By Catherine Dunn and Callum Keown

Humana beat earnings and revenue expectations in the first quarter but the stock was falling more than 4% ahead of the open Wednesday.

The health insurer posted adjusted earnings per share of $10.31, down from $11.58 a year ago, on revenue of $39.7 billion. Wall Street was expecting EPS of $10.20 on revenue of $39.4 billion.

The company also stuck to its full-year guidance for adjusted EPS of "at least" $9, down from $17 in 2025.

But that wasn't enough to keep the shares' strong recent momentum going. The stock, which has jumped 32% in April but remains 10% down in 2026 through Tuesday's close, pointed 4.2% lower at $220 in premarket trading.

The stock plummeted in late January when the federal government proposed a nearly flat payment rate to insurers for 2027 in comparison from 2026. Shares rebounded in early April, after federal officials finalized a higher rate, an average payment increase of 2.48% for insurers.

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

Humana is a big Medicare Advantage player under pressure from the federal government's payment rates and higher medical costs for members. The question for the healthcare insurer when it reports earnings on Wednesday: Does having more members help or hinder in this environment?

Profitability concerns have prompted some insurers to exit markets, trim benefits, and shed Medicare Advantage enrollees. In contrast, Humana's membership swelled. Now, Wall Street is watching how the company's larger roster of patients will magnify any first-quarter trends in medical spending.

Given the questions posed by the bigger membership footprint, Humana is the "most debated stock in our coverage universe," Mizuho Securities analyst Ann Hynes said in a note earlier this month.

Hynes called the stock "compelling" if the growth in healthcare utilization -- how much healthcare enrollees use -- doesn't further accelerate. By the same token, Humana is at the "greatest risk" if utilization trends do pick up, she wrote. Mizuho has an Outperform rating on the shares.

For Humana's first quarter, Wall Street expects adjusted earnings per share of $10.20, down from $11.58 the same period a year ago, according to FactSet.

Revenue is expected to rise to $39.37 billion, up from $32.1 billion year over year. Humana's medical cost ratio -- company spending on member care -- is also expected to increase, to 89.7% compared with 87% the same quarter last year.

Humana's stock has slumped this year, seesawing on news of how much the government plans to pay insurers that operate Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors.

The stock plummeted in late January when the federal government proposed a nearly flat payment rate to insurers for 2027 in comparison from 2026. Shares rebounded in early April, after federal officials finalized a higher rate, an average payment increase of 2.48% for insurers.

"Overall, the HUM story is certainly not without risks, but we believe the reward paradigm skews to the upside," Guggenheim's Jason Cassorla wrote recently, noting the company's "ability to reprice its book annually and downsize relatively unattractive supplemental benefits over time."

Write to Catherine Dunn at catherine.dunn@dowjones.com

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April 29, 2026 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)

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