Core Viewpoint - Humana reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings driven by premium growth, but faced challenges with elevated expenses and declining medical memberships [2][4]. Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for Q3 2025 were $3.24, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.3%, although it represented a 22.1% decrease year over year [2]. - Adjusted revenues reached $32.65 billion, marking an 11.4% year-over-year increase and surpassing the consensus estimate by 2.1% [2]. - Total operating expenses rose 12.5% year over year to $32.2 billion, exceeding the estimate of $31.2 billion [4]. Operational Update - Premiums increased by 9.9% year over year to $30.7 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.2% [3]. - Services revenues climbed 45.1% year over year to $1.6 billion, exceeding the consensus mark by 15.5% [3]. - Total medical membership decreased by 8.3% year over year to 15 million, falling short of estimates [6]. Segment Performance - The Insurance segment reported adjusted revenues of $31.2 billion, a 9.9% year-over-year increase, driven by improved Medicare premiums and an expanding customer base [5]. - CenterWell revenues grew 16.6% year over year to $5.9 billion, benefiting from higher pharmacy and primary care revenues [7]. Financial Position - As of September 30, 2025, Humana had cash and cash equivalents of $5.4 billion, up from $2.2 billion at the end of 2024 [9]. - Total assets increased to $49.7 billion from $46.5 billion at the end of 2024, while long-term debt rose to $12.6 billion [9]. Future Guidance - Adjusted EPS for 2025 is estimated at around $17.00, indicating a 4.9% increase from 2024, while GAAP EPS is projected to be approximately $12.26, down from earlier estimates [12]. - Total revenues are expected to be at least $128 billion, reflecting an 8.7% increase from 2024 [13]. - Individual Medicare Advantage membership is anticipated to decline by around 425,000 in 2025, with growth expected in other segments [14]. Market Position - Humana's stock has a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), indicating an expectation of in-line returns in the coming months [20]. - The company is part of the Zacks Medical - HMOs industry, which has seen mixed performance compared to peers like Select Medical [21].

Upgrades - Rubrik (RBRK) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform due to "stellar beat-and-raise results" and ongoing share gains in the cyber-resilience market [2] - Corpay (CPAY) upgraded to Outperform from Perform with a price target of $380, as shares offer "growth at a discount" [2] - Humana (HUM) upgraded to Buy from Hold with a price target increased to $313 from $253, following an analysis of the company's Stars diversification effort [2] - Unity (U) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target raised to $51 from $42, based on a positive outlook for the mobile game advertising industry in 2026 [3] - Dollar General (DG) upgraded to Buy from Accumulate with a price target of $140, noting strong traffic growth compared to Dollar Tree (DLTR) [3] Downgrades - Argan (AGX) downgraded to Hold from Buy with a price target raised to $325 from $260, citing a top-tier valuation despite strong execution and a $3B backlog [4] - AIG (AIG) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target reduced to $88 from $95, due to limited attractive growth opportunities in the current pricing environment [4] - Synchrony (SYF) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $82, as lower end consumer exposure makes shares less appealing after a recent rally [4] - Parsons (PSN) double downgraded to Market Perform from Strong Buy without a price target, following the FAA's decision to award a significant contract to Peraton [4] - Kosmos (KOS) double downgraded to Underperform from Buy with a price target lowered to $1 from $3.40, after cutting brent oil price forecasts for 2026 and 2027 to $60 and $62 per barrel respectively [4]

Partnerships - Humana 和 Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs 正在探讨合作方式，旨在降低美国雇主的处方药成本 [1] Healthcare Industry Focus - 行业关注点在于降低老年人的处方药成本 [1]

Core Insights - Humana and Cost Plus Drugs are exploring a partnership aimed at reducing prescription drug costs for U.S. employers [2][3] - The collaboration focuses on direct-to-employer programs that bypass traditional pharmacy benefit management [4] - Humana has over 8 million health plan enrollees, with more than 5 million in Medicare Advantage plans, indicating a significant potential market for Cost Plus Drugs [5] Company Strategies - Humana's CEO emphasized the need to simplify the pharmacy experience and streamline the prescription process for patients [6] - Cost Plus Drugs aims to address both healthcare needs and financial burdens of patients, as stated by Cuban [6] - Humana's CenterWell is expanding into direct-to-patient specialty pharmacy, particularly in response to the growing demand for GLP-1 weight loss drugs [7][8]

