Why UnitedHealth Group Stock Just Crashed
Key Points
Health insurance company UnitedHealth Group missed on sales but met expectations for adjusted earnings this morning.
GAAP earnings fell nearly 100% however, sparking a sell-off.
- 10 stocks we like better than UnitedHealth Group ›
Shares of health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) stock imploded this morning, falling 19% through 11 a.m. ET after reporting Q4 earnings. The weird thing is... UnitedHealth didn't miss earnings, or at least not at first glance.
Analysts forecast UnitedHealth to earn $2.11 per share on $113.7 billion in sales. Sales came up short at $113.2 billion, but earnings were on target at $2.11 per share, adjusted for one-time items (i.e., non-GAAP).
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
UnitedHealth Q4 earnings
So earnings were on target... or were they? At first glance, things look fine for UnitedHealth Group. Quarterly sales grew a respectable 12% in Q4, and adjusted earnings were at least no worse than expected. Dig a little deeper, though, and you'll notice that UnitedHealth's earnings from operations were only $380 million -- a year-over-year decline of 95%!
Worse, on the bottom line, earnings calculated under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) evaporated. UnitedHealth earned $5.98 per share in Q4 2024; in Q4 2025, however, it earned just $0.01 per share.
That's within one rounding error of a 100% decline.
Granted, for the full year, things were a bit better. 2025 sales grew about 12% to $447.6 billion, and while earnings declined, they didn't disappear entirely. UnitedHealth reported $13.23 per share for all of 2025, a 15% decline.
Is UnitedHealth stock a sell?
Investors should see some improvement in 2026. Despite all the headlines today about flatlining Medicare Advantage rates, UnitedHealth forecasts 2026 sales of "greater than $439 billion." That's not growth; it's a decline of up to 2%. Regardless, GAAP earnings should rebound to $17.10 or more, giving UnitedHealth stock a forward P/E ratio of about 16.7.
At that price, today's UnitedHealth sell-off just might turn out to be a buying opportunity.
Should you buy stock in UnitedHealth Group right now?
Before you buy stock in UnitedHealth Group, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and UnitedHealth Group wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $462,174!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,143,099!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 946% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 27, 2026.
Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
