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Earnings Data
Report Date
Jul 16, 2026Before Open (Confirmed)
Period Ending
2026 (Q2)Consensus EPS Forecast
4.85Last Year’s EPS
4.08Same Quarter Last Year
Strong Buy
Based on 23 Analysts Ratings
Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call portrayed a generally constructive and improving operational picture: the company delivered an earnings beat, modest revenue growth, improved medical care ratio, strong cash generation and clear early progress at Optum Health and Optum Rx driven by operational improvements and digital/AI initiatives. Management emphasized disciplined pricing, continued investments in AI (nearly $1.5B in 2026) and capital returns, while acknowledging known challenges such as membership contraction (including a large ACA decline), Medicaid funding pressure, persistently elevated medical trends, one-time seasonal and prior-year tailwinds, and regulatory uncertainties that could temper future performance. Overall, leadership signaled cautious optimism with continued focus on execution and margin recovery, but noted that meaningful second-quarter data and the back-half seasonality will be important to confirm sustainability.Company Guidance
Adjusted EPS Beat
Reported adjusted earnings per share of $7.23 in Q1, materially ahead of expectations and supporting an updated full-year outlook of greater than $18.25 per share.
Revenue Growth and Strong Cash Flow
Total revenues of $111.7 billion, up 2% year-over-year, with operating cash flow of $8.9 billion in the quarter (1.4x net income).
Improved Medical Care Ratio
Reported medical care ratio improved to 83.9% from 84.8% in Q1 2025 (about 90 basis points improvement), driven by pricing discipline, medical cost management and favorable reserve development.
Optum Health Operational Turnaround
Optum Health adjusted earnings of $1.3 billion reflecting pricing and operational improvements; examples include a ~35% reduction in skilled nursing facility admissions (in the initial month in one region), clinical reviews up >50% and a 12% YoY increase in patient-facing hours.
Digital Adoption and Prior Authorization Automation
Almost 50% of members registered for UHC digital access; 73 million digital visits in Q1 (up 42% over two years); >80% of consumer contacts are digital. Prior authorization progress: ~95% of requests submitted electronically, ~50% processed in real time and >90% approved on average within 1 business day.
Optum Rx Client Wins and Efficiency Gains
Onboarded more than 800 new Optum Rx clients to start the year; contact center volume down 25% via digital/AI self-service with member satisfaction over 95%. PreCheck PA reduced prescription approval time from >8 hours to <30 seconds and cut denials for missing information by 68% and appeals by 88%.
Material AI Investment with Early Traction
Plan to invest nearly $1.5 billion in AI-related initiatives in 2026; Optum Insight/AI products showing traction (Optum Real 0.5 billion YTD transactions, targeting >2.5 billion by year-end) and expected conservative 2:1 return on many programs over next few years.
Capital Allocation & Balance Sheet Progress
Debt-to-capital ratio improved to 42.9% (on track to 40% year-end target). Initiated share repurchases earlier than planned with at least $2 billion expected to be deployed by end of Q2 and continued discipline on M&A and strategic capital deployment.
UNH Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed
UNH Earnings-Related Price Changes
Report Date | Price 1 Day Before | Price 1 Day After | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
Apr 21, 2026 | $321.64 | $344.05 | +6.97% |
Jan 27, 2026 | $346.94 | $278.93 | -19.61% |
Oct 28, 2025 | $358.68 | $360.50 | +0.51% |
Jul 29, 2025 | $274.76 | $254.26 | -7.46% |
Earnings announcements can affect a stock’s price. This table shows the stock's price the day before and the day after recent earnings reports, including the percentage change.
FAQ
When does Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) report earnings?
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) is schdueled to report earning on Jul 16, 2026, Before Open (Confirmed).
What is Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) earnings time?
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) earnings time is at Jul 16, 2026, Before Open (Confirmed).
Where can I see when companies are reporting earnings?
You can see which companies are reporting today on our designated earnings calendar.
What companies are reporting earnings today?
You can see a list of the companies which are reporting today on TipRanks earnings calendar.
What is UNH EPS forecast?
UNH EPS forecast for the fiscal quarter 2026 (Q2) is 4.85.
