Centene earnings date and guidance
Centene's next results are expected on October 27, 2026. Watch whether medical costs followed expectations and the expected fourth-quarter loss remains contained.
What has Centene guided for 2026?
Management’s September 16 guidance sets a full-year GAAP diluted earnings-per-share floor of $3.11 and an adjusted floor of $4.80. Earnings per share divides profit among shareholders; “diluted” also allows for possible future shares, such as employee awards. GAAP follows standard accounting rules. Adjusted EPS removes selected costs, including restructuring and acquisition-related amortization, so it can help compare operations, but it is not a complete measure of repeatable profit.
The operating test is whether premiums leave enough after medical care and overhead. The health benefits ratio, or HBR, measures the share of premium revenue spent on members’ care. At a 91% HBR, an illustrative $100 of premium leaves $9 for administration, financing, taxes and profit. Adjusted SG&A measures administrative costs such as employees and systems, but its denominator differs from HBR’s, so the ratios cannot simply be subtracted.
Seasonality makes the full-year target harder to judge. For 2026, management expects the third quarter to finish slightly above breakeven and the fourth quarter to produce a loss because prescription-drug and individual-insurance results vary during the year. The recovery therefore depends on current premiums covering current medical costs through the expensive later quarters. That is the backdrop against which analysts revise their forecasts.
| Period it covers | Low | High | Date given | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP diluted EPS | Full year 2026 | 3.11 | Sep 16, 2026 | |
| Adjusted diluted EPS | Full year 2026 | 4.80 | Sep 16, 2026 | |
| Total revenues | Full year 2026 | 193,500 | 197,500 | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Premium and service revenues | Full year 2026 | 173,000 | 177,000 | Jul 28, 2026 |
| HBR | Full year 2026 | 90.5% | 91.3% | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Adjusted SG&A expense ratio | Full year 2026 | 6.9% | 7.5% | Jul 28, 2026 |
What this means. The “net dividends from insurance subsidiaries” are cash sent from the insurance units to the parent company, not dividends paid to shareholders.
What has Centene's revenue and profit done over the last eight quarters?
The first half also included $50 million of optimization costs and $18 million of severance. Management identified approximately $0.50 per share of quarterly earnings tied to 2025 settlements that it did not expect to recur in 2027. The eight-quarter pattern therefore matters more than the latest headline result. Investors need recurring current-year margins after settlements and seasonality disappear.
| Jun 2026 | Mar 2026 | Dec 2025 | Sep 2025 | Jun 2025 | Mar 2025 | Dec 2024 | Sep 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted net earnings (loss) (company's measure) | 1,248 | 1,672 | -583 | 245 | -79 | 1,445 | 404 | 849 |
| Net income | 1,091 | 1,541 | -1,101 | -6,631 | -253 | 1,311 | 283 | 713 |
| EPS, diluted | 2.19 | 3.11 | -2.24 | -13.50 | -0.51 | 2.63 | 0.56 | 1.36 |
What should Centene watchers look for on October 27, 2026?
The first dated checkpoint is the October 27, 2026 earnings release. Investors will want to know whether medical costs followed expectations, whether the expected Q4 loss remains contained and how much of the first-half strength survives without settlement benefits. The 2027 individual-market lineup will offer a second test: better pricing should restore margins, not purchase membership growth at weak prices.