4 Healthcare Earnings Reports to Watch This Week

As Q4 2018 earnings season ramps up, be sure to pay attention to how HCA Healthcare, Anthem, Celgene, and Cigna performed through the quarter.

Earnings season for healthcare companies is beginning in earnest this week, with Q4 2018 reports due from major health insurers, a for-profit hospital company, and a cancer drug manufacturer.

HealthLeaders has previewed four respective earnings reports that will be released this week with an eye on how events from last quarter will affect their performances and how each company is positioned for 2019 as the economy remains strong but uncertainty continues regarding healthcare policy at the federal level. 

Below are previews of four healthcare earnings reports to pay attention to this week:

HCA Healthcare

Earnings released January 29 before markets open.

• The Nashville-based for-profit hospital excelled during Q3 2018 due to rising admissions, leading to increased revenue growth.

• Net revenues were aided by same facility admission growth and cash flows from operations that jumped by more than $300 million year-over-year.

• Last quarter, HCA raised its year-end financial outlook and has become a favorite healthcare stock for investors on Wall Street.

• As for-profit hospitals continue to examine consolidation options in the new year, keep an eye on a potential merger with Universal Health Services Inc.

• The company already took a step ahead with its planned Mission Health merger earlier this month and is eyeing a merger with Frisbie Memorial Hospital, based in Rochester, New Hampshire.

Anthem Inc.

Earnings released January 30 before markets open.

• Despite its controversial emergency room coverage policy, the Indianapolis-based insurer has posted two solid quarterly earnings in a row.

• In the Q3 earnings report, CEO Gail Boudreaux said the insurer is entering 2019 in "a position of strength."

• The key for Anthem is growth in its Medicare market as the company faces a reduced presence in the ACA individual insurance market.
   
• Don't expect the insurer, or any of the Big 5, to return to the market even as the markets stabilized following a hectic 2018.

Related: UnitedHealth Delivers Strong Q4 Earnings to End 2018

Celgene Corp.

Earnings released January 31 before markets open.

• The cancer drug manufacturer makes the list given the recent headlines surrounding Bristol-Myers Squibb's $74 billion deal to purchase the Summit, New Jersey-based company.

• The massive biotech deal will likely be addressed on the earnings call and has been criticized by some industry watchers, but makes sense for both companies according to the Motley Fool.

• One of the primary reasons the acquisition could work is that Bristol-Myers Squibb expects growth to slow in 2019, which makes the acquisition of Celgene a strategic move to bolster its pipeline.

• Another factor that could influence Celgene's Q4 2018 performance was a Government Accountability Office report in December indicating the company's Revlimid chemotherapy drug was the top-selling orphan drug in 2017.

Cigna Corp.

Earnings released February 1 before markets open.

• Friday will mark Cigna's first earnings report since officially closing its megamerger with Express Scripts in late December.

• The $52 billion megamerger has been discussed often thus far in 2019, with leadership at both Cigna and Express Scripts praising the early integration of the deal.

• Cigna CEO David Cordani told the Associated Press last week that the Philadelphia-based insurer is looking to dive deeper into patient health in 2019.

• Cigna recorded strong financials thoughout 2018, buoyed by the pending acquisition, including more than $11 billion in total quarterly revenues, improved year-end financial guidance, and raised projections for total revenue growth.