Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $16.35 for 2025, slightly ahead of expectations, with a full-year revenue of nearly $448 billion, reflecting a 12% growth from 2024 [4][24] - The 2026 outlook anticipates adjusted earnings per share of greater than $17.75, indicating a growth of at least 8.6% [6][25] - The medical care ratio for 2025 was 89.1%, slightly better than expected, while the operating cost ratio was 13.3% [24][26] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - UnitedHealthcare's Medicare segment experienced a medical cost trend of approximately 7.5% in 2025, with expectations of a 10% trend for 2026 [9] - The company anticipates a contraction of 1.3 million to 1.4 million members in Medicare Advantage for 2026 due to competitive market dynamics [10] - Optum is expected to see adjusted earnings growth across all three segments, with growth rates ranging from low to high single digits [15][16] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The Medicaid business is projected to face incremental pressure in 2026 due to state funding shortfalls, with expected membership contraction of approximately 565,000 to 715,000 [11] - The commercial pricing and cost management efforts have been aligned with increased care activity for 2026, with expectations of margin recovery [12][13] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on operational discipline, leveraging technology and AI, and renewing its commitment to innovation and accountability [4] - A strategic refocus on integrated value-based care is emphasized, with plans to align Optum Financial Services with Optum Insight [7][19] - The company aims to invest nearly $1.5 billion in 2026 to enhance operational capabilities and drive growth [30] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in returning to historical earnings quality and growth, despite challenges such as Medicare funding reductions and rising medical costs [6][8] - The company is committed to improving customer experience and operational efficiency through AI and machine learning [14][21] - Management highlighted the importance of transparency and accountability in operations, with plans to publish performance metrics in 2026 [31] Other Important Information - The company reported a $1.6 billion net charge primarily related to restructuring and other actions, which is expected to set a solid foundation for future performance [5][22] - Cash flows for 2025 were strong at $19.7 billion, approximately 1.5 times net income, supporting the company's financial stability [24] Q&A Session Summary Question: Decline in traditional MA lives and future margins - Management acknowledged the decline in Medicare Advantage lives and indicated that margin recovery efforts are underway, with expectations for improvement in 2027 [34][36] Question: Fourth quarter Optum Health performance - Management noted that fourth quarter results were slightly disappointing due to restructuring actions but expressed confidence in future stability and performance improvements [43][46] Question: Medicaid rate relief and margin assumptions - Management confirmed expectations of some margin contraction in Medicaid due to ongoing dislocation of rates and elevated medical trends, despite some rate relief [57] Question: Optum Rx performance and new clients - Management highlighted strong performance in Optum Rx, with 800 new clients acquired, driven by affordability, transparency, and execution [61][66] Question: Breakdown of commercial risk lives decline - Management indicated that the largest share of the membership decline is connected to the exchange business, with expectations for margin recovery in 2026 [72][75]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $16.35 for 2025, slightly ahead of expectations, with a full-year revenue of nearly $448 billion, reflecting a 12% growth from 2024 [4][23] - For 2026, the company expects adjusted earnings per share to exceed $17.75, indicating a growth of at least 8.6% [6][24] - The medical care ratio for 2025 was 89.1%, slightly better than expected, while the operating cost ratio was 13.3% [23][25] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - UnitedHealthcare's medical cost trend for 2025 was approximately 7.5%, with an expectation of 10% for 2026 [9][85] - The company anticipates a contraction of 1.3 million to 1.4 million members in Medicare Advantage for 2026 due to competitive market dynamics [10][11] - Medicaid membership is expected to contract by approximately 565,000 to 715,000 members due to reduced eligibility and state funding shortfalls [11][12] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company expects continued pressure in the Medicaid business in 2026, driven by state funding shortfalls and elevated medical trends [11][12] - The commercial market is expected to see a contraction in fully insured group and individual enrollment, partially offset by growth in self-funded offerings [13][14] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on operational discipline, leveraging technology and AI, and renewing its commitment to innovation and accountability [4][6] - There is a strategic refocus on integrated value-based care, with plans to align Optum Financial Services with Optum Insight to enhance healthcare technology and financial technology innovation [7][18] - The company aims to improve margins and operational performance through pricing adjustments and cost management efforts [12][13] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the