Is a Dividend Cut Coming for UnitedHealth Stock?

Core Viewpoint - UnitedHealth Group is facing challenges due to rising medical costs impacting its financial performance, despite offering a relatively attractive dividend yield of 3% compared to the S&P 500's average yield of 1.1% [2][8]. Financial Performance - UnitedHealth's revenue for the year reached $447.6 billion, reflecting a 12% year-over-year increase, but earnings from operations declined by 41%, totaling just under $19 billion [4]. - The company incurred significant expenses related to restructuring, workforce reductions, and a previous cyberattack, contributing to the decline in earnings [5]. Future Outlook - The company projects earnings from operations to improve to $24 billion for the upcoming year, with an expected operating cash flow of at least $18 billion, down from $19.7 billion [6]. - UnitedHealth is expected to pay approximately $8 billion in dividends over the year, which appears manageable given the anticipated cash flow and capital expenditures [7]. Dividend Safety - Current indicators suggest that UnitedHealth's dividend is safe, as the expected cash flow should cover capital expenditures of $3.8 billion and share repurchases of $2.5 billion, alongside dividend payments [7]. - Despite the attractive dividend yield, the stock has seen a decline of over 40% in the past three years, raising concerns about future growth and persistent high costs [8].