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UnitedHealth Group’s Restored 2025 Outlook Falls Below Consensus Estimates

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Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA UnitedHealth Group (UNH) reported disappointing second quarter results and issued an outlook for 2025 that came in below expectations. The firm’s second-quarter 2025 revenue grew $12.8 billion year-over-year to $111.6 billion thanks to growth at both UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Second-quarter earnings from operations, however, came in at $5.2 billion, down from $7.9 billion in the same period a year ago. Net earnings were $4.08 per share, below the consensus estimate of $4.45 per share. UnitedHealth Group’s second quarter consolidated medical care ratio of 89.4% was up 430 basis points year-over-year. Management had the following to say about the results: UnitedHealth Group has embarked on a rigorous path back to being a high-performing company … Read more

UnitedHealth Group Reports Messy Second Quarter Results

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Image: UnitedHealth Group’s shares have been choppy since the beginning of 2023. By Brian Nelson, CFA UnitedHealth Group (UNH) reported messy second quarter results on July 16 that showed a beat on the bottom line, but in-line performance on the top line. The healthcare giant reported revenue of $98.9 billion, up $6 billion from the same period a year ago thanks to “strong expansion in people served domestically at its Optum and UnitedHealthcare” divisions. Second quarter earnings from operations came in at $7.9 billion, which included a $1.1 billion headwind from “unfavorable cyberattack effects.” Adjusted earnings from operations, which include business disruption impacts but exclude cyberattack direct response costs and the reclassification of its remaining South American operations as held … Read more

UnitedHealth Group Reiterates 2024 Adjusted Net Earnings Outlook

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Image: UnitedHealth Group’s shares have been choppy during the past couple years. By Brian Nelson, CFA On April 16, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) reported better-than-expected first quarter 2024 results. Revenue advanced nearly $8 billion on a year-over-year basis, to $99.8 billion, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $6.91. The company’s results were quite messy given the impact of the recent cyberattack on its business as well as the sale of its Brazil operations. UnitedHealth Group noted that the cyberattack impact in the first quarter was $0.74 per share, and the firm expects the full year 2024 impact to be $1.15-$1.35 per share. The company also recorded a largely non-cash $7 billion charge in the quarter due to the sale … Read more

Earnings Roundup: V, INTC, HUM, PYPL

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Visa (V) Operating and Free Cash Flow Margins Remain Robust, Consumer Spending Remains Resilient Image: Visa’s operating margins are phenomenal. Image Source: Visa On January 25, top-weighted Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding Visa reported excellent first-quarter fiscal 2024 results that beat on the top and bottom lines. Net revenues advanced 9% on a year-over-year basis, while the firm was able to drive non-GAAP net income 8% higher and non-GAAP earnings per share 11% higher. In the quarter, payments volume advanced 8%, cross-border volume advanced 16%, and processed transactions increased 9%, all on a year-over-year basis. The company’s operating margin came in at an impressive 69% in the quarter, and it hauled in ~$3.35 billion in free … Read more

UnitedHealth Group Still a Free-Cash-Flow Generating Machine

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Image: UnitedHealth Group continues to drive strong revenue and operating earnings performance. Image Source: UnitedHealth Group. By Brian Nelson, CFA On January 12, healthcare benefits provider UnitedHealth Group (UNH) reported strong fourth-quarter 2023 results that showed revenue advancing 14% on a year-over-year basis thanks to strength at its UnitedHealthcare and Optum divisions, while earnings from operations advanced 11.6%. UnitedHealth is facing some temporary cost pressures in its business due to pent-up demand for discretionary procedures following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but its net margin held up fine in the period, coming in at 5.8%, the same level a year ago. Management reaffirmed its previously-issued 2024 guidance, and we continue to like UnitedHealth Group as a key weighting in … Read more

UnitedHealth Group’s Long-Term Story Intact

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Image: UnitedHealth Group’s shares are facing pressure as the pace of medical procedures normalizes following COVID-19. We still like shares. By Brian Nelson, CFA On June 7, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) raised its quarterly dividend nearly 14%, to $1.88 per share, which reflects a forward estimated dividend yield of 1.65%. The company remains a staple in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and is a new add in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Recent comments by UNH’s John Rex on June 14 regarding the firm’s healthcare costs during the second quarter have put shares under pressure during the trading session. Discretionary surgeries have picked back up following a lull during most of the COVID-19 pandemic as hospital capacity was largely constrained during … Read more

UnitedHealth Group Sets Bar Low with Newly Issued 2023 Guidance; We Expect Upward Revisions Throughout the Year

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Image: UnitedHealth Group issued a strong outlook for 2023. We continue to like shares in the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: UnitedHealth By Valuentum Analysts On November 28, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) reiterated its guidance for fiscal 2022 in advance of its 2022 Investor Conference and issued what we believe to be a conservative outlook for 2023. UnitedHealth Group operates two complementary businesses, Optum, which provides technology and data to health providers to offer guidance and tools, and UnitedHealthcare, which offers health benefits. The company is a key “position” in the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and yields ~1.2% at the time of this writing. When UnitedHealth Group reported third-quarter 2022 results October 14, “Dividend Growth Idea UnitedHealth Outperforming,” … Read more