UnitedHealth Group is a diversified health care and well-being company operating through two primary segments: Optum and UnitedHealthcare. Optum provides technology-enabled health services, including care delivery, data analytics, and pharmacy care services, to a broad marketplace. UnitedHealthcare offers a comprehensive range of health benefits plans and services to individuals, employers, and government programs, aiming to simplify healthcare and improve affordability.
Business segments
10-K
Optum HealthOptum InsightOptum RxUnitedHealthcare
Recent News
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Earnings call: Q2 2026 2026
Intel
Free
Jul 16, 2026Neutral
● Full transcript on file
Stephen J. Hemsley (CEO), Wayne S. DeVeydt (Chief Financial Officer)
Key metrics
A market result page in the search results indicated expected Q2 2026 EPS of $4.84 and revenue of $110.76 billion, but these were analyst expectations rather than reported results. No confirmed post-call reported metrics were available in the provided sources.
Forward guidance
The company had scheduled its Q2 2026 earnings call for July 16 at 8 a.m. ET, but no actual transcript was available in the provided search results. Because the transcript is not present in the supplied sources, forward guidance from the call cannot be reliably summarized here.
Notable Q&A
No verified Q&A transcript was available in the provided results, so no exchange can be accurately summarized.
Surprise items
The transcript for the most recent quarter was not available in the supplied results, so any surprise items would be speculative. The investor relations page confirmed the earnings call date, but not the spoken remarks or Q&A.
Wall Street consensus — sourced weekly via public disclosures
Analyst coverage data sourced from public filings. Xavier analyst thesis summary available after weekly Perplexity scan completes.
Financial summary — Gemini analysis
Signal
Revenue
$447,567 million
12% YoY
Operating margin
4.2%
Net income
$12,056 million
Free cash flow
$16,075 million
Dividend / share
$8.84
Total debt
$78,389 million
Cash: $24,365 million
Earnings quality:HIGH
Recurring revenue:80%
Cash conversion:1.5x
Non-recurring items: Net gain of $568 million from net portfolio divestitures (recorded in operating costs)., Real estate rationalization and workforce reductions of $746 million., Contractual reassessments of $573 million., Establishment of a loss contract reserve of $623 million related to anticipated future losses in 2026 for certain value-based care businesses.
Confidence 6.0 / 10 · 100% model agreement ·
Scheduled Jun 07, 2026
UNH has surged ~70% from its 52-week low and is now pressing against its all-time high ($404.15), with the stock at $399.47 — leaving virtually no margin of safety after the June 4 BofA/Morgan Stanley upgrade-driven 5%+ rally has already been absorbed. The near-term bull catalysts (improving medical cost trends, 3% Medicare Advantage rate increase for 2027, dividend hike) appear largely priced in at a TTM P/E of ~30x against near-zero earnings growth (~0.7%), while persistent DOJ criminal/civil investigations, a fresh Massachusetts $100M MassHealth overbilling lawsuit, and a neutral-to-bearish macro regime cap conviction on either side.
Strongest bull case
BofA (target $450) and Morgan Stanley (target $453) both upgraded/raised targets citing sustainably lower medical utilization in April-May and a strong Q2 setup — if Q2 earnings (next month) confirm durable margin recovery, the stock re-rates meaningfully higher from current levels.
Strongest bear case
The stock is within 1.2% of its 52-week high ($404.15) with a consensus analyst target of only $404.85 — implying just 1.3% upside — while the DOJ maintains active criminal and civil investigations into Medicare Advantage billing practices, and a new Massachusetts AG lawsuit alleging $100M+ in Medicaid overbilling adds a fresh, unquantified legal overhang that could accelerate headline risk in the next 5 trading days.
What the market may be missing
The market is treating the BofA/Morgan Stanley upgrade as a clean recovery signal, but the consensus $405 price target — set before the June 4 pop — is effectively already breached at current levels, meaning the stock is now trading above most models' fair value while still carrying binary DOJ criminal investigation risk. The upgrade catalyst has burned fast, leaving the stock near resistance with no remaining near-term institutional price target buffer and a Q2 earnings event still a month away.
Chair and Chief Executive Officer · UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
CEO since May 2025
Total compensation
$60,938,062
Pay vs performance
MODERATE
Board assessment
Say-on-pay approval
60%
Shareholder vote
Board independence
8/9 (89%)
Base salary$1,000,000
Bonus / incentive—
Stock awards—
CEO letter to shareholders
Signal
No shareholder letter on file for UNH
Some companies file their annual report without a separate CEO letter.
When available, Xavier extracts strategic themes, tone analysis, and
forward-looking statements to help you read between the lines.
