UnitedHealth Group Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

UnitedHealth Group (NYS: UNH) reported earnings on Oct. 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), UnitedHealth Group met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 UnitedHealth Group chalked up revenue of $27.30 billion. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $27.60 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $25.28 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $1.50. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $1.36 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.50 for Q3 were 28% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.17 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 28.7%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.6%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.7%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $28.06 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.22.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $110.03 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.13.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,299 members out of 3,453 rating the stock outperform, and 154 members rating it underperform. Among 980 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 960 give UnitedHealth Group a green thumbs-up, and 20 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on UnitedHealth Group is outperform, with an average price target of $67.98.

The article UnitedHealth Group Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend UnitedHealth Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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