UnitedHealth Reports on Oct. 13. Here's the 1 Number I'm Watching.
Key Points
UnitedHealth has been successful in moving the medical care ratio in the right direction.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) will report its third-quarter financial results on Tuesday, Oct. 13, before the stock market opens.
As usual, investors will closely monitor the company's revenue and earnings per share and how those have changed from the same period a year ago. They'll also compare those figures to Wall Street's expectations for the quarter to see whether the giant insurer outperformed analysts' forecasts.
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But there's another critical number for UnitedHealth that I'll be looking at even more closely: the medical care ratio, which is the percentage of insurance premiums it took in that were paid out to settle claims. It is a key metric to assess a health insurer's profitability.
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The federal government requires health insurers that sell large plans, as UnitedHealth does, to spend at least 85% of the premium dollars they receive on medical care and healthcare quality improvement. If they spend too much, though, it can affect the bottom line. Insurers need to meet that requirement as closely as possible to ensure profitability.
In the second quarter, UnitedHealth's medical care ratio fell to 86.7% from 89.4% a year earlier (the ratio surged to 89.9% in the third quarter of 2025). The company says the recent decrease was driven by benefit design and pricing discipline, as well as adjustments to its member mix. UnitedHealth management has been working hard to bring that critical ratio figure down, and it's been working.
The upcoming earnings report will tell us if UnitedHealth was able to maintain the lower ratio it achieved last quarter -- or even push it lower. That's the key to the company's profit margin, earnings per share, and, ultimately, its share price.
Matthew Benjamin has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.