Elevance raises its 2026 adjusted EPS floor to $29 after a $6.99 third quarter

Elevance Health raised its full-year floor for adjusted earnings to at least $29.00 a share, from at least $27.00 in July, after a third quarter in which adjusted earnings reached $6.99 a share against $6.03 a year earlier, according to its results release filed with the SEC on Wednesday.

Revenue barely moved. Operating revenue was $50.4bn, up 0.7 percent, as higher premium yields and pharmacy revenue were partly offset by lower Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and employer risk enrollment. Medical membership fell by 487,000 to about 44.9 million.

The benefit expense ratio, the share of premiums paid out in medical costs, improved 70 basis points to 90.6 percent. Operating gain at Carelon, the services and pharmacy arm, rose 17 percent to $0.9bn.

GAAP guidance rose to at least $22.00 a share, from at least $20.10. That figure absorbs a $4.28 a share accrual the company ties to a February 27 notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about historical Medicare Advantage risk adjustment data.