CA - UnitedHealth: Q2 2024 Earnings Review A Panacea For Investor's Fears

2024-07-16 13:21:21 ET

Summary

• UnitedHealth Group Incorporated released its Q2 2024 earnings earlier today. The stock is up >5% in early trading.
• Revenues came in at $98.9bn, up ~$6bn YOY, while earnings from operations were $7.9bn on a GAAP basis, and net margin stood at 4.3%.
• Cyberattack impact, the South American operations' sale, and Medicare Advantage business performance were all analyzed on the earnings call with analysts.
• The outlook on all three is positive in management's eyes, with no further disruptions to earnings expected after 2024.
• This appears to have been a very solid set of earnings, with many of Wall Street's worst fears about the business allayed. There appears to be a relatively strong bull case to be made for UnitedHealth, even as its major health insurer rivals suffer.

Investment Overview

UnitedHealth Group (UNH), the $500bn market cap healthcare monolith, announced its Q2 2024 earnings earlier today, and in early trading, its share price is up >5%, reaching a value of >$540, just shy of its highest ever value of ~$550, achieved at the end of 2023.

First, let's take a look at the headline figures.

Revenues came in just shy of $100bn for the quarter, at $98.9bn on a GAAP basis, up almost $6bn, or ~6.5%, year-on-year. Earnings from operations were reported as $7.9bn on a GAAP basis, down from $8.1bn in Q2 2023, and net margin retreated from 6%, to 4.3%. On an adjusted basis, however, earnings from operations were reported as $8.7bn, up from $8.1bn in the prior year period, with a net margin of 6% a 100 basis point improvement year-on-year....

For further details see: