By Rob Curran
Centene's first-quarter earnings rose and the health insurer boosted its profit projections for the year as cost cuts and steady premium revenue growth offset rising medical expenses.
The St. Louis managed-care company posted earnings of $1.54 billion, or $3.11 a share, up from $1.31 billion, or $2.63 a share, a year earlier.
Stripping out certain one-time items, Centene logged adjusted earnings of $3.37 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had anticipated adjusted earnings of $2.23 a share.
Revenue rose 7.1% to $49.94 billion, handily topping the Wall Street target of $47.53 billion, as tallied by FactSet.
Premium and service revenue rose 5.1% to $44.66 billion.
Centene's health-benefits ratio, a measure of how much was paid out to cover enrollees' medical expenses, was 87.3%, below the mean analyst estimate of 89.1%. Health insurers have been dogged by concerns of rising medical costs in recent quarters as an aging U.S. population avails of hospital and outpatient services at a growing pace.
"We continue to make tangible progress in our margin recovery efforts while strengthening the fundamental operations of each of our businesses," said Chief Executive Sarah London in a statement.
The company boosted its projection for 2026 per-share earnings to more than $2.37 from the previous $1.98 or higher. Centene also ratcheted up its forecast for adjusted earnings to greater than $3.40 a share from a prior estimate of more than $3 a share.
Centene boosted its 2026 revenue target, and now anticipates a range between $187.5 billion and $191.5 billion from a prior estimate of $186.5 billion to $190.5 billion, and compared with the analyst target of $188.8 billion. The company anticipates a health-benefits ratio between 90.9% and 91.7% for the year, in line with analysts' expectations of 91.4%.
Shares were up 2.3% to $44.50 in premarket trading.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2026 07:06 ET (11:06 GMT)
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