Cigna's Reassurances About PBM Business Lift Stock -- WSJ

Dow Jones
Feb 06

By Anna Wilde Mathews

Cigna Group's shares are up about 3% in trading Thursday, showing that investors don't think the recent round of changes out of Washington will fundamentally alter the company's outlook.

Cigna is the parent of one of the largest pharmacy-benefit managers. On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with the company. That came right after President Trump signed legislation that included new provisions designed to add transparency and other tweaks to PBMs' business.

Cigna Chief Executive David Cordani told analysts on its Thursday earnings call that all of the policy moves will leave the PBM's margins, and its growth trajectory, largely unchanged, partly because it unveiled a new PBM setup last October that already incorporated an approach similar to the new requirements.

The company might see a tax-rate increase of as much as 1% over time from moving one operation to the U.S., he said. He also said that Cigna expects most, but not all, clients to switch to a new PBM setup, but that Cigna won't be penalized under its FTC settlement if they don't.

The company's fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts' projections, while the floor of its 2026 guidance was slightly below expectations, according to FactSet.

Cigna's stock was punished in October when it rolled out its PBM changes and said it had renegotiated contracts with two major clients. The shares haven't gotten back to their previous level. But the October announcements enabled it to tell investors that the latest federal moves won't represent substantive further adjustments, and Wall Street seems to agree.

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2026 11:47 ET (16:47 GMT)

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