UnitedHealth stock dips as earnings miss expectations
UnitedHealth Group missed Wall Street expectations for its fourth quarter of 2024, sending its stock price tumbling in early trading on Thursday.
UnitedHealth’s insurance business was particularly disappointing, largely because it spent a larger ratio of its revenue providing services for its customers. Changes in funding to the government health programs Medicare and Medicaid, as well as a cyber attack, weighed on earnings, the company said.
Its medical-cost ratio for 2024 was 85.5%, compared to 83.2% in 2023. Total net income for 2024 was $14.4 billion, dropping sharply from $22.4 billion in 2023.
The earnings report is the first since the killing of Brian Thompson, the company’s former insurance head. Thompson was shot in Manhattan in early December, which sparked national debate and ire over business practices in the health-insurance industry.
Its medical-cost ratio for 2024 was 85.5%, compared to 83.2% in 2023. Total net income for 2024 was $14.4 billion, dropping sharply from $22.4 billion in 2023.
The earnings report is the first since the killing of Brian Thompson, the company’s former insurance head. Thompson was shot in Manhattan in early December, which sparked national debate and ire over business practices in the health-insurance industry.
