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Centene

Centene (CNC) Q2 2026 Earnings

Reported Jul 27, 2026 at 7:38 PM ET · SEC Source

Q2 26 EPS

$2.51

BEAT +132.64%

Est. $1.08

Q2 26 Revenue

$53.58B

BEAT +12.92%

Est. $47.45B

vs S&P Since Q2 26

-3.2%

TRAILING MARKET

CNC +1.2% vs S&P +4.4%

Market Reaction

Did CNC Beat Earnings? Q2 2026 Results

Centene Corporation delivered a commanding Q2 2026 earnings beat, posting adjusted diluted EPS of $2.51 against a consensus estimate of $1.08, a 132.64% positive surprise that reflected broad-based margin recovery across its government health program… Read more Centene Corporation delivered a commanding Q2 2026 earnings beat, posting adjusted diluted EPS of $2.51 against a consensus estimate of $1.08, a 132.64% positive surprise that reflected broad-based margin recovery across its government health programs business. Revenue climbed 9.9% year-over-year to $53.58 billion, beating the $47.45 billion consensus by 12.92%, as the company swung to GAAP net income of $1.09 billion from a net loss of $253 million in the year-ago quarter. The single most powerful driver was a dramatic improvement in the consolidated health benefits ratio, which tightened to 89.6% from 93.0% a year earlier, with the Commercial segment alone seeing HBR compress more than 11 percentage points, aided by favorable Marketplace risk adjustment revenue transfers for both the 2025 and 2026 benefit years. Investors had been closely watching Medicaid margin trends heading into the print, and those concerns were largely answered. Management raised full-year 2026 total revenue guidance by $6.00 billion to a range of $193.50 billion to $197.50 billion, while lifting the adjusted diluted EPS floor to greater than $4.80.

Key Takeaways

  • • Commercial HBR improved to 79.2% from 90.6% year-over-year due to improved pricing and risk transfer reflecting acuity of Marketplace membership
  • • Medicare HBR of 89.5% benefited from favorable resolution of 2025 benefit year programmatic elements and no premium deficiency reserve in 2026 vs. PDR increase in 2025
  • • Medicaid HBR of 93.9% reflected rate increases to address medical trend and continued execution in managing medical cost trend
  • • PDP membership growth from 7,845,800 to 8,803,000 drove Medicare revenue increase
  • • SG&A expense ratio improvement to 7.0% from 7.1% driven by cost management and leveraging expenses over higher revenues
  • • Marketplace risk adjustment revenue transfer for 2025 and 2026 benefit years
  • • State directed payments contributed to Medicaid revenue growth
  • • Favorable prior period medical claims development of $1,737 million

CNC Forward Guidance & Outlook

Centene increased its full-year 2026 total revenue guidance by $6.0 billion to a range of $193.5 billion to $197.5 billion, driven by premium tax revenue, Marketplace, and Medicaid. Premium and service revenue guidance was raised by $2.0 billion to $173.0 billion to $177.0 billion. Investment and other income expectations increased by $50 million to $1.50 billion. The GAAP diluted EPS guidance floor was raised to greater than $3.11 and adjusted diluted EPS floor to greater than $4.80. Full-year HBR is expected at 90.5%, SG&A expense ratio at 7.2%, adjusted SG&A at 6.9%, effective tax rate at 26.5%, and diluted shares outstanding at 497.0 million. The guidance increase reflects underlying business strength including approximately $0.50 of non-recurring items in Medicare and Commercial segments.

24/7 Wall St

CNC YoY Financials

Q2 2026 vs Q2 2025, source: SEC Filings

24/7 Wall St

CNC Revenue by Segment

With YoY comparisons, source: SEC Filings

Q1 25 Q2 26

“Our second quarter results and improved full-year outlook represent meaningful milestones on our path to restoring profitability and increasing shareholder value.”

— Sarah M. London, Q2 2026 Earnings Press Release

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