Q1 Health Insurance Providers Earnings: Oscar Health (NYSE:OSCR) Earns Top Marks

Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Oscar Health (NYSE:OSCR) and the best and worst performers in the health insurance providers industry.

Upfront premiums collected by health insurers lead to reliable revenue, but profitability ultimately depends on accurate risk assessments and the ability to control medical costs. Health insurers are also highly sensitive to regulatory changes and economic conditions such as unemployment. Going forward, the industry faces tailwinds from an aging population, increasing demand for personalized healthcare services, and advancements in data analytics to improve cost management. However, continued regulatory scrutiny on pricing practices, the potential for government-led reforms such as expanded public healthcare options, and inflation in medical costs could add volatility to margins. One big debate among investors is the long-term impact of AI and whether it will help underwriting, fraud detection, and claims processing or whether it may wade into ethical grey areas like reinforcing biases and widening disparities in medical care.

The 12 health insurance providers stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 13.1% since the latest earnings results.

Best Q1: Oscar Health (NYSE:OSCR)

Founded in 2012 to simplify the notoriously complex American healthcare system, Oscar Health (NYSE:OSCR) is a technology-focused health insurance company that offers individual and small group health plans through its cloud-native platform.

Oscar Health reported revenues of $3.05 billion, up 42.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 6.9%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 31.2% since reporting and currently trades at $17.18.

Read why we think that Oscar Health is one of the best health insurance providers stocks, our full report is free.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)

With over 9,000 retail pharmacy locations serving as neighborhood health destinations across America, CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) operates retail pharmacies, provides pharmacy benefit management services, and offers health insurance through its Aetna subsidiary.

CVS Health reported revenues of $94.59 billion, up 7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.5%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ same-store sales estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

However, the results were likely priced into the stock as it’s traded sideways since reporting. Shares currently sit at $66.70.

Is now the time to buy CVS Health? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q1: UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)

With over 100 million people served across its various businesses and a workforce of more than 400,000, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) operates a health insurance business and Optum, a healthcare services division that provides everything from pharmacy benefits to primary care.

UnitedHealth reported revenues of $109.6 billion, up 9.8% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates and a slight miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

UnitedHealth delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The company added 395,000 customers to reach a total of 54.12 million. As expected, the stock is down 47.2% since the results and currently trades at $308.92.

Read our full analysis of UnitedHealth’s results here.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV)

Formerly known as Anthem until its 2022 rebranding, Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) is one of America's largest health insurers, serving approximately 47 million medical members through its network-based managed care plans.

Elevance Health reported revenues of $48.89 billion, up 14.8% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 5.3%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also produced a narrow beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates and a decent beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The company added 99,000 customers to reach a total of 45.83 million. The stock is down 11.7% since reporting and currently trades at $359.58.

Read our full, actionable report on Elevance Health here, it’s free.

Clover Health (NASDAQ:CLOV)

Founded in 2014 to improve healthcare for America's seniors through technology, Clover Health (NASDAQ:CLOV) provides Medicare Advantage plans for seniors with a focus on affordable care and uses its proprietary Clover Assistant software to help physicians manage patient care.

Clover Health reported revenues of $462.3 million, up 33.3% year on year. This result came in 1.4% below analysts' expectations. More broadly, it was actually a very strong quarter as it logged an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The company added 20,754 customers to reach a total of 103,418. The stock is down 22.8% since reporting and currently trades at $2.58.

Read our full, actionable report on Clover Health here, it’s free.

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

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