company's ability to recover margins and improve performance in 2026, despite challenges in Medicare and Medicaid funding [6][10] - The company is committed to enhancing customer experience and satisfaction through AI-enabled operational improvements [14][21] - Management emphasized the importance of execution and operational focus to achieve long-term growth and stability [28][80] Other Important Information - The company plans to invest nearly $1.5 billion in technology and innovation in 2026, with expectations for continued investment in 2027 [29][30] - A significant charge of $1.6 billion in 2025 was primarily related to restructuring and optimization efforts within Optum [5][23] Q&A Session Summary Question: Decline in traditional MA lives and future margins - Management acknowledged the decline in Medicare Advantage lives and indicated that margin recovery efforts are underway, with expectations for improvement in 2026 and beyond [33][39] Question: Fourth quarter Optum Health performance - Management noted that fourth quarter results were slightly disappointing due to restructuring actions but expressed confidence in future stability and performance improvements [42][45] Question: Medicaid rate relief and margin assumptions - Management confirmed expectations for some margin contraction in Medicaid due to ongoing dislocation of rates and elevated medical trends, despite some rate relief [56][57] Question: Optum Rx membership growth and client retention - Management highlighted strong performance in Optum Rx, with a successful selling season and high retention rates, contributing to modest earnings growth expectations for 2026 [60][66] Question: Breakdown of commercial risk lives decline - Management indicated that the largest share of membership decline is connected to the exchange business, with expectations for margin recovery in 2026 [71][73]

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Q4 2025 Earnings call January 27, 2026 08:00 AM ET Company ParticipantsJ. Powell Brown - CEOR. Andrew Watts - CFOConference Call ParticipantsAlex Scott - AnalystAndrew Andersen - AnalystBrian Meredith - AnalystC. Gregory Peters - AnalystElyse Greenspan - AnalystJimmy Bhullar - AnalystJoshua Shanker - AnalystMark Hughes - AnalystMeyer Shields - AnalystMichael Zaremski - AnalystRobert Cox - AnalystTracy Benguigui - AnalystYaron Kinar - AnalystOperatorGood morning, and welcome to the B ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for Q4 was $2.06 billion, up 10% year-over-year, with acquisitions contributing 5% and organic growth of 4% [10] - EBITDA reached $818 million, also up 10% year-over-year, with core EBITDA margin expanding 60 basis points to 54% incremental margin [10] - For the full year 2025, revenue was $7.9 billion, up 12% from the previous year, with acquisitions contributing nearly 7% growth [14] - Free cash flow for 2025 was nearly $2.5 billion, up 8%, representing 31% of revenue [15] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Application software revenue grew 10% in Q4, with organic growth of 4% and margins expanding 70 basis points to 42.2% [11] - Network software revenue grew 14% in Q4, with organic growth of 5% and margins at 52.8% [12] - Tech segment revenue grew 6% in Q4, with organic growth of 5% and margins holding flat at 34.8% [13] - For the full year, application software revenue grew 16% in total, with organic revenue growth of 5% [18] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The government contracting (GovCon) market remains challenging, impacting Deltek's performance, particularly in perpetual license revenue [20] - The freight market has been in a recession, affecting DAT's performance, although the company is evolving into a more automated marketplace [24] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on long-term sustainable growth, with a commitment to investing in AI product development and capital deployment [9][32] - A robust M&A pipeline is anticipated, with over $6 billion in capacity for potential acquisitions and share repurchases [9][16] - The company aims to balance acquisitions with opportunistic buybacks to maximize durable cash flow per share compounding [33] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed cautious optimism for 2026, expecting organic growth to be in the higher end of the mid-singles range, with a conservative posture on GovCon until improvements are seen [23][30] - The company does not anticipate a significant uplift from AI development in the near term but views it as a long-term growth driver [30][56] Other Important Information - The company deployed $3.3 billion towards high-quality vertical software acquisitions in 2025, including CentralReach and Subsplash [9] - The company repurchased 1.1 million shares for $500 million in Q4, with a remaining authorization of $2.5 billion [17] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is the outlook for Deltek in 2026? - Management is not assuming an improvement in the GovCon market for 2026, citing lower organic growth due to perpetual license revenue issues [38] Question: What needs to happen for ProCare to meet expectations? - Management indicated that the implementation speed of software and payments needs improvement, which is a fixable issue [40][41] Question: What segments of government appropriations would impact Deltek the most? - Management highlighted that defense-related appropriations would have a larger impact on contractor spending, which is beneficial for Deltek's customers [45] Question: How much capital might be deployed in 2026? - Management stated that while there is a $6 billion capacity for capital deployment, the focus will be on high-quality acquisitions at appropriate prices [47][48] Question: When will AI's impact be quantifiable? - Management aims to report AI-related revenue but emphasizes that AI will be monetized in various ways beyond just direct sales [54][56]

