Centene Beats Q3 Earnings Consensus and Raises 2026 Guidance

U.S. health care insurance provider Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC ) reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, with adjusted earnings of 58 cents, beating the consensus of 10 cents per share. Centene’s sales reached $50.647 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $47.114 billion. “Solid underlying fundamentals within our core businesses have powered a faster recovery to our earnings trajectory than previously anticipated,” said Centene CEO Sarah London.

“We remain focused on a strong finish to 2026 and building on this progress in 2027,” London added. Read Also: Alignment Healthcare Stock Hit by Bearish Outlook After Costly Medicare Advantage Rating Downgrade Health Benefits Ratio and Core Margin Trends The health benefits ratio (HBR) was 92.7% for the third quarter of 2026, improving sequentially by 30 basis points from the second quarter, and the company said it is keeping pace with the trajectory to achieve a full-year Medicaid HBR of 93.5. Membership Contraction Total membership across Centene’s portfolio declined to 25.698 million from 27.968 million a year ago.

Medicaid membership fell from 12.706 million to 11.895 million, while Marketplace fell from 5.828 million to 3.403 million. CFO Drew Asher said, “We ended Q3 with 11.9 million members, down 5% year to date, and we expect some states to continue to trim Medicaid rolls leading up to OB3 implementation in 2027.

So we are holding our full-year view of membership down 8% to 9%…” Asher added, “…forecasting to reach Medicare Advantage break-even in 2026, a year earlier than our multi-year plan, and PDP continues to perform strongly with the 2026 forecasted pre-tax margin in the mid to high 3s zone.” See More: Top Momentum Stocks Centene Lifts 2026 Guidance During an earnings conference call, London said, “We expect Medicare Advantage membership to be down year over year in 2027 as we construct a footprint that will allow us margin expansion in 2027…” Centene expects fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of more than $5.20 per share versus Wall Street consensus of $4.88.

The company raised its 2026 sales guidance from $193.50 billion-$197.50 billion to $196.50 billion-$200.50 billion versus analyst estimate of $196.334 billion. CNC Price Action: Centene shares were up 2.75% at $69.90 at the time of publication on Tuesday. The stock is approaching its 52-week high of $72.50, according to Pro data. Photo by JHVEPhoto via Shutterstock Read Also: Bill Gates Says 'None of the Things That Human Labor Provides Will Be Necessary' — Robots Will Build Houses, Grow Food, Do Surgery If We Don't Slow Down