UnitedHealth Group (UNH) – Get a free report posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, buoyed once again by double-digit revenue gains from its Optum division, and confirmed its full-year earnings forecasts.
UnitedHealth said adjusted earnings for the three months ending September were $5.34 a share, up 19% from the same period last year and 17 cents above the Wall Street consensus forecast.
Group revenue, UnitedHealth said, rose 12.3% to $82.8bn, again beating analyst estimates of $82.6bn, while Optum’s revenue rose 16.5% to $47.9bn.
“We hope the efforts of the people at our company that led to strong performance in 2022 will also define 2023, especially by delivering balanced growth across the company, improving support for consumers and care providers, and investing to simplify care. high quality. more accessible and affordable for everyone,” said CEO Andrew Witty.
Shares of UnitedHealth, a component of the Dow, rose 0.27% in premarket trading immediately after the earnings release to signal an opening bell price of $497.00 apiece.
Late last year, Witty told investors that while Covid pressures on the group’s business were easing, inflationary pressures, capacity constraints and a tight labor market were affecting “different parts of the (healthcare) system ) At different times”.
“So, I think this whole problem has become more complicated in some ways because there are more influences on what you should think about going forward,” Witty said, as the group lowered its 2023 adjusted earnings forecast to $24.40 to $24.90. per share, with overall revenue in the region of $357 billion to $360 billion.
