Centene Corp

Centene opened 2025 with a standout quarter, posting adjusted diluted EPS of $2.90 against a consensus estimate of $2.52, a beat of 15.27%, while revenue of $46.62 billion topped expectations by 7.80% and climbed 15.4% from the year-ago period. The driving force behind the outperformance was a 29% surge in Marketplace membership to 5.63 million enrollees, which propelled premium and service revenues to $42.49 billion and helped swing operating cash flow to a positive $1.51 billion from negative $456 million a year earlier. Medicaid costs drew some investor attention, with the Medicaid health benefits ratio rising to 93.6% from 90.9%, largely due to elevated influenza-related claims, though improved Medicare HBR of 86.3% provided a meaningful offset. On the strength of Marketplace enrollment momentum and Medicare Advantage retention, Centene raised its full-year premium and service revenue guidance by $6 billion to a range of $164 billion to $166 billion, while reiterating its adjusted diluted EPS floor of greater than $7.25 for the full year.