UnitedHealth Earnings Good, but Not Exciting

For the full year, UnitedHealth reported EPS of $5.28 on revenues of $110.6 billion. A year ago the company reported EPS of $4.73 on net income of $102.9 billion. The consensus estimate called for EPS of $5.27 on revenues of $109.94 billion.

The company’s CEO said:

In 2012 we continued to gain market share and broadened our revenue and earnings growth sources for the future by continuing to focus on ever-stronger execution on the fundamentals of serving our customers.

For 2013, the company forecasts revenues of $123 billion to $124 billion and EPS of $5.25 to $5.50.

The company grew its Medicare and retirement revenues by 12% year-over-year to $39.3 billion. Employer and individual insurance business grew 3% to $46.6 billion, and the company’s total Optum benefits management business grew 4.9% to $29.3 billion. UnitedHealth also purchased a 65% stake in the largest health insurer in Brazil during the year and plans to purchase another 25% in the first half of this year.

Shares are up about 0.6% in premarket trading this morning, at $54.00 in a 52-week range of $49.82 to $60.75. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $66.10 before today’s results were announced.