UnitedHealth Group Incorporated · UNH · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026
UNH Q2 2026: EPS Beat, Guidance Raised as AI and Cost Trends Improve
UnitedHealth Group delivered a decisive Q2 2026 beat, with adjusted EPS of $6.38 exceeding consensus by 29%, alongside a $112B revenue print and a 55% rise in operating earnings. The company raised full-year EPS guidance to $19.50-$20, reflecting improving Medicare Advantage cost trends and accelerating AI-driven operational efficiencies. Commercial cost trends remain elevated above 11% and Medicaid margins stay constrained, but management's confident tone, expanded capital return ($5B buybacks, dividend hike to $9.28), and the closed Alegeus combination signal conviction in the forward trajectory.
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationUnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) operates as a comprehensive healthcare enterprise across the United States, structuring its diverse services into four key divisions: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment provides a wide array of health benefit plans and consumer-focused services. These offerings cater to a broad spectrum of clients, including large national corporations, public sector employers, mid-sized and small businesses, and individual consumers. It also delivers specialized health coverage and wellness programs tailored for individuals aged 50 and older, addressing their needs for preventive and acute care, chronic disease management, and other age-specific health issues. This division further encompasses Medicaid plans, children's health insurance, dental benefits, and various hospital and clinical services. Optum Health focuses on delivering direct healthcare solutions and management services.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensusEarnings History
Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Aug 25, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mizuho | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 21, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 20, 2026 |
| UBS | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Truist Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 17, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Keybanc | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Baird | Neutral | Underperform | Upgrade | Jul 16, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 14, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 13, 2026 |
| HSBC | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 6, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 24, 2026 |
| Leerink Partners | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jun 17, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | May 27, 2026 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Apr 22, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 20, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Apr 1, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Aug 26, 2025 |
| Wolfe Research | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | May 20, 2025 |
| TD Securities | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | May 19, 2025 |
| Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 14, 2025 |
| Stephens & Co. | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Dec 5, 2024 |
| Erste Group | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 13, 2024 |
| SVB Securities | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Loop Capital | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 17, 2023 |
| SVB Leerink | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jan 17, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Dec 7, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Jul 20, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 14, 2021 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 16, 2021 |
| Seaport Global | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 9, 2021 |
| SunTrust Robinson Humphrey | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 21, 2020 |
| Argus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 17, 2018 |
| Bank of America | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Oct 17, 2018 |
| Cowen & Co. | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Sep 17, 2018 |
| PiperJaffray | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jan 4, 2017 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 23, 2016 |
| Cleveland Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 8, 2016 |
| Sterne Agee CRT | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jun 26, 2015 |
| Sterne Agee | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jun 26, 2015 |
