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Centene (CNC) Q1 Earnings: How Key Metrics Compare to Wall Street Estimates
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For the quarter ended March 2026, Centene (CNC - Free Report) reported revenue of $49.94 billion, up 7.1% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $3.37, compared to $2.90 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +5.21% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $47.47 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.87, the EPS surprise was +80.21%.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how Centene performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Total Medical Health (Benefits) loss Ratios -Total Ratio (HBR): 87.3% versus 89.2% estimated by three analysts on average.
Membership Medicaid - High Acuity Medicaid: 1.5 million versus 1.57 million estimated by three analysts on average.
Membership by line of business - Medicare PDP: 8.78 million compared to the 8.66 million average estimate based on three analysts.
Membership by line of business - Medicare: 1 million compared to the 959.24 thousand average estimate based on three analysts.
Revenues- Service: $768 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $693.36 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -1.2%.
Revenues- Premium: $43.89 billion versus $42.61 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +5.2% change.
Revenues- Premium and service revenues: $44.66 billion versus $43.31 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +5.1% change.
Revenues- Premium tax: $5.29 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $3.89 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +28%.
Revenues- Premium and service revenues- Commercial: $9.56 billion versus $8.58 billion estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -5.8% change.
Revenues- Premium and service revenues- Medicare: $10.33 billion compared to the $11.29 billion average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +17.9% year over year.
Revenues- Premium and service revenues- Other: $1.18 billion versus $1.19 billion estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -8.2% change.
Revenues- Premium and service revenues- Medicaid: $23.6 billion versus $22.79 billion estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +5.8% change.
Shares of Centene have returned +36.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +12.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
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Centene (CNC) Q1 Earnings: How Key Metrics Compare to Wall Street Estimates
For the quarter ended March 2026, Centene (CNC - Free Report) reported revenue of $49.94 billion, up 7.1% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $3.37, compared to $2.90 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +5.21% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $47.47 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.87, the EPS surprise was +80.21%.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how Centene performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:View all Key Company Metrics for Centene here>>>
Shares of Centene have returned +36.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +12.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.