Centene raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share guidance to greater than $4.80, up from a prior target of greater than $3.40, driven by margin expansion in its Marketplace and Medicare prescription drug plan segments. The company reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.51, which included approximately $0.50 from settlements of 2025 items not expected to recur in 2027. Marketplace pretax margin guidance was lifted to 4.5% to 5% from 3%, reflecting $180 million in favorable 2025 risk adjustment reconciliation and lower medical costs, while PDP pretax margin guidance rose to greater than 3% from 2% on favorable specialty drug trends. Medicaid membership ended the quarter at 12.1 million, with full-year attrition now seen at 8% to 9% as states tighten enrollment criteria ahead of regulatory changes, though the composite rate forecast improved to roughly 5% from 4.5%. The company also highlighted progress on enterprise optimization, including AI-driven legal invoice savings of 1.5 points of monthly billings, and a debt-to-capitalization ratio reduced to 41.6% from 46.5% at year-end following $260 million in senior note repurchases.
Centene CorpCentene raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to >$4.80 from >$3.40, driven by margin expansion in Marketplace and Medicare PDP segments.