| Leerink Swann | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Mar 31, 2015 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 3, 2014 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 2, 2014 |
| FBR Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 18, 2014 |
| Monness, Crespi, Hardt | Sell | Neutral | Downgrade | Jan 21, 2014 |
| Monness Crespi Hardt | Sell | Neutral | Downgrade | Jan 21, 2014 |
| Standpoint Research | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Jun 17, 2013 |
| Bank oferica | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 20, 2012 |
| Wedbush | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 9, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $397.62. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D.A. Davidson | Analyst unavailable | $512 | $430.92 | +28.8% | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Ann Hynes | $493 | $421.55 | +24.0% | Jul 20, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Stephen Baxter | $526 | $426.09 | +32.3% | Jul 20, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $441 | $426.09 | +10.9% | Jul 20, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | David MacDonald | $500 | $429.39 | +25.7% | Jul 17, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $490 | $423.38 | +23.2% | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $529 | $423.38 | +33.0% | Jul 17, 2026 |
| KeyBanc | Matthew Gillmor | $500 | $423.38 | +25.7% | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Michael Ha | $453 | $429.43 | +13.9% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Jessica Tassan | $477 | $446.72 | +20.0% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $475 | $419.23 | +19.5% | Jul 15, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $480 | $429.09 | +20.7% | Jul 14, 2026 |
| KeyBanc | Matthew Gillmor | $475 | $429.09 | +19.5% | Jul 14, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $485 | $424.62 | +22.0% | Jul 13, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $463 | $433.88 | +16.4% | Jul 9, 2026 |
| HSBC | Sidharth Sahoo | $380 | $415.74 | -4.4% | Jul 6, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $468 | $419.82 | +17.7% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Leerink Partners | Whit Mayo | $462 | $407.65 | +16.2% | Jun 17, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $460 | $399.47 | +15.7% | Jun 8, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Erin Wright | $453 | $377 | +13.9% | Jun 4, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $440 | $380.31 | +10.7% | Jun 1, 2026 |
| H.C. Wainwright | Analyst unavailable | $492 | $376.86 | +23.7% | May 27, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Analyst unavailable | $492 | $376.86 | +23.7% | May 27, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $429 | $378.99 | +7.9% | May 26, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $460 | $382.48 | +15.7% | May 22, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $440 | $389.24 | +10.7% | May 20, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $435 | $370.48 | +9.4% | May 1, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $373 | $324.63 | -6.2% | Apr 20, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | David MacDonald | $370 | $287.2 | -6.9% | Feb 2, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Stephen Baxter | $370 | $292.29 | -6.9% | Jan 30, 2026 |
| Barclays | Andrew Mok | $327 | $292.29 | -17.8% | Jan 30, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $361 | $291.25 | -9.2% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| KeyBanc | Analyst unavailable | $405 | $288.01 | +1.9% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $410 | $291 | +3.1% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Michael Wiederhorn | $385 | $282.7 | -3.2% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Erin Wright | $375 | $282.7 | -5.7% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Leerink Partners | Analyst unavailable | $345 | $282.7 | -13.2% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $396 | $281.73 | -0.4% | Jan 27, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Erin Wright | $409 | $356.26 | +2.9% | Jan 25, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Analyst unavailable | $444 | $348.55 | +11.7% | Jan 6, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Elizabeth Anderson | $400 | $342.02 | +0.6% | Jan 6, 2026 |
