Elevance Beats Q3, Raises FY26 EPS Guidance to at Least $29.00
ELV sits 64% above its 52-week low of $274.84.
Summary
Elevance beat Q3 estimates with adjusted EPS of $6.99 and raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to at least $29.00 from at least $27.00, while setting a 2027 growth target of at least 12%.
Updates
· Dow Jones Newswires — Elevance's Q3 total revenue rose 1.4% to $51.43 billion, topping the $49.22 billion analyst forecast, and shares rose 2.1% to $449.49 premarket.
· Dow Jones Newswires — Elevance's Q3 operating revenue rose 0.7% to $50.4 billion, with higher premium yields and CarelonRx product revenue offsetting Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and Employer Group membership declines.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · ELV
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Q3 Beat and Guidance Raise
Q3 adjusted diluted EPS of $6.99 versus $6.03 a year ago, with FY 2026 adjusted EPS guidance raised to at least $29.00 from at least $27.00 and diluted EPS to at least $22.00.
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Cash Flow Outlook Lifted
FY 2026 operating cash flow guidance raised to at least $6.5 billion; Q3 operating cash flow was $1.3 billion and parent company cash and investments totaled about $2.4 billion.
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2027 Growth Target Set
Management targets at least 12% adjusted diluted EPS growth in 2027 off a higher baseline of at least $26.75.
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Margin Improvement, Membership Decline
Benefit expense ratio improved 70 bp to 90.6% and Carelon operating gain rose 17% to $0.9 billion, while Health Benefits operating gain fell 27.5% to $436 million and total membership dropped 1.1% to 44.9 million.
Analysis · ELV · Finance
Elevance beat Q3 consensus by a wide margin and, more importantly, raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to at least $29.00 from at least $27.00 set just six weeks ago. That is a real upward revision to the earnings base, not a one-quarter beat. The company also lifted operating cash flow guidance to at least $6.5 billion and put a stake in the ground for 2027: at least 12% adjusted EPS growth off a $26.75 baseline. The quality of the beat matters — the benefit expense ratio improved 70 basis points to 90.6% on better Medicare Advantage and Individual ACA performance, and Carelon operating gain rose 17%. The offset is Health Benefits operating gain, down 27.5% to $436 million on targeted investments, and membership down 1.1% to 44.9 million, with Medicare Advantage off 15.5%. The $935 million CMS risk-adjustment accrual taken earlier in 2026 remains the known overhang, but it is excluded from the raised adjusted outlook.
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At the time of this filing, ELV was trading at $450.00 on NYSE in the Finance sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $95.5B. The 52-week trading range was $274.84 to $440.67. This filing was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.