TLDR
- UnitedHealth posted Q2 adjusted EPS of $6.38, crushing the $4.91 analyst estimate
- Revenue came in at $112 billion, above the $110.8 billion Wall Street expected
- Full-year adjusted earnings guidance raised to $19.50–$20.00 per share
- Medical-cost ratio improved to 86.7%, down from 89.4% a year ago
- Rival health insurers Humana, Centene, and Molina also rose in premarket trading
UnitedHealth Group stock jumped roughly 7% in premarket trading on Thursday after the company reported second-quarter results that beat estimates across the board and raised its full-year outlook.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UNH
Adjusted earnings came in at $6.38 per share, well ahead of the analyst consensus of around $4.85–$4.91. That’s a beat of over $1.50 per share — not a small miss in the wrong direction.
Revenue reached $112 billion for the quarter, edging past the $110.8 billion Wall Street had penciled in. That compares to $111.6 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
BREAKING: UnitedHealth stock, $UNH, surges over +8% after posting stronger than expected Q2 earnings.
The stock is now officially up over +75% since its March 27th bottom. pic.twitter.com/csc1kAX4NL
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) July 16, 2026
The company’s medical-cost ratio — the share of insurance premiums paid out for medical expenses — fell to 86.7%. That’s down from 89.4% in Q2 2025 and better than the 88.4% analysts had forecast. Management said the improvement came from benefit design changes, better pricing discipline, and stronger medical cost management.
Earnings from operations hit $8.0 billion, up from $5.2 billion in the second quarter of 2025.
Guidance Gets a Lift
On the back of the strong quarter, UnitedHealth raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $19.50 to $20.00 per share. The midpoint of $19.75 sits well above the analyst consensus of $18.48–$18.49. The previous guidance floor had been $18.25.
The company also lifted its full-year cash flow guidance to approximately $24 billion, up from its prior target of over $18 billion.
Cash flows from operations were $11.1 billion in the quarter, or 1.9 times net income. UnitedHealth has already repurchased $4 billion of its stock through mid-July and expects to buy back at least $5 billion for the full year.
Segment Results
UnitedHealthcare served 48.5 million consumers during the quarter and reported revenues of $86 billion with earnings of $3.9 billion. The segment’s operating margin expanded to 4.6%, up from 2.4% in Q2 2025.
Optum, the company’s health services arm, generated revenues of $65.7 billion and earnings of $4.0 billion, with 160 basis points of margin expansion year over year.
CEO Stephen Hemsley said the results reflect “continuing progress in our work to simplify how we operate, improve both affordability and the health care experience for patients and care providers.”
The strong numbers also gave a lift to other health insurers. Humana rose 4.8% in premarket trading, while Centene gained 4.6% and Molina Healthcare added 2.9%.
UnitedHealth’s premarket gain of around 7% put the stock near $448.50, compared to its prior close of around $418.52.
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