| Barclays | Andrew Mok | $391 | $336.4 | -1.7% | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Analyst unavailable | $440 | $355.26 | +10.7% | Oct 30, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $430 | $361.96 | +8.1% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Ben Hendrix | $408 | $361.96 | +2.6% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $415 | $367.84 | +4.4% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Leerink Partners | Whit Mayo | $410 | $367.84 | +3.1% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $333 | $367.84 | -16.3% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Jessica Tassan | $417 | $367.81 | +4.9% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Jefferies | David Windley | $409 | $356.67 | +2.9% | Oct 17, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $410 | $357.55 | +3.1% | Oct 14, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $406 | $358.66 | +2.1% | Oct 14, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $430 | $369.92 | +8.1% | Oct 9, 2025 |
| Barclays | Andrew Mok | $386 | $369.92 | -2.9% | Oct 9, 2025 |
| Bernstein | Analyst unavailable | $433 | $363.66 | +8.9% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $400 | $363.66 | +0.6% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $400 | $358.77 | +0.6% | Oct 7, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $325 | $346.78 | -18.3% | Sep 10, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $365 | $347.92 | -8.2% | Sep 9, 2025 |
| Bernstein | Analyst unavailable | $379 | $315.39 | -4.7% | Sep 5, 2025 |
| Barclays | Andrew Mok | $352 | $310.38 | -11.5% | Sep 4, 2025 |
| Barclays | Andrew Mok | $362 | $307.88 | -9.0% | Sep 4, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $198 | $266.04 | -50.2% | Jul 31, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $317 | $266.04 | -20.3% | Jul 30, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $385 | $302.02 | -3.2% | Jun 25, 2025 |
| HSBC | Sidharth Sahoo | $270 | $302.98 | -32.1% | May 21, 2025 |
| Wolfe Research | Justin Lake | $390 | $321.58 | -1.9% | May 20, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | David MacDonald | $360 | $315.89 | -9.5% | May 19, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | Ann Hynes | $350 | $291.91 | -12.0% | May 16, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Ben Hendrix | $355 | $291.91 | -10.7% | May 16, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Erin Wright | $374 | $378.75 | -5.9% | May 14, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Ben Hendrix | $525 | $311.38 | +32.0% | May 13, 2025 |
| KeyBanc | Analyst unavailable | $575 | $425.33 | +44.6% | Apr 21, 2025 |
| Jefferies | David Windley | $635 | $549.53 | +59.7% | Dec 9, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ben Hendrix | $595 | $556.29 | +49.6% | Oct 16, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | David MacDonald | $625 | $556.29 | +57.2% | Oct 16, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | Joanna Gajuk | $650 | $556.29 | +63.5% | Oct 16, 2024 |
| Jefferies | David Windley | $643 | $556.29 | +61.7% | Oct 16, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | George Hill | $595 | $556.29 | +49.6% | Oct 16, 2024 |
| KeyBanc | Matthew Gillmor | $650 | $569.66 | +63.5% | Oct 16, 2024 |
| KeyBanc | Matthew Gillmor | $675 | $597.7 | +69.8% | Oct 10, 2024 |
| Argus Research | David Toung | $600 | $565.78 | +50.9% | Jul 17, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | David MacDonald | $640 | $548.87 | +61.0% | Jul 17, 2024 |
| Stephens | Scott Fidel | $600 | $548.87 | +50.9% | Jul 17, 2024 |
| Jefferies | David Windley | $647 | $573.28 | +62.7% | Jul 17, 2024 |
| HSBC | Sidharth Sahoo | $580 | $503.12 | +45.9% | Jun 5, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | George Hill | $562 | $493.18 | +41.3% | Apr 19, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Stephen Baxter | $525 | $483.16 | +32.0% | Apr 17, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ben Hendrix | $555 | $468.89 | +39.6% | Apr 17, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Jessica Tassan | $571 | $468.89 | +43.6% | Apr 17, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Jessica Tassan | $566 | $450.05 | +42.3% | Apr 11, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Erin Wright | $584 | $455.38 | +46.9% | Apr 5, 2024 |
| HSBC | Rajesh Kumar | $460 | $454.65 | +15.7% | Apr 4, 2024 |
| Oppenheimer | Michael Wiederhorn | $610 | $483.46 | +53.4% | Jul 17, 2023 |
| Raymond James | Strong Buy | $630 | $510.86 | +58.4% | Apr 5, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $610 | $542.48 | +53.4% | Dec 7, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $587 | $525.18 | +47.6% | Nov 23, 2022 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $635 | $512.08 | +59.7% | Sep 22, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $569 | $525.08 | +43.1% | Sep 8, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $600 | $537.43 | +50.9% | Aug 10, 2022 |
| UBS | Kavin Caliendo | $570 | $542.52 | +43.4% | Aug 3, 2022 |
| Argus Research | Analyst unavailable | $650 | $528.49 | +63.5% | Jul 25, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $556 | $528.98 | +39.8% | Jul 19, 2022 |
