Centene Corp

Centene Corp delivered a blowout first quarter for 2026, posting adjusted diluted EPS of $3.37 against a Wall Street consensus of $2.13, a beat of 57.90% that reflected broad-based outperformance across its major business segments. Revenue climbed 7.1% year-over-year to $49.94 billion, clearing the $47.55 billion consensus estimate by 5.03%, as premium and service revenues grew 5% to $44.66 billion. The single most material driver of the upside was a meaningful improvement in the Medicare segment health benefits ratio, which tightened to 84.9% from 86.3% a year ago, aided by stronger-than-expected results in both Medicare Advantage and PDP and the absence of a premium deficiency reserve charge that had weighed on year-ago results. Medicaid HBR also improved modestly to 93.1%, and SG&A discipline pushed that ratio down to 7.6% from 7.9%. The strong quarter prompted management to raise full-year 2026 guidance, lifting adjusted EPS to greater than $3.40 and increasing total revenue guidance to a range of $187.50 billion to $191.50 billion, even as broader industry headwinds from ACA subsidy uncertainty continue to reshape the competitive landscape.