Company file · UNH
UnitedHealth
UnitedHealth's revenue grew in 2025 while its profit fell for a second year
Total revenues rose 11.8% to $447.6B, but net earnings fell 16.3% to $12.1B, from $22.4B in 2023. Optum Health posted an operating loss of −$278M.
Key facts
In fiscal 2025, which ended Dec 31, 2025, UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) took in $447.6B of total revenues (up 11.8% on fiscal 2024); net earnings to UnitedHealth was $12.1B (down 16.3%). The most recent quarter, ended Jun 30, 2026, brought revenue of $112.0B, up 0.4% year over year, with net income of $5.5B. UnitedHealthcare was the biggest single line by segment (before eliminations): 56% of fiscal 2025 total revenues. Sources: 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed Mar 2, 2026) and 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 (filed Aug 10, 2026).
Source: 10-K FY2025, filed Mar 2, 2026
How it makes money
By segment (before eliminations), FY2025
- LineAmountSharevs FY2024
- UnitedHealthcare$344.9B56%+15.7%
- Optum Rx$154.7B25%+16.1%
- Optum Health$102.0B16%−3.2%
- Optum Insight$19.4B3%+3.5%
Source: 10-K FY2025, XBRL breakdown
Before eliminations, UnitedHealthcare brought in $344.9B in 2025, Optum Rx $154.7B, Optum Health $102.0B and Optum Insight $19.4B. Earnings from operations were $9.4B at UnitedHealthcare, down 39.5%, and $7.2B at Optum Rx, up 23.3%.
Source: 10-K FY2025
Earnings from operations by segment, FY2025
Negative values are operating losses. Last column: change from FY2024 where both years are profits.
What changed last quarter
Comparing Q2 2026 (Apr to Jun 2026) compared with Q2 2025 (Apr to Jun 2025)
Each pair of bars shows the dollar amount for both quarters. Longer bar, more money. Bars in a group share one scale.
Q2 2026Q2 2025
Company
Source: UnitedHealth 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 10, 2026
By segment
Source: UnitedHealth 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 10, 2026
The bull case and the bear case
The bull case
- Total revenues rose 11.8% in 2025 to $447.6B. 10-K, FY2025
- Optum Rx earnings from operations rose 23.3% in 2025 to $7.2B, and its revenue grew 16.1%. 10-K, FY2025
- Net earnings in the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 were $5.5B, up 61.0% on a year earlier. 10-Q, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
- Operating cash flow was $20.0B in the first 6 months of 2026, against $12.6B a year earlier. 10-Q, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
The bear case
- Net earnings fell 16.3% in 2025 to $12.1B, after falling 35.6% the year before. 10-K, FY2025
- UnitedHealthcare's earnings from operations fell 39.5% in 2025 to $9.4B, and Optum Health swung to an operating loss of −$278M. 10-K, FY2025
- Revenue in the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 was $112.0B, up only 0.4% on a year earlier. 10-Q, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
- The 10-K says that relatively small differences between predicted and actual medical costs can lead to significant changes in its results. 10-K, Item 1A
What optimists and skeptics tend to point to, each tied to a filing. Ticker Sage doesn't pick a side, and neither list is a reason to buy or sell.
What the company does
UnitedHealth Group runs UnitedHealthcare, a large US health insurer, and Optum, which provides care, pharmacy benefit and health data services.
UnitedHealth has four reportable segments. UnitedHealthcare offers health benefit plans for employers and individuals, Medicare and retirement, and Medicaid (Community & State). Optum Health provides care through clinics, physicians and home and behavioral services. Optum Insight sells data, analytics, technology and services to hospitals, payers and others. Optum Rx manages pharmacy benefits and runs pharmacies.
The Optum businesses sell a lot to UnitedHealthcare, so segment revenues add up to more than the company total; those internal sales are eliminated. Its fiscal year is the calendar year.
Source: 10-K, Item 1 Business
Main risks the company lists
Our plain-English paraphrase of the risk factors in UnitedHealth's latest 10-K. Read the original for the full list.
- Medical costsIf medical costs or use of services run above what it priced for, profits on its insurance plans fall.
- Government programsMedicare Advantage, Medicaid and other government business depend on rates, rules and audits it doesn't control.
- Regulation and investigationsHealth care is heavily regulated, and government investigations and lawsuits can lead to fines or changes in how it operates.
- CompetitionIt competes with other insurers, care providers and pharmacy benefit managers.