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Q4 2025 Earnings call January 27, 2026 08:00 AM ET Company ParticipantsChris Carey - Head of Consumer Staples ResearchChris Jakubik - Head of Investor RelationsMike Hsu - Chairman and CEONelson Urdaneta - CFONik Modi - Managing DirectorRuss Torres - President and COOConference Call ParticipantsBonnie Herzog - Managing Director and Senior Equity Research AnalystEdward Lewis - Senior AnalystLauren Lieberman - Managing Director and Equity Research AnalystMike Lavery - Senior Research ...

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Q4 2025 Earnings call January 27, 2026 08:00 AM ET Speaker3Good morning, and welcome to the Synchrony Financial fourth quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Please refer to the company's investor relations website for access to their earnings materials. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. Currently, all callers have been placed in a listen-only mode. The call will be opened up for your questions following the conclusion of management's prepared remark ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $16.35 for 2025, slightly ahead of expectations, excluding a $1.6 billion net of tax charge [5][24] - For 2026, the company expects adjusted earnings per share to exceed $17.75, indicating a growth of at least 8.6% [6][25] - Revenues for 2025 were nearly $448 billion, reflecting a 12% growth from 2024 [24] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - UnitedHealthcare's medical cost trend for 2025 was approximately 7.5%, with an expectation of 10% for 2026 [9][84] - The company anticipates a contraction of 1.3 million to 1.4 million members in Medicare Advantage for 2026 due to competitive market dynamics [10] - Medicaid membership is expected to contract by approximately 565,000 to 715,000 members due to reduced eligibility and state funding shortfalls [11] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company expects both fully insured group and individual enrollment to contract in 2026, partially offset by growth in self-funded offerings [13] - The commercial risk lives decline is primarily attributed to the exchange business, with an expected loss of over 500,000 members [71] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on operational discipline, leveraging technology and AI, and aligning its services to better serve the U.S. health system [5][6] - There is a strategic refocus on integrated value-based care, with plans to enhance operational efficiencies and improve patient outcomes [20][21] - The integration of Optum Financial Services with Optum Insight aims to create a more modern healthcare transaction system [19] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in returning to historical earnings quality and growth, emphasizing the importance of operational focus and execution [30][31] - The company acknowledges challenges from Medicare funding reductions and rising medical costs but believes that strategic actions will lead to improved performance [6][10] - Management is committed to transparency and accountability, with plans to publish performance metrics and independent reviews [32] Other Important Information - The company plans to invest nearly $1.5 billion in technology and innovation in 2026 [31] - The operating cost ratio for 2026 is expected to be 12.8%, reflecting disciplined cost management and productivity initiatives [26] Q&A Session Summary Question: Decline in Medicare Advantage lives and future margins - Management indicated that the focus for 2026 is on margin recovery rather than membership targets, with expectations of a 50 basis point improvement in Medicare Advantage margins [34][40] Question: Fourth quarter performance of Optum Health - Management acknowledged underperformance in the fourth quarter due to restructuring actions but expressed confidence in a more stable performance moving forward [43][46] Question: Medicaid rate relief and margin assumptions - Management expects some margin contraction in Medicaid due to ongoing rate dislocation and elevated medical trends, projecting rate increases of 6%-7% for 2026 [57] Question: Optum Rx performance and new clients - Management highlighted strong performance in securing new clients, attributing success to affordability, transparency, and execution [65][66] Question: Breakdown of commercial risk lives decline - The largest share of the expected decline in commercial risk lives is linked to the exchange business, with a focus on margin recovery for 2026 [71][72]

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Q4 2025 Earnings call January 27, 2026 08:00 AM ET Speaker1Good morning, and welcome to the Brown & Brown, Inc. fourth quarter earnings call. Today's call is being recorded. Please note that certain information discussed during this call, including information contained in the slide presentation posted in connection with this call, and including answers given in response to your questions, may relate to future results and events or otherwise be forward-looking in nature. Such statem ...

