MINNETONKA, MINN. — UnitedHealth Group posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings Tuesday and raised its full-year profit guidance for the second straight quarter, deepening a recovery from the cost crisis that torched nearly half the health insurer's stock value in 2025.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $4.69 per share, beating Wall Street's roughly $4.10-$4.14 consensus estimate, according to its third-quarter earnings filing with the SEC. GAAP diluted earnings per share came in at $4.56, up sharply from $2.59 a year earlier. Revenue was essentially flat at $112.7 billion, down about 0.4% from the same quarter last year.

The number Wall Street watches most closely — the medical care ratio, or share of premium dollars spent on medical costs — improved to 88.4% from 89.9% a year ago, a sign the company's cost-control push is taking hold. Optum, UnitedHealth's health-services arm, saw its operating margin climb to 5.6% from 3.6%, with Optum Health's operating earnings jumping to $735 million from just $41 million a year earlier. UnitedHealthcare, the insurance unit, covered 48.3 million people and generated $86.3 billion in revenue for the quarter.

"DISCIPLINE AND EXECUTION... IN EVERY PART OF OUR BUSINESS."

"Our third quarter results reflect the discipline and execution our teams are bringing to every part of our business," CEO Stephen Hemsley said in the earnings release. UnitedHealth raised its full-year 2026 guidance to at least $19.50 in GAAP diluted earnings per share and at least $20.50 adjusted — up from the $19.50-$20.00 range it had set after the second quarter. UNH shares were trading around $383.90 in premarket activity Tuesday morning, up roughly 1.6% from Monday's close of $377.98, according to market-data tracker MarketBeat.

From crisis to comeback

The report caps a dramatic turnaround arc: UnitedHealth's stock fell roughly 45% during 2025 amid a medical-cost blowup, a leadership shakeup and regulatory overhang, prompting Hemsley's return as CEO in May 2025. Every quarter since has beaten estimates and lifted guidance — a first-quarter beat with an April guidance raise, a second-quarter beat with guidance lifted again in July — making Tuesday's report less a surprise than confirmation that the recovery is holding.

The company still faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny, including a Justice Department review of its Medicare Advantage billing practices, though that overhang predates Tuesday's report and wasn't addressed in the earnings release. Investors will next watch whether the improved medical-cost ratio holds into the fourth quarter and the 2027 Medicare Advantage bidding season.