- Cyber and dataIt holds large amounts of sensitive data, and cyberattacks or outages can disrupt its businesses.
- Pharmacy benefitsChanges to drug pricing, rebates and pharmacy rules could hurt Optum Rx.
- ReputationPublic and political scrutiny of health insurers can affect customers and policy.
Source: 10-K, Item 1A Risk Factors (the full list, in the company's words)
Three years of key numbers
Every number links to its filing; hover for the XBRL tag. A dash means the number isn't cleanly available, and we don't estimate it.
| US$ | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenues | $371.6B | $400.3B | $447.6B |
| Net earnings to UnitedHealth | $22.4B | $14.4B | $12.1B |
| Operating cash flow | $29.1B | $24.2B | $19.7B |
| Cash & equivalents (year end) | $25.4B | $25.3B | $24.4B |
| Total debt (year end) | $62.5B | $76.9B | $78.4B |
| Diluted shares | 938M | 929M | 911M |
- Total revenues: Insurance premiums plus product sales (mostly pharmacy), services and investment income.
- Net earnings to UnitedHealth: Earnings attributable to UnitedHealth Group common shareholders, after the share belonging to minority owners.
- Operating cash flow: Cash the business brought in from its day-to-day operations during the year (cash flow statement).
- Cash & equivalents: Cash and short-term investments that count as cash equivalents on the balance sheet. Excludes longer-dated marketable securities.
- Total debt: Short-term borrowings and current maturities plus long-term debt, at carrying value.
- Diluted shares: Weighted average shares outstanding for the year, including the effect of options and stock awards.
About these numbers
- Segment revenue is shown before eliminations: the Optum businesses sell to UnitedHealthcare and to each other, so the segments add up to more than total revenues.
- Net earnings are those attributable to UnitedHealth common shareholders, after noncontrolling interests.
- The last-quarter changes compare UnitedHealthcare's revenue and earnings from operations; the 10-Q tags the Optum segments in a way that couldn't be matched cleanly, so they aren't shown there.
Recent filings
Latest filings
- Oct 136:14 AM ET
8-K
UnitedHealth files an 8-K on quarterly results
UnitedHealth filed a Form 8-K on Oct 13, 2026 at 6:14 AM ET under Item 2.02 (Results of Operations and Financial Condition).
- Oct 54:26 PM ET
Form 4
UnitedHealth director John H. Noseworthy reports an award of 240 shares
The filing reports 240 shares in a grant or award (code A).
- Oct 54:25 PM ET
Form 4
UnitedHealth director Rice Valerie Md Montgomery reports an award of 257 shares
The filing reports 257 shares in a grant or award (code A).
- Oct 54:25 PM ET
Form 4
UnitedHealth director Frederick William McNabb, Iii. reports an award of 291 shares
The filing reports 291 shares in a grant or award (code A).
- Oct 54:25 PM ET
Form 4
UnitedHealth director Scott Gottlieb reports an award of 257 shares
The filing reports 257 shares in a grant or award (code A).
Common questions about UnitedHealth
How does UnitedHealth make money?
In fiscal 2025, total revenues totaled $447.6B. Before eliminations, UnitedHealthcare brought in $344.9B in 2025, Optum Rx $154.7B, Optum Health $102.0B and Optum Insight $19.4B. Earnings from operations were $9.4B at UnitedHealthcare, down 39.5%, and $7.2B at Optum Rx, up 23.3%. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Mar 2, 2026.
What was UnitedHealth's revenue in fiscal 2025?
Total revenues came to $447.6B in the year ended Dec 31, 2025. Going back two years, it was $371.6B in fiscal 2023 and $400.3B in fiscal 2024, so the latest year was up 11.8%. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Mar 2, 2026.
Is UnitedHealth profitable?
Yes, by US accounting rules (GAAP): net earnings to UnitedHealth was $12.1B in fiscal 2025, down 16.3% from $14.4B a year earlier. For the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, net income was $5.5B. The page's About these numbers section explains what is included. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Mar 2, 2026.
What did UnitedHealth report in its latest quarterly filing?
The 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 shows revenue of $112.0B, against $111.6B in the same quarter a year before (up 0.4%), and net income of $5.5B, against $3.4B (up 61.0%). Source: 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 10, 2026.
How much cash and debt does UnitedHealth have?
On Jun 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents stood at $28.6B and total debt at $73.3B. Total debt here is short-term borrowings and current maturities plus long-term debt, at carrying value. Source: 10-Q filed Aug 10, 2026.
