Centene Q1 revenue and adjusted EPS beat estimates, raises outlook

Centene

28/04/2026 11:09

Overview

U.S. managed care provider's Q1 revenue rose, beating analyst expectations

Adjusted diluted EPS for Q1 beat analyst expectations

Company raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance and reduced debt by $1.0 bln in Q1

Outlook

Centene raises 2026 premium and service revenues guidance to $171.0 bln-$175.0 bln

Company updates 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance floor to greater than $3.40

Centene expects 2026 total revenues between $187.5 bln and $191.5 bln

Result Drivers

MEDICARE PDP GROWTH - Premium yield and membership growth in Medicare Prescription Drug Plan business contributed to revenue increase

MEDICAID RATE INCREASES - Medicaid revenue benefited from state-directed payments and rate increases to address medical trend

COST MANAGEMENT - Lower SG&A expense ratio driven by cost management, leveraging of expenses over higher revenues, and reduced Marketplace membership

Company press release: ID:nPn7qK2gCa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Revenue
Beat
$49.94 bln
$47.53 bln (14 Analysts)
Q1 Adjusted EPS
Beat
$3.37
$2.13 (19 Analysts)
Q1 EPS
$3.11


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 5 "strong buy" or "buy", 15 "hold" and 2 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the managed healthcare peer group is "buy."

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Centene Corp is $43.00, about 1.1% above its April 27 closing price of $43.50

The stock recently traded at 13 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 15 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)