UnitedHealth Charts Continued Turnaround

By Anna Wilde Mathews

UnitedHealth Group reported earnings that came in above analysts' expectations and again raised its projection for the year, as the healthcare company continued charting a financial turnaround.

The announcement comes more than a year after Chief Executive Stephen Hemsley returned to the top job, promising major changes after a meltdown that cut the company's valuation by hundreds of billions of dollars.

For the third quarter of 2026, UnitedHealth reported net income of $4.11 billion, or $4.56 a share. That compared with net income of $2.35 billion, or $2.59 a share, a year earlier.

UnitedHealth, the parent of the biggest U.S. health insurer and a large array of other healthcare assets, raised its guidance for full-year adjusted earnings to at least $20.50 a share. Last quarter, the company had projected a range of $19.50 to $20. Analysts polled by FactSet had estimated $19.80.

UnitedHealth's adjusted earnings of $4.69 a share in the third quarter topped the $4.14 a share FactSet consensus.

Revenue for the third quarter was $112.69 billion, compared with $113.16 billion a year earlier.

Under Hemsley, its longtime prior CEO who returned to the position after a stint serving solely as chairman, the company has sought to pare unprofitable businesses, reducing the footprint of its sprawling physician-group unit and shrinking its Medicare plans. Its overall health-insurance enrollment is now 48.3 million, down from 50.1 million a year ago.

UnitedHealthcare, the insurance arm, reported a medical-loss ratio of 88.4%, a closely watched number that represents the share of premiums spent on medical costs. The FactSet consensus projection was 89.7%.

The company's main healthcare-provider unit, Optum Health, which was a major part of UnitedHealth's financial woes last year, reported earnings from operations of around $735 million, compared with $41 million a year ago. The company credited "strengthened operational discipline and medical cost management." Optum Health's revenue dropped, as it managed fewer patients in markets where its presence had been thin.

Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2026 06:10 ET (10:10 GMT)