The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based insurer delivered another healthy quarterly earnings report, supported by year-over-year growth from revenues as well as earnings from operations.
UnitedHealth Group posted $4.6 billion in earnings from operations, an increase of 12% year-over-year, according to its third-quarter earnings report released Tuesday morning.
The results marked another strong quarter for the insurer, which saw its earnings from operations grow from $4.1 billion during Q3 2017, and even increase from $4.2 billion in Q1 2018. The insurer's cash flows from operations reached $900 million, adjusted cash flows from operations totalled $6.1 billion, and recorded $56.6 in revenues.
C-suite perspective:
“These results reflect our businesses delivering increased value at an accelerating pace to society and the millions of people we serve – one person at a time,” David Wichmann, CEO of UnitedHealth Group said in a statement.
This marks the first quarterly report from UnitedHealth since a federal judge vacated a 2014 final rule on overpayments issued by CMS. The third quarter also saw the approval of two megamergers by the Department of Justice which are likely to increase competition for UnitedHealth in 2019. As it had done in its Q2 earnings report, UnitedHealth once again raised its end-of-year outlook for adjusted net earnings per share to $12.80, eclipsing previous projections between $12.50 to $12.75 per share.
Related: UnitedHealth Ups Earnings Outlook on Healthy Q1 Report
Related: UnitedHealth Sees Earnings Increase 13% in Q2
Additional UnitedHealth Q3 earnings report highlights:
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The insurer's adjusted net earnings per share grew 28.2%, with a net margin of 5.6%.
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UnitedHealthcare added 2.8 million more consumers year-over-year.
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The subsidiary also saw its earnings from operations grow by 7% to $2.6 billion in Q3.
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Optum's earnings from operations grew by 11% year-over-year to $25.4 billion.
For complete financial information, review UnitedHealth's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jack O'Brien is the Content Team Lead and Finance Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.