As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the health insurance providers industry, including Centene (NYSE: CNC) and its peers.
Upfront premiums collected by health insurers lead to reliable revenue, but profitability ultimately depends on accurate risk assessments and the ability to control medical costs. Health insurers are also highly sensitive to regulatory changes and economic conditions such as unemployment. Going forward, the industry faces tailwinds from an aging population, increasing demand for personalized healthcare services, and advancements in data analytics to improve cost management. However, continued regulatory scrutiny on pricing practices, the potential for government-led reforms such as expanded public healthcare options, and inflation in medical costs could add volatility to margins. One big debate among investors is the long-term impact of AI and whether it will help underwriting, fraud detection, and claims processing or whether it may wade into ethical grey areas like reinforcing biases and widening disparities in medical care.
The 11 health insurance providers stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.
Centene (NYSE: CNC)
Serving nearly 1 in 15 Americans through its government healthcare programs, Centene (NYSE: CNC) is a healthcare company that manages government-sponsored health insurance programs like Medicaid and Medicare for low-income and complex-needs populations.
Centene reported revenues of $40.81 billion, up 3.4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 4.4%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
"Despite a year of unprecedented industry headwinds, Centene demonstrated significant operational improvements, strengthened our talent bench, and delivered on our financial commitments in 2024," said Chief Executive Officer of Centene, Sarah M. London.
Centene delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The company lost 39,400 customers and ended up with a total of 28.6 million. Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 10.6% since reporting and currently trades at $57.93.
Is now the time to buy Centene? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q4: Progyny (NASDAQ: PGNY)
Pioneering a data-driven approach to family building that has achieved an industry-leading patient satisfaction score of +80, Progyny (NASDAQ: PGNY) provides comprehensive fertility and family building benefits solutions to employers, helping employees access quality fertility treatments and support services.
Progyny reported revenues of $298.4 million, up 10.6% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.6%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ sales volume estimates and EBITDA guidance for the next quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations.
Progyny scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 8.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $20.86.
Is now the time to buy Progyny? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: Molina Healthcare (NYSE: MOH)
Founded in 1980 as a provider for underserved communities in Southern California, Molina Healthcare (NYSE: MOH) provides managed healthcare services primarily to low-income individuals through Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace insurance programs across 21 states.
Molina Healthcare reported revenues of $10.5 billion, up 16% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.
As expected, the stock is down 2.7% since the results and currently trades at $308.65.
Read our full analysis of Molina Healthcare’s results here.
Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV)
Formerly known as Anthem until its 2022 rebranding, Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV) is one of America's largest health insurers, serving approximately 47 million medical members through its network-based managed care plans.
Elevance Health reported revenues of $45.44 billion, up 6.6% year on year. This print met analysts’ expectations. However, it was a slower quarter as it produced a slight miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.
The company lost 26,000 customers and ended up with a total of 45.73 million. The stock is up 7.7% since reporting and currently trades at $420.94.
Read our full, actionable report on Elevance Health here, it’s free.
Clover Health (NASDAQ: CLOV)
Founded in 2014 to improve healthcare for America's seniors through technology, Clover Health (NASDAQ: CLOV) provides Medicare Advantage plans for seniors with a focus on affordable care and uses its proprietary Clover Assistant software to help physicians manage patient care.
Clover Health reported revenues of $337 million, up 7.9% year on year. This number missed analysts’ expectations by 3.4%. Aside from that, it was a strong quarter as it logged a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.
Clover Health had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The company added 1,554 customers to reach a total of 82,664. The stock is down 10.9% since reporting and currently trades at $3.68.
Read our full, actionable report on Clover Health here, it’s free.
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