UnitedHealth's earnings shock is tanking the entire health-insurance industry
The stock fell as much as 20%, dragging industry peers Humana and CVS lower as well.
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Thomson Reuters
- Shares of UnitedHealth fell as much as 20% on Thursday.
- The company posted a bleak 2025 outlook.
- Other medical-insurance stocks also dropped on the news.
Plunging shares in UnitedHealth are pulling down industry stocks across the board.
The insurance firm fell as much as 20% on Thursday after posting disappointing earnings and downgrading its 2025 outlook.
It was a shocking report for the insurer, as the company rarely trims its forward forecasts, and instead generally bumps them higher over time. The first-quarter report also marked the first time the company missed profit forecasts in more than a decade.
Other health insurance equities followed its decline, with some suffering double-digit losses.
Here's where other health insurers stood on Thursday:
- Humana: -10.3%
- CVS: -5.1%
- Cigna: -2.5%
- Clover Health: -2.1%
- Alignment Healthcare: -11.1%
Medicaid-leveraged managed care firms, such as Centene, Molina Healthcare, and Elevance Health also trended lower.
UnitedHealth attributed its earnings with higher-than-expected costs related to its Medicare business. Heightened care activity among Medicare Advantage users has gone "far above" 2025 expectations, the firm said.
"UnitedHealth Group grew to serve more people more comprehensively but did not perform up to our expectations, and we are aggressively addressing those challenges to position us well for the years ahead, and return to our long-term earnings growth rate target of 13 to 16%," CEO Andrew Witty said in a statement.