Executive compensation
Signal
Name
Title
Total compensation
Stephen Hemsley
Chief Executive Officer
$60,938,062
Wayne DeVeydt
Chief Financial Officer
$14,582,684
Timothy Noel
Chief Executive Officer, UnitedHealthcare
$20,201,746
Patrick Conway, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Optum
$19,922,610
Christopher Zaetta
Executive Vice President Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
$15,792,307
Source: DEF 14A proxy statement · 2026-04-21
Governance
Pro
Dual-class shares:No
Poison pill:No
Clawback policy:Yes
Stock ownership req.:Yes
Shareholder proposals
Adoption of a Policy to Require Any Board Chair to Be Independent
Risk increasing — Cyberattacks and data security incidents, including those impacting third-party
Mgmt narrative
Management tone: Cautiously optimistic
Analyst drift
Consensus Buy — targets stable
Insider sentiment
Pattern detection — 90 days needed
Signal history
Signal
Date
Direction
Conf.
Agree.
Thesis
Price
Type
Jun 07, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.0/10
100%
UNH has surged ~70% from its 52-week low and is now pressing against its all-time high ($404.15), wi...
$399.47
Sched.
May 31, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.0/10
75%
UNH faces a compounding legal and regulatory overhang that is actively worsening: a fresh Massachuse...
$380.31
Sched.
May 24, 2026
NEUTRAL
5.3/10
100%
UNH has rebounded to within about 4% of its 52-week high, leaving limited near-term upside versus th...
$388.47
Sched.
May 17, 2026
BEARISH
6.4/10
75%
UNH has staged a sharp recovery (~28% in 30 days) from its multi-year lows on the back of a genuine ...
$393.85
Sched.
May 10, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.1/10
67%
UNH has rebounded to within roughly 2% of its 52-week high and is trading essentially in line with c...
$379.98
Sched.
May 03, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.2/10
100%
UNH has already rallied ~35% in the past month on a strong Q1 2026 earnings beat — adjusted EPS of $...
$368.78
Sched.
Apr 12, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.5/10
50%
UNH enters the next five trading days in a precarious but event-driven setup: Q1 2026 earnings drop ...
$304.33
Sched.
Showing last 7 signals
UNHUnitedHealth Group Incorporated
Signal
FY2026 annual report (10-K filed 2026-03-02)
INCOME STATEMENT
?Revenue
$447,567 million12% YoY
Total sales from drugs, medical devices, insurance premiums, and healthcare services. Up 12% from last year.
?Operating income
$18,964 million
What remains after subtracting all operating costs — salaries, materials, rent, R&D — from revenue. This is the profit from actually running the business, before interest and taxes. Operating margin is 4.2%, meaning 4 cents of every dollar of revenue becomes operating profit.
?Net income
$12,056 million
The bottom line — what the company actually earned after all expenses, interest, and taxes. This is the number that gets divided by shares outstanding to calculate earnings per share (EPS), which directly affects the stock price. Net margin is 5.6%. Note: results include non-recurring items (net gain of $568 million from net portfolio divestitures (recorded in operating costs)., real estate rationalization and workforce reductions of $746 million.) that may not repeat.
?Free cash flow
$16,075 million
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditure. This is the money available for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or acquisitions. Free cash flow is what many professional investors consider the truest measure of financial health.
?EPS (diluted)
$6.90
Earnings per share — net income divided by total shares outstanding (including stock options and convertible bonds that could become shares). This is the single number most investors watch because it directly connects company profits to your ownership stake.
?Dividend per share
$8.84
Cash paid to shareholders each year for every share they own. Healthcare dividends are often funded by patent-protected drug revenue with predictable cash flows.
BALANCE SHEET
?Total assets
$312.6B
Everything the company owns — cash, factories, equipment, patents, inventory, investments. Includes drug patents, manufacturing facilities, clinical trial data, and acquired pharmaceutical portfolios.
?Cash & equivalents
$24,365 million
Money available right now — bank accounts, money market funds, short-term government bonds. This is the company's financial cushion. More cash means more flexibility to invest, acquire, or survive a downturn without borrowing.
?Total debt
$78,389 million
All money the company owes — bonds, bank loans, credit facilities. Compare this to cash to understand the net debt position. The company holds $24,365 million in cash against this debt.
?Shares outstanding
907,675,839
Total number of shares that exist — owned by all investors, insiders, and institutions combined. When the company reports EPS, this is the denominator. Share buybacks reduce this number, which increases EPS even without earnings growth.
?Debt-to-equity ratio
0.7%
How much debt the company uses for every dollar of shareholder equity. Under 100% means more equity than debt (conservative). Over 200% means heavy leverage. Banks and utilities naturally run higher ratios.
CASH FLOW
?Operating cash flow
$8.9B
Actual cash generated from running the business — not accounting profits, real money coming in the door. This is more trustworthy than net income because it's harder to manipulate. A company can report profits but still run out of cash.
?Capital expenditure
$763M
Money spent on long-term assets — manufacturing plants, research labs, and clinical trial infrastructure. This is the cost of maintaining and growing the business.
?Free cash flow
$8.1B
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditure. This is the money available for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or acquisitions. Free cash flow is what many professional investors consider the truest measure of a company's financial health.
