UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Beats Q4 Earnings Estimates

Group 1: Earnings Performance - UnitedHealth Group reported quarterly earnings of $6.81 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.71 per share, and up from $6.16 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of 1.49% [1] - The company posted revenues of $100.81 billion for the quarter ended December 2024, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.41%, compared to year-ago revenues of $94.43 billion [2] Group 2: Stock Performance and Outlook - UnitedHealth shares have increased approximately 7.4% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 1.2% [3] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $7.27 on revenues of $109.5 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $29.79 on revenues of $451.52 billion [7] Group 3: Industry Context - The Medical - HMOs industry, to which UnitedHealth belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 16% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating potential challenges ahead [8] - Another competitor in the same industry, Humana, is expected to report a quarterly loss of $2.23 per share, reflecting a significant year-over-year decline of -1927.3%, with revenues projected at $28.82 billion, up 12% from the previous year [9]