UnitedHealth books better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit

US health care giant UnitedHealth posted a better-than-expected profit in the final quarter of 2024, but revenue fell short as challenges such as Medicare funding cuts and a Medicaid enrolment drop hurt.

Shares in the company slid early on Thursday after it released its first financial report since the fatal shooting of one of its executives outside a New York City hotel touched a national nerve and brought to the surface American frustration over health care access.

UnitedHealth earned 5.5 billion dollars (£4.5 billion) in the quarter, as adjusted results totalled 6.81 dollars per share.

The company’s revenue climbed about 7% to 100.8 billion dollars (£82.5 billion).

Analysts expected earnings of 6.73 dollars per share in the fourth quarter on 101.6 billion dollars (£83.2 billion) in revenue, according to the data firm FactSet.

UnitedHealth operates the nation’s largest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, which covers more than 49 million people in the United States.

It also operates a large pharmacy benefit manager that runs prescription drug coverage and a growing business that delivers care and provides technical support.

UnitedHealth’s Medicaid enrolment tumbled by about 400,000 people compared with the previous year’s quarter, as states went through a lengthy process to determine who was still eligible for the government programme after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company says it also dealt with increased prescribing of expensive specialty drugs and other cost pressures.

The company on Thursday also reaffirmed a forecast it laid last month for 2025 adjusted earnings ranging between 29.50 dollars to 30 dollars per share.

Analysts expect earnings per share of 29.83 dollars.

Company shares slid about 5% to 515 dollars in premarket trading on Thursday.

Authorities say Brian Thompson, who had worked at UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became chief executive of its insurance arm in 2021, was shot as he walked to an investor conference in Manhattan on December 4.

Luigi Mangione, 26, has pleaded not guilty to murder and terror charges.