What are the main risks UnitedHealth lists?
Item 1A of the fiscal 2025 10-K (filed Mar 2, 2026) sets out the risks. Grouped, they fall into 7 areas: Medical costs; government programs; regulation and investigations; competition; cyber and data; pharmacy benefits; reputation. To start with the first: If medical costs or use of services run above what it priced for, profits on its insurance plans fall. Source: 10-K, Item 1A Risk Factors.
Where do these UnitedHealth numbers come from?
Two filings UnitedHealth made with the SEC: its fiscal 2025 10-K, filed Mar 2, 2026, and its 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 10, 2026. The figures are taken from the XBRL data the SEC publishes, and every one links back to its source. Methodology explains how fiscal years and missing numbers are handled.
Disclosures
- Editor holdings in UNH
- The editor holds no position in UnitedHealth (UNH). As of Oct 25, 2026.
- Trading rule
- The editor does not buy or sell UNH from 3 days before to 3 days after this page is published or substantively updated.
- Compensation
- Nobody paid for this page. No affiliate links on this page.
- Sources
- The company's SEC filings, linked next to each number or, for charts, in the source line under them.
- Last updated
- Oct 25, 2026
General education, the same for every reader. Not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold UNH, and it doesn't consider your situation.
Compare with peers
| Company | Fiscal year | Revenue | Revenue growth | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealthUNH | FY2025 | $447.6B | +11.8% | $12.1B |
| CVS HealthCVS | FY2025 | $402.1B | +7.8% | $1.8B |
| Johnson & JohnsonJNJ | FY2025 | $94.2B | +6.0% | $26.8B |
| MerckMRK | FY2025 | $65.0B | +1.3% | $18.3B |
Each row is that company’s latest fiscal year from its own 10-K, using its own revenue and net income lines. Fiscal years end in different months, and line definitions differ (banks, insurers and oil companies count revenue differently), so this is a rough side-by-side, not a like-for-like comparison.
More company files
- AAPL Apple
- MSFT Microsoft
- NVDA Nvidia
- AMZN Amazon
- GOOGL Alphabet
- META
- BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway
- AVGO Broadcom
- TSLA Tesla
- JPM JPMorgan Chase
- LLY Eli Lilly
- MU Micron
- WMT Walmart
- AMD
- V Visa
- XOM ExxonMobil
- MA Mastercard
- ABBV AbbVie
- PLTR Palantir
- INTC Intel
- CVX Chevron
- COST Costco
- CSCO Cisco
- KO Coca-Cola
- ORCL Oracle
- PG Procter & Gamble
- BAC Bank of America
- HD Home Depot
- CAT Caterpillar
- PANW Palo Alto Networks
- PM Philip Morris International
- AMAT Applied Materials
- GE GE Aerospace
- DELL
- LRCX Lam Research
- MS Morgan Stanley
- NFLX Netflix
- TXN Texas Instruments
- RTX
- GS Goldman Sachs
- TMO Thermo Fisher
- WFC Wells Fargo
- IBM
- AMGN Amgen
- ANET Arista Networks
- GEV GE Vernova
- AXP American Express
- LIN Linde
- CRM Salesforce
- C Citigroup
- DIS Disney
- GILD Gilead
- QCOM Qualcomm
- VZ Verizon
- PEP PepsiCo
- BLK BlackRock
- COP ConocoPhillips
- ABT Abbott
- SNDK Sandisk
- MCD McDonald's
- DE Deere
- UNP Union Pacific
- NEE NextEra Energy
- PFE Pfizer
- NOW ServiceNow
- DHR Danaher
- ISRG Intuitive Surgical
- TMUS T-Mobile
- SCHW Charles Schwab
- BA Boeing
- T AT&T
- LMT Lockheed Martin
- UBER
- BMY Bristol Myers Squibb
- MO Altria
- COF Capital One
- BKNG Booking Holdings
- SBUX Starbucks
- LOW Lowe's
- SO Southern Company
- ADBE Adobe
- BNY
- DUK Duke Energy
- GD General Dynamics
- USB U.S. Bancorp
- INTU Intuit
- EMR Emerson
- MMM 3M
- AMT American Tower
- UPS
- MDLZ Mondelez
- CMCSA Comcast
- FDX FedEx
- ACN Accenture
- MDT Medtronic
- GM General Motors
New to filings? Learn lists the first explainer topics. Methodology & Disclosures covers where every number comes from.