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Q4 2025 Earnings call January 27, 2026 08:00 AM ET Speaker2Greetings. Welcome to the Kimberly-Clark 4Q2025 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the opening remarks. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Chris Jakubik, Vice President ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for Q4 2025 was $2.06 billion, up 10% year-over-year, with acquisitions contributing 5% and organic growth of 4% [9] - EBITDA reached $818 million, also up 10% over the prior year, with a core EBITDA margin expansion of 60 basis points [9][14] - For the full year 2025, total revenue was $7.9 billion, reflecting a 12% increase, with acquisitions contributing nearly 7% growth [13] - Free cash flow for 2025 was nearly $2.5 billion, up 8%, representing 31% of revenue [15] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Application software revenue grew 10% in Q4, with organic growth of 4% and EBITDA margins expanding to 42.2% [10] - Network software revenue increased by 14% in Q4, with organic growth of 5%, although margins decreased to 52.8% due to recent acquisitions [11] - Tech segment revenue grew 6% in Q4, with organic growth of 5% and margins holding flat at 34.8% [12] - For the full year, application software revenue grew by 16% in total, with organic revenue growth of 5% [18] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The government contracting market remains challenging, impacting Deltek's performance, particularly in perpetual license revenue [11][19] - The freight market experienced a recession throughout 2025, affecting DAT's performance, although the company is evolving into a more automated marketplace [23] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on long-term sustainable growth, with a commitment to investing in AI product development and enhancing operational execution [5][6] - Capital allocation strategy includes deploying $3.3 billion towards high-quality vertical software acquisitions and opportunistic share repurchases [8][30] - The company anticipates remaining active in M&A while maintaining discipline on pricing and business quality [16][30] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed cautious optimism regarding improvements in the Deltek segment, contingent on government appropriations and market conditions [11][19] - The outlook for 2026 includes expectations for organic growth in the higher end of the mid-singles range, with a conservative approach to guidance [22][28] - AI is viewed as a significant growth driver, with plans to commercialize AI-related products across various business segments [54] Other Important Information - The company has a robust M&A pipeline and substantial financial flexibility, with over $6 billion in capacity for capital deployment in 2026 [16][30] - The company is not assuming a meaningful revenue uplift from AI development in its guidance but views it as an incremental upside [28] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is included in the 2026 guidance for Deltek and how is the company protecting against potential government shutdowns? - Management is not assuming improvement in the Deltek segment for 2026, citing lower organic growth due to perpetual license revenue issues [36] Question: What needs to happen for ProCare to meet expectations? - Management indicated that the primary issue is the slow implementation of software and payments, which is being addressed [38] Question: What segments of government appropriations would significantly impact Deltek? - Management highlighted that appropriations heavy on Defense and DHS funding would positively impact Deltek's customers [43] Question: What is the expected capital deployment for 2026? - Management stated that while there is a $6 billion capacity for capital deployment, the focus will be on high-quality acquisitions rather than a set budget [46] Question: When will the company quantify AI's impact on revenue? - Management expressed that while they aim to report AI-related revenue, they will not "AI wash" their revenue streams and expect AI to be a meaningful growth driver [54]