The American Health Insurance Company UnitedHealth Group surprised investors this Thursday (17) with what its executive president said it was a quarterly result below the expected “unusual and unacceptable”.
The company still reduced perspective of results For the year citing higher medical costs than expectation.
The company’s shares plummeted almost 19% late this morning in New York, pulling other roles from the sector down.
The result and forecasting caused investors to sell shares of the company, as they expected the insurer to maintain its prospect of performance in the year based on the expectation that the Demand for medical services would be similar to the level verified in 2024.
A UnitedHealth It had revenue of US $ 109.6 billion for the quarter, below expectations of US $ 111.6 billion, and profit per share of $ 7.20, also lower than expected.
“O UnitedHealth Group It has grown to meet larger number of people more broadly, but did not perform to our expectations, and we are aggressively facing these challenges to position ourselves well for the coming years, ”Andrew Witty said in a statement.
O US Health Insurance Sector It has faced an increase in costs since mid -2023, due to growth in demand for services under medical plans supported by the country’s government.
A UnitedHealth He said the Costs of Service of the Medicare Advantage division increased more than expected at the end of the quarter, led by medical and outpatient services.
The Optum Health unit also faced the pressure of a more sick patient profile and the continuous effect of the cuts in the drug’s rates under Joe Biden’s government.
“No one was waiting for this level of error or cut in the forecast,” said Kevin Gade, director of operations at Bahl & Gaynor, who has UnitedHealth actions.
The company now expects the profit adjusted per share in 2025 to be between $ 26 and $ 26.50, compared to the previous forecast of $ 29.50 to $ 30 per share. Analysts were waiting for a $ 29.73 profit per share, on average, to 2025, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Business companies in the sector fell, including Elevance, CVS Health, Cigna, Centene and Human, which generated a loss of market value in the sector of more than $ 130 billion.
The actions of health insurance companies had a difficult year of 2024, harmed by lower government payments, high medical costs and public reaction against the industry after the murder of Brian Thompson, director of UnitedHealth insurance unit at the end of last year.
Thompson’s murder also triggered a storm in social media of patient dissatisfaction and wrath of the population against health insurance practices.