?Interest expense
$955M
The cost of borrowing money — interest payments on bonds, loans, and credit facilities. Higher interest expense means more of the company's earnings go to lenders instead of shareholders.
?Interest coverage
10.5x
EBITDA divided by interest expense — how many times over the company can pay its interest bill from earnings. At 10.5x, coverage is very comfortable. Lenders typically want to see at least 3-4x.
?Depreciation & amortization
$1.0B
A non-cash expense that spreads the cost of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment and acquired drug patents over their useful life. This reduces reported income but no cash actually leaves the company — that's why it gets added back to calculate EBITDA and operating cash flow.
EARNINGS QUALITY
?Accrual quality
HIGH
Measures how well reported earnings match actual cash generation. HIGH means earnings are backed by real cash. LOW means the company may be using accounting techniques to inflate reported numbers. Professional investors check this before trusting EPS.
?Recurring revenue
80%
80% of revenue comes from repeat sources — ongoing contracts, subscriptions, or regular customer purchasing patterns rather than one-time sales. Higher recurring revenue means more predictable future earnings.
?Cash conversion
1.5x
Operating cash flow divided by net income. Above 1.0x means the company generates more cash than it reports in profits — a sign of high-quality earnings. At 1.5x, the company is generating significantly more cash than reported profits — very healthy.
?Non-recurring items
8 identified
One-time items that affect the bottom line but won't repeat: net gain of $568 million from net portfolio divestitures (recorded in operating costs)., real estate rationalization and workforce reductions of $746 million., contractual reassessments of $573 million., establishment of a loss contract reserve of $623 million related to anticipated future losses in 2026 for certain value-based care businesses.. When evaluating the company's true earning power, investors strip these out to see what the business earns on a normal basis.
?Management tone
Cautious Optimistic
How management sounds in their SEC filings — are they confident, cautious, or defensive? This is analyzed from the actual language used in the 10-K annual report. A shift in tone from prior years can signal changing conditions before the numbers reflect it.
?Top risk factor
Increasing
Cyberattacks and data security incidents, including those impacting third-party partners and involving evolving AI technologies, pose significant operational, financial, and reputational risks. Risk trend: increasing. This is the single biggest threat to the company's future earnings as identified in their SEC filing.
Click any row to expand the plain-English explanation. Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings.
Capital intelligence
Signal
Weighted Average Cost of Capital · Return on Invested Capital · Economic Value Added
ROIC
10.08%
WACC
6.69%
🟢 VALUE CREATOR — EVA Spread: 3.39%
?WACC
6.69%
Weighted Average Cost of Capital — the minimum return UnitedHealth Group Incorporated must earn on its investments to satisfy both debt holders and shareholders. Computed from a 84.39% equity / 15.61% debt capital structure. If the company earns less than 6.69% on its invested capital, it is destroying shareholder value.
?Cost of equity
7.73%
The return shareholders demand for holding UNH stock instead of a risk-free Treasury bond. Computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model: Risk-Free Rate (4.25%) + Beta (0.63) × Equity Risk Premium (5.50%). A beta of 0.63 means UNH is less volatile than the overall market.
?Cost of debt (after-tax)
1.05%
What UnitedHealth Group Incorporated effectively pays on its borrowed money after the tax deduction on interest. Interest is tax-deductible, so the true cost is lower than the stated rate. Effective tax rate used: 21.14%.
?Capital structure
E: 84.39% / D: 15.61%
How UnitedHealth Group Incorporated finances its operations — the split between equity (stock market value: $386.1B) and debt (total borrowings: $71.4B). More debt means more leverage — higher potential returns but higher risk.
?ROIC
10.08%
Return on Invested Capital — how efficiently UnitedHealth Group Incorporated turns its total invested capital into after-tax operating profit. NOPAT ($14.9B) ÷ Invested Capital ($147.3B). This exceeds WACC, meaning the company creates value for shareholders.
?EVA
$5.0B
Economic Value Added — the dollar amount of value UnitedHealth Group Incorporated created (or destroyed) above its cost of capital. NOPAT ($14.9B) minus the capital charge (Invested Capital × WACC = $9.9B). Positive EVA means every dollar of capital is earning more than it costs.
?NOPAT
$14.9B
Net Operating Profit After Tax — operating income adjusted for taxes, ignoring how the company is financed. Operating Income ($18.8B) × (1 - Tax Rate 21.14%). This isolates the company's core business profitability from its financing decisions.
Xavier consensus signals are intelligence outputs, not investment advice. All signals are generated by a multi-model AI system and reflect public information at time of generation. Past signal accuracy does not guarantee future performance. Wall Street analyst consensus sourced from public disclosures, summarized weekly. Financial data sourced from SEC EDGAR and yfinance. Insider transactions sourced from SEC EDGAR Form 4 filings. Updated Jun 07, 2026.