By Josh Nathan-Kazis and Nate Wolf

Shares of Cigna ticked up Thursday after the insurer reported third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations.

The company posted operating earnings of $7.83 a share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' consensus estimate of $7.64. Revenue, minus investments and one-time items, totaled $69.6 billion, above Wall Street's call for $67.6 billion.

The stock ticked up 1% to $301 a share in premarket trading Thursday.

This is breaking news. Read a preview of Cigna's earnings below and check back for more analysis soon.

Insurer Cigna Group will report earnings on Thursday amid enormous political uncertainties for the managed-care industry, as federal subsidies for plans sold on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces remain in political limbo, even as open enrollment is set to kick off.

Cigna has outperformed its peers in recent years, largely avoiding disastrous selloffs like those that have hit UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, and Humana. Cigna shares are up more than 30% since the start of 2022, while UnitedHealth is down almost 30%, Humana is down more than 35%, and CVS is down around 20%.

This year, Cigna has kept on winning. Shares are up 10%, while the Health Care Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund is up 5.3%.

On Thursday, investors will be looking for signs that the company can keep avoiding the pitfalls that have been tripping up its peers, despite the tough political environment.

Analysts anticipate Cigna will report third-quarter earnings of $7.64 per share, on sales of $67.6 billion, according to FactSet. They expect a medical loss ratio -- a key metric that tracks the proportion of premiums paid out to cover medical costs -- of 84.3%, worse than the 82.8% ratio the company reported in the same quarter last year.

In July, Cigna told investors to expect adjusted income from operations of at least $29.60 per share for the full year.

In addition to its health insurance division, the company also operates a healthcare-services division called Evernorth, which includes a pharmacy benefit manager and other businesses.

The subsidies that have lowered prices for plans offered on the ACA exchanges are set to expire at the end of the year, and premiums for next year are up 26%, according to the healthcare policy group KFF. Democrats have made their demand to extend those subsidies a key point in the ongoing negotiations over the government shutdown, though the fate of the subsidies is far from clear.

On Cigna's second-quarter call, executives said that the company had pulled back sharply on its ACA business, noting that the number of customers it served in plans offered on ACA exchanges was down to fewer than 400,000 from nearly a million as of 2023.

The company will report its third-quarter results early on Thursday morning. It is hosting a conference call for investors at 8:30 a.m.

Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com

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October 30, 2025 06:21 ET (10:21 GMT)

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