6% from $6.27 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company beat the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing the forecast on another occasion. Broadcom’s Largest AI Customer Is Fleeing to MediaTek. AVGO Stock Is Still a Buy. Nasdaq Futures Plunge as Samsung Sparks Chip Selloff Mark Cuban Asks What If You Didn’t Need Health Insurance — And Hospitals Just Treated You, Then Took 10% of Your Pay? Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! For the full year, analysts expect HUM to report EPS of $9.03, down 47.3% from $17.14 in fiscal 2025. However, its EPS is expected to rise 65.8% year over year to $14.97 in fiscal 2027. HUM stock has outperformed the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 20% gains over the past 52 weeks, with shares up 63.9% during this period. Similarly, it outperformed the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLV) 19.5% returns over the same time frame. On Apr. 29, HUM shares closed up by 5.8% after reporting its Q1 results. Its adjusted EPS of $10.31 surpassed Wall Street expectations of $9.97. The company’s revenue was $39.7 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts of $39.5 billion. Analysts’ consensus opinion on HUM stock is reasonably bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” rating overall. Out of 27 analysts covering the stock, eight advise a “Strong Buy” rating, one suggests a “Moderate Buy,” 16 give a “Hold,” and two recommend a “Strong Sell.” While HUM currently trades above its mean price target of $307.83, the Street-high price target of $441 suggests an upside potential of 12.3%. On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally p...

Before the stock surged, management laid out a turnaround plan for its Aetna unit that was so explicit, they practically put a price tag on it. It’s easy to look at a stock chart after a 57% run and feel like you missed the party. Between Jun 30, 2025 and Jul 1, 2026, shares of CVS Health (CVS) did just that, leaving investors to wonder what they overlooked. But this wasn’t a sudden bolt from the blue. The story of the turnaround was assembling itself, quarter by quarter, in the company’s own words. The evidence wasn’t buried in footnotes. It was the main event, a comeback narrative for its sprawling Aetna insurance business that management all but shouted from the rooftops. Let’s rewind to late 2024. The picture was not pretty. The company’s Health Care Benefits segment, the engine of the Aetna acquisition, was sputtering. Management warned that the division could swing to an operating loss in 2024. As of its fiscal Q1 2025 report, the company’s overall revenue growth had slowed, and its net margin of 1.4% was sagging. This was the moment of peak pessimism. But it was also the moment the new CEO earnings call, installed a new president and laid out a new playbook: prioritize profit, even if it meant shrinking. Here’s the tell. In that same call, with the business under siege, the finance chief did something unusual. He quantified the prize for fixing it. He told investors there were “$3, $4 more of embedded adjusted EPS if we can get our Aetna business back to its target margins" He wasn’t whispering. He was giving the market a roadmap. The plan involved making hard choices, like trimming membership in Medicare Advantage by 5% to 10% to shed unprofitable plans. A few months later, he repeated the math, noting that each point of margin recovery was worth another “$0.75 of adjusted EPS.” The market seemed skeptical. But just before the stock began its run, the company delivered the first concrete evidence that the plan was working ahead of schedule. For its fiscal Q1 2025, the Health Care Benefits segment’s operating income jumped by over $1.2 billion from the prior year quarter. The medical benefit ratio, a key measure of profitability, came in at 87.3%, a sharp improvement. The company promptly raised its full-year 2025 guidance. It also announced another tough but necessary decision: it would exit its money-losing individual ACA exchange plans, a move that...