| Leerink Partners | Analyst unavailable | $625 | $525.3 | +57.2% | Jul 18, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $579 | $525.87 | +45.6% | Jul 18, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Stephen Baxter | $612 | $507.11 | +53.9% | May 31, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Matt Borsch | $600 | $517.57 | +50.9% | Apr 25, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $613 | $537.44 | +54.2% | Apr 22, 2022 |
| RBC Capital | Ben Hendrix | $588 | $537.7 | +47.9% | Apr 20, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Ann Hynes | $550 | $534.82 | +38.3% | Apr 14, 2022 |
| UBS | Kevin Caliendo | $545 | $537 | +37.1% | Apr 13, 2022 |
| Truist Financial | David S Macdonald | $610 | $536.95 | +53.4% | Apr 7, 2022 |
| Jefferies | David Windley | $485 | $531.75 | +22.0% | Apr 6, 2022 |
| Barclays | Steve Valiquette | $565 | $512.59 | +42.1% | Apr 3, 2022 |
| Leerink Partners | Whit Mayo | $550 | $466.06 | +38.3% | Jan 30, 2022 |
| UBS | Kevin Caliendo | $468 | $461.63 | +17.7% | Jan 20, 2022 |
| Evercore ISI | Michael Newshel | $480 | $461.16 | +20.7% | Jan 19, 2022 |
| RBC Capital | Ben Hendrix | $563 | $461.16 | +41.6% | Jan 19, 2022 |
| Bank of America Securities | Kevin Fischbeck | $574.2 | $461.16 | +44.4% | Jan 19, 2022 |
| Seaport Global | Joseph France | $525 | $467.31 | +32.0% | Jan 14, 2022 |
| Bernstein | Lance Wilkes | $564 | $467.62 | +41.8% | Jan 11, 2022 |
| J.P. Morgan | Lisa Gill | $540 | $485.68 | +35.8% | Dec 17, 2021 |
| Goldman Sachs | Nathan Rich | $535 | $478.04 | +34.6% | Dec 14, 2021 |
| Stephens | Scott Fidel | $475 | $441.59 | +19.5% | Dec 1, 2021 |
| Morgan Stanley | Ricky Goldwasser | $526 | $441.59 | +32.3% | Dec 1, 2021 |
| Credit Suisse | A.J. Rice | $495 | $425.42 | +24.5% | Oct 15, 2021 |
| Oppenheimer | Michael Wiederhorn | $475 | $425.42 | +19.5% | Oct 15, 2021 |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Steven Halper | $465 | $417.76 | +16.9% | Oct 14, 2021 |
| Wolfe Research | Justin Lake | $442 | $390.6 | +11.2% | Apr 26, 2021 |
| Argus Research | David Toung | $450 | $393.51 | +13.2% | Apr 21, 2021 |
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What changed
Q2 2026 adjusted EPS came in at $6.38 versus consensus $4.94, a 29.1% surprise. Revenue of $112.0B beat estimates by 1.1%. Operating earnings rose 55% year over year. Medicare Advantage medical cost trends came in below company expectations, while commercial cost trends remained above 11%. Management raised FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $19.50-$20 from a prior outlook above $18.25, and increased operating earnings targets for UnitedHealthcare and Optum Health. Share repurchases were accelerated to $5B for the year, and the dividend was raised to $9.28 per share. AI adoption reached 70% of employed clinicians with a target of >90% by year-end. The Alegeus Technologies combination closed on July 2. The stock's abnormal move on the report day was +1.70% versus a benchmark decline of -0.54%, on 2.22x baseline volume, with a subsequent drift of -1.36%.
Guidance delta
Guidance was raised. FY2026 adjusted EPS outlook lifted to $19.50-$20 from the prior 'above $18.25' level reaffirmed in Q1 2026. Operating earnings outlook increased for both UnitedHealthcare and Optum Health. Share repurchases accelerated from $2B planned by Q2 to $5B for the full year. Dividend raised to $9.28 per share. The company reaffirmed its long-term 13-16% growth ambition.
Key takeaways
- Adjusted EPS of $6.38 beat consensus by 29.1%; revenue of $112.0B beat by 1.1%. Operating earnings rose 55% year over year.
- FY2026 EPS guidance raised to $19.50-$20, with higher operating earnings targets for UnitedHealthcare and Optum Health.
- Medicare Advantage cost trends came in below company expectations; commercial cost trends remained above 11%.
- Optum Health achieved ~10% reduction in hospitalizations in targeted regions and expanded rural home-visit capacity to 2.5M visits.
- AI adoption at 70% of employed clinicians, targeting >90% by year-end, driving claims, prior-auth, and documentation efficiencies.
- Share repurchases accelerated to $5B; dividend raised to $9.28 per share.
Management priorities
- Scale AI ambient listening and clinical documentation tools to >90% of providers by year-end.
- Eliminate 30% of prior-authorization volume and two-thirds of pediatric prior-authorizations by year-end.
- Expand Optum Health's home-based and rural care programs across the footprint by end-2026.
- Commercialize AI-enabled products (Value Connect, digital prior auth) to external customers.
- Execute $5B in share repurchases and the raised dividend.
- Plan 2027 benefits with early payer collaboration and refined risk-adjusted pricing.
Related earnings events
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Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.