Company Beats First-Quarter Estimates and Raises Outlook

The company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.57, above the $2.20 expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG. Revenue reached $100.43 billion, compared with the $95.09 billion forecast. Net income rose to $2.94 billion, or $2.30 per share, from $1.78 billion, or $1.41 per share, a year earlier.

All three business segments surpassed revenue expectations. The insurance unit, which includes the company's insurer, generated $35.97 billion in revenue, up about 3 percent from the first quarter of 2025 and above the $33.28 billion analysts had projected.

The retail pharmacy and consumer wellness division posted $31.99 billion in sales, slightly above the $31.70 billion expected and roughly flat with the prior year. The health services segment, which includes the pharmacy benefits manager, recorded $48.24 billion in revenue, an 11 percent increase from the year-earlier period.

The majority of a $5 billion increase in the full-year outlook reflects performance at the insurer, the company's chief financial officer said in an interview. The results come after two years in which high medical costs affected major health insurers.

The company's medical benefit ratio for the insurance segment fell to 84.6 percent from 87.3 percent a year earlier, better than the 86.3 percent analysts had projected.

The performance marks continued progress in the company's plan that has included cutting $2 billion in costs, closing underperforming stores, adjusting leadership and reducing costs in privately run Medicare Advantage plans. The chief financial officer said the company set realistic targets at the end of last year and then identified ways to outperform them.

He described the latest beat-and-raise as the fourth or fifth consecutive quarter of such results. "So confident in the year, but still taking a cautious or prudent view," the chief financial officer added. He noted that medical costs remain high but said the company has internal programs to reduce them and has improved its ability to forecast trends with fewer surprises.

The insurance segment's year-over-year improvement also stemmed from the absence of a premium deficiency reserve that had been recorded in the same period of 2025. The report adds to positive first-quarter results across the broader health insurance sector.

The second quarter is expected to provide a clearer picture of medical cost trends for the year. Shares of the company rose more than 7 percent following the announcement.