UnitedHealth's stock rises, as profit fell less than forecast while revenue rose
Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) rose 1.0% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the health care services company reported a fourth-quarter profit that fell less than expected, while revenue rose above forecasts. Net income fell to $2.21 billion, or $2.30 a share, from $3.54 billion, or $3.68 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share declined to $2.52 from $3.90 but beat the FactSet consensus of $2.41. Revenue grew 7.5% to a record $65.47 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $64.99 billion. Premiums revenue grew 6.2% to $50.58 billion, but missed the FactSet consensus of $50.85 billion, while products revenue rose 14.0% to $8.69 billion to beat expectations of $8.38 billion and services revenue increased 10.2% to $5.75 billion to top forecasts of $5.34 billion. "Fourth quarter operating results reflect restoration of care patterns, the company's continued efforts to provide support and relief efforts to correct economic imbalances caused by the pandemic and additional reserves for rebates and related activity as calendar year assessments were concluded," the company said in a statement. UnitedHealth affirmed its full-year adjusted EPS guidance range of $17.75 to $18.25. The stock has rallied 8.9% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 9.3%.
-Tomi Kilgore; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 20, 2021 06:11 ET (11:11 GMT)
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