Elevance Health leads managed care gainers after Q3 beat

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) added ~5% in the premarket, and its peers also traded higher after the company posted better-than-expected financials for Q3 2025, becoming the first major health insurer to report financials during the current earnings season.

Notable gainers include Elevance’s (NYSE:ELV) major peers in the Medicaid market, including Centene (CNC) and Molina Healthcare (MOH). Other health insurers such as UnitedHealth (UNH), Humana (HUM), CVS Health (CVS), Cigna (CI), Clover Health (CLOV), and Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) also traded higher.

As for Q3, Indianapolis, Indiana-based Elevance (NYSE:ELV) reported $6.03 of adjusted earnings per share with a ~30% YoY drop on $50.1B in operating revenue, which grew at ~12% YoY, exceeding the consensus by $1.09 and $590M, respectively.

Its benefit expense ratio, a key industry benchmark that indicates the share of premiums spent on healthcare costs, stood at 91.3% compared to 89.5% in the prior year period and 91.8% projected by analysts, according to Bloomberg data.

ELV’s revenue from Premiums, Product revenue, and Service fees jumped ~14% YoY, ~5% YoY, and ~6% YoY, to reach ~$41.8B, ~$6.16B, and $2.14B, compared to nearly $41.0B, $6.19B, and $2.08B in the consensus, respectively.

The company’s medical membership stood at about 45.4M, falling short of the 45.6M projected by analysts, and its Medicare Advantage membership growth helped expand revenue growth despite ongoing losses in Medicaid membership due to eligibility reviews.

ELV’s earnings per diluted share rose ~22% YoY to $5.32 while its operating expense ratio improved 130 bps to 10.5%. However, the company reaffirmed its full-year outlook for benefit expense ratio and non-GAAP earnings at 90% and $30 per share, respectively.