The health insurance giant raised its profit guidance for the second time this year
UnitedHealth's medical-cost ratio in the second quarter came in lower than expected. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
UnitedHealth Group raised its earnings guidance for the second time this year in the latest signal that its business is returning to a better place.
The health insurance giant now expects adjusted net earnings of $19.50 to $20.00 per share in 2026. That's up from the more than $18.25 a share that the company guided for back in April and the $17.75 a share at the start of the year.
UnitedHealth's stock $(UNH)$ was up about 6.3 % in premarket trade on Thursday.
The company had revenue of $112.0 billion in the second quarter, up from $111.6 billion in the same three months of last year and beating the FactSet estimate of $110.8 billion.
It also said the medical-cost ratio - the percentage of health-insurance premiums that is spent on medical care - was 86.7% in the second quarter. That's far lower than the FactSet estimate of 88.4% and the 89.4% it reported in the second quarter of 2025. UnitedHealth's leadership attributed that improvement to "product design changes, improved medical management and better aligned pricing."
The company had 48.5 million customers in the second quarter, which again came in lower than the FactSet consensus of 51.0 million customers.
UnitedHealth's stock is up 24.4% so far this year, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 10.4%.
-Jaimy Lee
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July 16, 2026 06:08 ET (10:08 GMT)
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