Industry Trend - GLP-1s medications offer significant therapeutic benefits, creating opportunities for change in the healthcare industry [1] Executive Perspective - Humana's CEO, Jim Rechtin, discussed the future of healthcare at the ForbesHealth Summit [1]

Group 1 - The industry survey indicates that UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and its peers, including Cigna (CI), Humana (HUM), CVS Health (CVS), and Anthem (ELV), are facing rising costs, regulatory scrutiny, and investor concerns [1][2] - Healthcare provider groups have reported that promised prior authorization reforms have not yet been realized [1][2]

Company Overview - Humana Inc. is a major health-insurance and managed-care company offering a wide range of medical and specialty insurance products across the United States, with a market cap of approximately $30.9 billion [1] Business Segments - Humana operates through two primary business segments: Insurance and CenterWell, providing services such as Medicare and Medicaid plans, supplemental benefit plans, pharmacy benefit management, and senior-centered primary-care services [1] Market Position - Humana is classified as a "large-cap" stock, being one of the largest health insurance providers, particularly strong in the Medicare Advantage market with a significant national footprint [2] Stock Performance - Humana's stock is currently trading 18.5% below its 52-week high of $315.35, which was reached on September 5, and has declined 17.7% over the past three months, underperforming the SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (XHS) which gained 9.1% in the same period [3] - Year-to-date, Humana's stock is up 1.3%, significantly lagging behind XHS's 19.7% gains, and has declined 11.8% over the past 52 weeks compared to XHS's 11.2% returns [4] Technical Analysis - The stock has traded largely below the 200-day moving average over the past year, with only brief periods above this line in recent months, and is currently well below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages [5] Challenges - Humana's weak performance is attributed to ongoing challenges in its Medicare Advantage business, including a significant downgrade in quality ratings for several major MA plans and higher-than-anticipated medical costs, which have pressured profit margins [6] Financial Performance - For Q3 2025, Humana reported an 11.1% year-over-year increase in sales to $32.7 billion, but profits weakened due to rising medical utilization, pushing the adjusted benefit ratio up to 91.1%. Non-GAAP EPS fell 22.1% year-over-year to $3.24 [7] - The company anticipates membership losses of 425,000 in its Medicare Advantage segment for the year and has reaffirmed its 2025 benefit ratio and adjusted EPS guidance of $17, while lowering its GAAP EPS outlook to $12.26 [7] - Following the earnings report, the stock dropped 6% on November 5 and an additional 5.2% the following day [7]

Group 1 - Barclays has lowered the target price for Hamanah from $245 to $234 while maintaining a "Hold" rating [1]

Core Insights - Humana Inc. is a significant player in the health insurance sector, particularly known for its Medicare offerings, competing with major insurers like UnitedHealth Group and Anthem [1] - Barclays analyst Andrew Mok has set a price target of $234 for Humana, indicating a potential upside of approximately 2.09% from its current trading price of $229.20 [2][6] - Berman Tabacco, a national law firm, is investigating Humana for potential illegal kickbacks to insurance brokers, with allegations involving up to $250 million paid to influence broker decisions [3][4][6] Financial Performance - Humana's stock is currently priced at $229.20, reflecting an increase of approximately 0.92% or $2.10, with a market capitalization of around $27.57 billion [5][6] - The stock has experienced fluctuations, with a low of $222.04 and a high of $229.82 during the trading day, and over the past year, it reached a high of $315.35 and a low of $206.87 [5]

Humana filed to appeal a ruling upholding cuts to its Medicare quality bonus payments, the next chapter in the company’s long-running attempt to restore the lost revenue https://t.co/MZyRaH6x6d ...