UnitedHealth Group (UNH) earnings Q2 2026

UnitedHealth Group on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings that beat estimates and raised its full-year profit outlook as the company better managed high medical costs and used artificial intelligence to streamline operations.

The largest privately held U.S. insurer said it expects adjusted earnings of more than $18.25 per share in 2026 to between $19.50 and $20 per share. UnitedHealth maintains its full-year revenue target of over $439 billion. But CFO Wayne DeVeydt said in an interview that he expects the company to do “better than that” given its performance in the second quarter.

Still, he said medical costs this quarter remained “high relative to historical levels,” an issue that has dogged the insurance industry for more than two years.

“These results are not a reflection of the trend bending or containing itself, but rather our efforts to begin to push down an already high number,” DeVeydt said.

Here’s what the company reported for the second quarter compared to Wall Street expectations, based on a survey of LSEG analysts:

• Earnings per share: $6.38 adjusted, expected $4.90
• Revenues: 110.85 billion dollars is expected against the expectation of 112.03 billion dollars

The company’s shares rose nearly 7% in premarket trading.

UnitedHealth’s turnaround plan is gaining momentum following a restructuring and executive shakeup designed to counter industry challenges. The healthcare giant is trying to stabilize margins by reducing memberships, exiting unprofitable contracts and pouring $1.5 billion into artificial intelligence to streamline operations.

DeVeydt said the company is using artificial intelligence to improve both efficiency and patient care. For example, artificial intelligence helps speed up processes such as pre-authorizations and improve payment accuracy by detecting potential fraud, waste and abuse. This can help reduce costs while improving patient care. He said AI tools do not determine whether maintenance will be approved.

“I would call it a turnaround, and I want to emphasize that this is actually happening in our culture… that turnaround is turning into strong, strong gains,” DeVeydt told reporters. “So this shows that we can be both the solution and profitable when we do things the way we think they should be done.”

But he stressed that the comeback was a “multi-year journey.”

The company reported second-quarter net income of $5.48 billion, or $6.04 per share, compared to $3.41 billion, or $3.74 per share, in the same period a year ago. UnitedHealth earned $6.38 per share when excluding items such as business divestitures, restructuring and the expected reduction of reserves for unprofitable contracts.

Revenue rose to $112.03 billion, up from $111.62 billion in the prior-year quarter. The company’s insurer UnitedHealthcare and its Optum healthcare unit beat analysts’ quarterly sales estimates, according to StreetAccount.

UnitedHealth said rising health care costs are forcing insurers to raise premiums and adjust benefits, contributing to membership losses in both ACA exchange plans and privately run Medicare Advantage plans. The company said revenue remained flat as higher prices offset the decline in registrations.

But DeVeydt said the dynamic “is not a good thing for the system in the long run.”

UnitedHealthcare served 48.5 million people in the second quarter, down 525,000 from the previous quarter. DeVeydt attributed the membership declines largely to affordability pressures caused by higher health care costs and predicted the loss of about 500,000 ACA exchange members and 1.1 million Medicare Advantage members in 2026.

Insurers, especially those running Medicare Advantage plans, have been strained by high-cost specialty drugs like GLP-1s and a post-pandemic influx of people seeking care they had postponed, among other factors.

But UnitedHealth’s medical benefit ratio (a measure of total medical expenses paid based on premiums collected) was 86.7% in the second quarter. This is an improvement from the 89.4% reported in the same period the previous year. A lower ratio generally indicates that the company collected more premiums than benefits paid, leading to higher profitability.

Analysts were expecting an 88.5% rate for the quarter, according to StreetAccount.

The results come nearly a year after UnitedHealth announced it was facing Justice Department investigations over its Medicare billing practices.

DeVeydt said the company had no updates but continues to “support” the investigation.