Centene Corporation CNC reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.37, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 80.2%. Moreover, the bottom line climbed 16.2% year over year.
Revenues totaled $49.9 billion, which rose 7.1% year over year. The top line surpassed the consensus mark by 5.2%.
The strong quarterly results benefited from solid revenue growth, driven by strong premium revenues in Medicaid and Medicare businesses, particularly from increased premiums and membership in the PDP business. However, the upside was partly offset by a decline in total membership and an increase in medical costs.
Centene Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Centene Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Centene Corporation Quote
Quarterly Operational Update of CNC
Revenues from Medicaid advanced 6% year over year to $23.6 billion, while Medicare revenues of $10.3 billion rose 18% in the quarter under review. Meanwhile, commercial revenues came in at $9.6 billion, down 6% year over year.
Centene's premium of $43.9 billion grew 5.2% year over year on the back of higher premiums, membership in the PDP business and strength in the Medicaid rate hikes. The metric beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $42.6 billion.
Service revenues slid 1.2% year over year to $768 million in the first quarter, but surpassed the consensus mark of $693.4 million. Investment and other income of $407 million improved 6.5% year over year and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $349.3 million.
Total membership was 26.3 million as of March 31, 2026, which decreased 6% year over year due to membership declines in the Medicaid, Marketplace and Medicare businesses. However, the metric beat the consensus mark of 25.9 million.
Centene’s health benefits ratio improved 20 basis points year over year to 87.3% in the quarter under review. Operating expenses totaled $48.1 billion, which increased 6.6% year over year due to higher medical costs, selling, general and administrative expenses, and premium tax expense. Medical costs escalated 4.9% year over year.
Adjusted net earnings were recorded at $1.7 billion compared with the year-ago figure of $1.4 billion.
CNC’s Q1 Financial Update (As of March 31, 2026)
Centene exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $21.3 billion, which rose 18.9% from the 2025-end level. Total assets of $81.2 billion grew 5.8% from the figure at 2025-end.
Long-term debt amounted to $16.3 billion, down 6% from the figure as of Dec. 31, 2025. The current portion of long-term debt totaled $63 million.
Total stockholders’ equity of $21.5 billion increased 7.3% from the 2025-end figure.
Centene generated $4.4 billion of net cash from operations in the first quarter of 2026, which increased from the prior-year comparable period’s $1.5 billion.
CNC’s Revised 2026 Guidance
Management now anticipates premium and service revenues within the band of $171-$175 billion for 2026, up from the previous guidance range of $170-$174 billion. The midpoint of which indicates a decline of 0.9% from the 2025 reported figure.
Revenues are now estimated between $187.5 billion and $191.5 billion, up from the previously projected band of $186.5 billion-$190.5 billion, the midpoint of which implies 2.7% fall from the 2025 figure.
Adjusted EPS is now expected to be greater than $3.40, higher than the previously projected figure of $3.00, which indicates a 63.5% surge from the 2025 figure. GAAP EPS is now forecasted to remain greater than $2.37.
Health benefits ratio is still estimated to be in the band of 90.9-91.7% for 2026, while the adjusted SG&A expense ratio is now expected to be 7-7.6%. The adjusted effective tax rate is still anticipated to be in the range of 26-27%.
Shares outstanding are still anticipated to be between 495.6 million and 498.6 million.
CNC’s Zacks Rank
CNC currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
How Did Peers Perform?
Several companies in the Medical space, including Molina Healthcare Inc. MOH, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH and Elevance Health, Inc. ELV, have already reported their financial results for the March quarter of 2026. Here’s how they had performed:
Molina Healthcare reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $2.35, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.57. The bottom line declined 61.3% from the year-ago period's level. Revenues amounted to $10.8 billion, which decreased 3.1% year over year. The top line of Molina Healthcare marginally missed the consensus mark by 0.2%. The first-quarter performance was supported by lower medical care costs, partially offset by declining premiums, membership and investment income.
UnitedHealth reported first-quarter 2026 EPS of $7.23, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.46. The bottom line rose 0.4% year over year. Revenues rose 2% year over year to $111.7 billion. The top line beat the consensus mark by 2.1%. The strong quarterly earnings were aided by growth in commercial fee-based membership and the strength witnessed in Optum Rx. However, weakness in UnitedHealth’s Optum Health and declining risk-based membership partially offset the positives.
Elevance Health reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $12.58, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 17.8%. The bottom line rose 5.1% year over year. Operating revenues advanced 1.5% year over year to $49.5 billion. The top line beat the consensus mark by 3.7%. The strong quarterly results benefited on the back of strong growth in premiums. Segment-wise, the Carelon division posted a robust revenue surge, aided by scaling risk-based services, while Health Benefits saw increased premium yields. However, Elevance Health’s upside was partly offset by a decline in overall medical membership and an elevated expense level.
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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis Report
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