Molina implodes after earnings miss, gloomy guidance

Molina Healthcare tanked after it reported earnings results that missed Wall Street expectations and gave disappointing full-year guidance.

For the last three months of 2025, Molina reported:

• An adjusted loss per share of $2.75, compared to the $0.34 earnings per share analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. The company said about $2 per share of its earnings miss was due to “retroactive premium adjustments attributable to the Company’s Medicaid business in California and ongoing medical cost pressure in Medicare and Marketplace.”

• Revenue of $11.3 billion, compared to the $10.8 billion the Street was penciling in.

• A medical cost ratio of 94.6%, higher than the 93.1% analysts expected.

For the full year in 2026, Molina expects:

• Adjusted earnings per share of at least $5.00, compared to the $13.66 analysts had forecast. Molina said its guidance takes into account ongoing losses in its traditional Medicare Advantage Part D business, which it now plans to exit in 2027.

• Revenues of about $42.2 billion, compared to the $46.6 billion analysts had penciled in.

• Its medical cost ratio to sit at 92.6%, while analysts had expected 91.4%.

Health insurers have been under pressure for the past year amid rising health costs. Molina, one of the largest providers of ACA Marketplace plans, has taken a hit as tax credits for the program lapsed in January.

Molina’s report also dragged down competitors, including Centene, which is also a major provider of ACA plans and reports earnings Friday morning.