Elevance Health raised its earnings outlook after logging a higher benefit-expense ratio and sales number in the second quarter.

The health insurer on Wednesday posted a profit of $1.46 billion, or $6.71 a share, compared with $1.74 billion, or $7.72 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings were $7.45 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $6.21 a share.

Revenue rose 3% to $50.47 billion, compared with estimates of $48.84 billion that Wall Street modeled.

The benefit-expense ratio, a closely watched metric that compares health costs with premium revenue, rose to 89.7% from 88.9%.

The company attributed the higher benefit-expense ratio primarily to improved performance in individual Affordable Care Act coverage compared with the year before. That was partly offset by an expected increase in medical costs in Elevance's government business.

Medical membership, a tally of enrollees in its insurance plans, slipped by 469,000 sequentially to 44.9 million as of the end of June. The decline was driven by a commercial fee-based customer transition and some membership attrition.

For the year, the Indianapolis company expects adjusted earnings of at least $27 a share. Analysts currently expected adjusted earnings of $26.91 a share, and Elevance had previously guided for $26.75 a share.

The outlook marks a guidance increase by the company. Elevance is also raising its target investments in medical cost management, member experience and provider connectivity.

These updates reinforce management's confidence in meeting its goal to return at least 12% adjusted earnings per share growth in 2027, compared with 2026, Chief Executive Gail Boudreaux said.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 15, 2026 06:31 ET (10:31 GMT)

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