UnitedHealth Misses Q2 Mark But Vows A Healthier 2026

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) reported second-quarter 2025 earnings on Tuesday and reestablished its 2025 guidance.

The insurance giant reported adjusted earnings of $4.08, down from $6.80 a year ago, missing the consensus of $4.95.

Revenues increased 13% year over year to $111.62 billion, missing the consensus of $111.69 billion.

"UnitedHealth Group has embarked on a rigorous path back to being a high-performing company…," said UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley. The company is strengthening operating disciplines, positioning itself for growth in 2026 and beyond, he added.

Also Read: UnitedHealth Under Federal Scrutiny—Reaffirms Integrity Of Its Medicare Operations

In addition:

• Q2 medical care ratio of 89.4% increased 430 basis points year-over-year.
• Operating cost ratio was 12.3% compared to 13.3% in the year-ago quarter reflecting business mix, inclusive of the Part D program changes, reduced impacts from last year's Change Healthcare cyberattack and cost management activities.
• Q2 revenue was $86.1 billion, a 17% year-over-year boost.
• The segment served 50 million people, an increase of 770,000 year-to-date.
• Earnings from operations were $2.1 billion compared to $4.0 billion in the second quarter of 2024, and the margin fell from 5.4% to 2.4% primarily due to higher-than-expected medical cost trends across the UnitedHealthcare businesses and the effects of the Medicare funding reductions.
• For the employer and individual segment, the number of people served increased by 400,000 year-over-year, with growth in employer self-funded offerings of 695,000 partially offset by attrition in both individual and group fully insured products.
• The number of people served with individual and group Medicare Advantage offerings grew by 505,000 through the first half of 2025. Medicare Supplement plans contracted by 30,000, and Stand-Alone Part D plans decreased by 250,000.
• Optum Health's revenue of $25.2 billion decreased 7% year-over-year, driven by the legacy customer contract revisions cited in the first quarter of 2025 and effects related to the Medicare Advantage funding cuts.
• Earnings from operations were $636 million, compared to $1.9 billion in the year-ago quarter, and operating margins were 2.5% and 7.1%, respectively.

Guidance: UnitedHealth reestablished its fiscal year 2025 guidance, with adjusted earnings of at least $16 per share versus a consensus of $22.33 and sales guidance of $445.5 billion-$448 billion compared to the analyst estimate of $449.5 billion.

In May, UnitedHealth suspended its 2025 performance outlook.

It expected adjusted earnings of $26.00-$26.50 per share versus prior guidance of $29.50-$30.00 per share, versus consensus of $29.73.

The full-year 2025 medical cost ratio is now expected to be 89.25% +/—25 basis points, with operating cost ratio expected to be 12.75% +/- 25 basis points.

For Optum Health: 2025 revenues are expected to be between $101.1 billion and $101.6 billion, a 4% decline from 2024, with earnings from operations of $3 billion—$3.1 billion below expectations of around $6.6 billion.

• The number of patients served under fully accountable value-based care models is now expected to increase by around 300,000 to 5 million.

UnitedHealthcare’s full-year 2025 revenues are expected to range from $344 billion to $345.5 billion, growing more than 15% over 2024. Earnings from operations are expected to be in the range of $9.0 billion to $9.3 billion.

• The number of people served with medical benefits is expected to increase by up to 1.135 million over 2024.
• The number of people served with commercial benefits is expected to increase by up to 335,000, with growth of 720,000 within self-funded employer-sponsored offerings.
• The number of people served with commercial insured offerings is expected to decline by 385,000, comprised of 180,000 contraction in individual insured offerings, of which 140,000 are on exchange products, and a decline of 205,000 in employer-sponsored group products.

During the earnings conference call, a UnitedHealth executive reportedly said the company will be more conservative with its footprint and may exit certain markets to manage its membership profile.

Price Action: UNH stock is down 4.5% at $269.41 on the last check Tuesday.

Read Next:

• Self-Driving Cars Could Be $200 Billion Market By 2030, Says Morgan Stanley

Image: Shutterstock