UnitedHealth Group (UNH) posted better-than-expected second quarter earnings Friday, and lifted its full-year profit forecast, as revenues from its healthcare solutions division Optum continued to paced topline gains.
UnitedHealth said adjusted profits for the three months ended in June came in at $5.34 a share, up 13.6% from the same period last year and 14 cents ahead of the Wall Street consensus forecast.
Group revenues, UnitedHealth said, rose 13% to $80.2 billion, again topping analysts' estimates of a $79.68 billion tally, while Optum revenue rose 17.75% to $45.1 billion.
Looking into the 2022 calendar year, Dow component UnitedHealth forecast adjusted earnings between $21.40 to $21.90 per share, up from a prior forecast of $21.20 to $21.70 per share.
“Customers are responding as we build on our five growth pillars, enabling us to move into the second half of 2022 with strong momentum serving ever more people more deeply,” said CEO Andrew Witty.
UnitedHealth Group shares were marked 3.6% higher in early Friday trading immediately following the earnings release to change hands at $520.60 each, a move that would nudge the stock's year-to-date gain to around 2.7%.
Earlier this month, UnitedHealth agreed to extend the closing date of its merger with Change Healthcare CHNG, first unveiled in January of last year, to the final days of 2022 amid a move by the U.S. Department of Justice to block the $8 billion deal.
"Change Healthcare and Optum will detail the benefits of this combination at a two-week trial scheduled to begin on August 1," the companies said on April 5. "The DoJ's attempt to block the combination is without merit and serves only to delay improving the experience and outcomes for all participants in the health system."
Optum, the division into which Change will be folded, will need to pay a $650 million termination fee if the court decides to scupper the deal when the trial, which begins in August, concludes.
