UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) shares rose 2.19% to $386.80 in Tuesday’s premarket trading after the health insurer reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its full-year profit forecast, supported by improved medical-cost management.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $4.69 per share, beating Wall Street’s estimate of $4.14. The figure marked a roughly 61% increase from $2.92 per share in the year-earlier quarter.
Quarterly revenue reached $112.7 billion, above analysts’ estimates of $111.3 billion but slightly below the $113.2 billion reported a year earlier. Higher profits alongside lower revenue reflected stronger profitability despite a modest decline in sales.
UnitedHealth also raised its 2026 adjusted earnings forecast to at least $20.50 per share, up from its previous guidance of $19.50 to $20.00. The new minimum is $0.50 above the former upper end of the range, marking the insurer’s third upward revision to its 2026 profit outlook, following earlier increases in April and July.
Lower Medical Costs Strengthen UnitedHealth’s Profitability
The central improvement came from UnitedHealth’s medical care ratio, which measures the share of premium revenue spent on medical expenses. The ratio fell 150 basis points to 88.4% from 89.9% a year earlier, coming in below analysts’ estimates of about 89.7%.
Rising healthcare utilization and unexpectedly high medical expenses had previously pressured the insurer’s margins and earnings forecasts.
The lower ratio benefited from $610 million of net favorable prior-period medical reserve development related to 2026 dates of service, reflecting downward revisions to previously estimated medical claims costs. UnitedHealth also cited benefit-design changes, pricing discipline, medical-cost management and care-delivery improvements.
Consolidated operating income increased to approximately $6.6 billion from $4.3 billion a year earlier, an improvement of about 53%. Stronger profitability across Optum’s clinical care and healthcare technology operations also contributed to the quarterly results.
The earnings improvement came alongside a contraction in UnitedHealth’s insurance business. UnitedHealthcare revenue declined to $86.3 billion from $87.1 billion, while the number of consumers served fell to 48.3 million from 50.1 million a year earlier.
Reported Medicare Advantage enrollment fell by 840,000, from 8.445 million at the end of 2025 to 7.605 million at the end of September 2026, as UnitedHealth continued to revise insurance pricing and withdraw from underperforming contracts.
UnitedHealth Tokenized Stock (UNHon) Also Advances
Separately, UnitedHealth Tokenized Stock (Ondo), trading under the ticker UNHon, was quoted at $394.68, up 1.50% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
UNHon, a blockchain-based tokenized instrument offered by Ondo Finance, provides economic exposure to UnitedHealth shares, with dividends reinvested. It is distinct from the company’s common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange.