Cigna raises annual profit outlook as Evernorth growth supports earnings

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Cigna raises profit outlook

Highlights

Cigna raises its 2026 adjusted profit outlook to at least $30.60 per share, above analysts' forecast of $30.51 per share.
Cigna's Q3 adjusted revenue rises 6% year-over-year to $73.79 billion, beating estimates, with Evernorth contributing $63.77 billion, up 6%.
Cigna targets $3 billion in cost savings by 2030 through process modernization and AI tools, after exiting ACA and Medicare Advantage plans.

Evernorth growth and earnings outlook

As reported by Reuters, Cigna now expects 2026 adjusted profit of at least $30.60 per share, up 15 cents from its previous forecast and above analysts' expectation of $30.51 per share.

On an adjusted basis, the company earns $7.98 per share in the third quarter, ahead of analysts' average estimate of $7.50. Total quarterly adjusted revenue rises 6% from a year earlier to $73.79 billion, topping the analyst estimate of $72.72 billion.

Evernorth Health Services, which includes the company's pharmacy-benefit, specialty-pharmacy and care-services businesses, posts adjusted revenue of $63.77 billion, up about 6% from a year earlier. Cigna says its specialty and care-services business, which supports patients with complex conditions including cancer and multiple sclerosis, is expected to account for more than 40% of total earnings by 2030.

Portfolio shift and cost discipline

Cigna has been reducing its exposure to government-backed health insurance plans because of elevated medical costs. The company exited Medicare Advantage last year and says it will stop offering Affordable Care Act plans at the end of 2026.

The group is shifting its focus to its core traditional employer-sponsored healthcare business and its pharmacy benefits management unit. Its medical loss ratio, a measure of premiums spent on patient care, rises to 85% in the third quarter from 84.8% a year earlier, reflecting changes in its U.S. employer insurance business, while remaining slightly below the 85.18% expected by analysts tracked by LSEG.

In September, Cigna announces a new program aimed at delivering about $3 billion in cost savings by 2030. The initiative focuses on modernizing processes and streamlining workflows with AI-enabled insights and tools.

Our earlier coverage looked at the S&P 500’s push toward 8,000 as investors gauged whether third-quarter earnings strength could offset headwinds like higher oil prices, elevated Treasury yields, and political uncertainty. The piece also underscored how AI-linked megacaps have driven much of the rally, raising concerns about narrow market breadth and concentration risk if results disappoint.

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