Centene (NYSE:CNC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Centene (NYSE:CNC) released its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.000-3.000 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Centene’s conference call:

• Centene expects full-year 2026 adjusted EPS greater than $3 (over 40% YoY growth), driven by Medicaid stability, a meaningful Marketplace margin recovery, and continued progress toward Medicare Advantage break-even.
• Medicaid showed sequential improvement with a Q4 health benefits ratio of 93.0%, and management is pursuing rate advocacy, network optimization, clinical programs (e.g., ABA task force) and stronger fraud detection to sustain margin recovery in 2026.
• Marketplace faces material headwinds: paid Ambetter membership is expected to fall to ~3.5M by end of Q1 (from 5.5M in December), metal-tier mix shifted heavily to bronze, and accruals for No Surprises Act disputes raised Q4 HPR ~100 bps—Centene is pursuing litigation and regulatory reform.
• Medicare remains a strength with PDP revenue and membership growth and improving Medicare Advantage fundamentals; management targets MA break-even by 2027 and reports MA is close to break-even on a margin basis in 2026 (no PDR booked).

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $38.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Centene has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $66.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.48.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 29.8% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 20.3% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Centene by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 28,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Centene by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,590,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Centene from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.81.

Key Centene News

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Centene guided to adjusted EPS of $3.00 for FY?2026, above consensus, and said profit should be above Wall Street expectations — a sign management expects cost stabilization. Centene sees 2026 profit above estimates signaling stabilizing costs (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat estimates ($49.73B vs. ~$48.4B) and revenue rose ~22% YoY, driven by PDP and Marketplace growth — top?line strength that supports future scale. Centene Q4 results and press release (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts/upgrades are framing the pullback as a buying opportunity after the stock’s earlier drop, which could attract tactical interest if costs improve. Centene Is On The Mend After A Hefty Fall (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released its earnings call transcript and slide deck — useful for investors parsing management’s details on Medicaid remediation and cost actions. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Local PR items (Health Net community events) are positive for brand/marketing but unlikely to move the stock materially. Health Net and Pro Football Hall of Fame event (PR Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: Centene reported a Q4 GAAP/adjusted loss (about $1.19 EPS vs. a year?ago profit), citing rising medical costs that drove a >$1B hit — a key driver of the selloff. Centene Reports $1 Billion Loss (Forbes)
• Negative Sentiment: Medicaid membership declined, and management gave a mixed revenue outlook — revenue guidance ($186.5B–$190.5B) came in below consensus, raising concerns about near?term growth and margin recovery. Centene Takes A Hit As Medicaid Membership Shrinks (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and news outlets highlighted the mixed 2026 outlook and ongoing medical-cost pressure despite top?line growth — the primary reason investors moved to sell. Centene Swings to Loss Despite Higher Revenue (WSJ)

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.