Cigna Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher Specialty Volumes

The Cigna Group CI reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $8.08, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.7%. The bottom line advanced 22% year over year.Adjusted revenues of $72.5 billion rose 10% year over year. The top line beat the consensus mark by 3.7%.The strong quarterly results benefited on the back of strong results from its Evernorth Health Services segment, driven by new business and client relationship expansion, Pharmacy Benefit Services’ strength and improved specialty volumes. However, the upside was partly offset by a decline in medical customers following divestitures to Health Care Services Corporation ("HCSC") and an elevated expense level.Cigna Group Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Cigna Group price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Cigna Group QuoteCI’s Q4 PerformanceCigna’s medical customer base came in at 18.1 million as of Dec. 31, 2025, which declined 5.4% year over year but beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.1%. The metric was affected due to the sale of its Medicare Advantage, Medicare Individual Stand-Alone Prescription Drug Plans, Medicare and Other Supplemental Benefits and CareAllies businesses to HCSC.Total benefits and expenses increased 10% year over year to $70.1 billion in the quarter under review due to higher pharmacy and other service costs. The adjusted SG&A expense ratio of 4.7% improved 100 basis points (bps) year over year, resulting from a shift in business mix.Adjusted income from operations totaled $2.1 billion, which rose 16% year over year, benefiting from improved contributions from the Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services units.Cigna’s Segmental UpdateEvernorth Health Services: The unit recorded revenues of $63.1 billion in the fourth quarter, which advanced 17% year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $59.2 billion. The metric benefited from new business growth and expanding client relationships in Pharmacy Benefit Services, coupled with improved specialty volumes in Specialty and Care Services.Adjusted operating income, on a pre-tax basis, rose 2% year over year to $2.2 billion and came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The metric was aided by solid organic growth in specialty businesses. However, the adjusted pre-tax margin of 3.5% deteriorated 50 bps year over year.Cigna Healthcare: The segment’s revenues of $11.1 billion tumbled 16% year over year in the quarter under review but beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.1%. The metric suffered due to the HCSC transaction.Pre-tax adjusted operating income surged 44% year over year to $734 million but missed the consensus mark by 2.7%. The metric benefited from improved contributions from stop-loss products related to the prior year.MCR came in at 88% at the fourth-quarter end, which deteriorated 10 bps year over year due to elevated medical costs.Cigna’s Financial Position (As of Dec. 31, 2025)Cigna exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $7.7 billion, which rose 1.7% from the 2024-end level. Total assets of $157.9 billion rose from the figure of $155.9 billion at 2024-end.Long-term debt amounted to $30.9 billion, up 6.7% from the figure as of Dec. 31, 2024. Short-term debt totaled $592 million.Total equity of $41.9 billion grew 1.5% from the 2024-end level.Cigna generated operating cash flows of $9.6 billion in 2025, which fell 7.4% from the prior-year comparable period.Cigna’s Capital Deployment UpdateCigna bought back shares worth around $3.6 billion in 2025.Cigna’s 2026 OutlookAdjusted EPS is estimated to be a minimum of $30.25, which indicates growth of at least 1.4% from the 2025 figure.MCR is expected in the band of 83.7-84.7%.Adjusted operating income, on a pre-tax basis, for the Evernorth Health Services segment, is anticipated to be a minimum of $6.9 billion.Meanwhile, the metric for the Cigna Healthcare unit is forecasted to be a minimum of $4.5 billion.Adjusted revenues are forecasted to be around $280 billion, which indicates an improvement of around 1.9% from the 2025 figure.Adjusted operating income is anticipated to be a minimum of $7.95 billion.Operating cash flow is forecasted at around $9 billion. Capital expenditures are expected to be around $1.3 billion.Cigna expected total medical customers to be roughly 18.1 million.The adjusted SG&A expense ratio is estimated at around 5%.CI’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksCI currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the Medical space are Fortress Biotech, Inc. FBIO, Harmony Biosciences Holdings, Inc. HRMY and Veracyte, Inc. VCYT, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fortress Biotech’s current-year earnings of 71 cents per share has witnessed one upward revision in the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. Fortress Biotech beat earnings estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average surprise being 33.8%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $80.7 million, suggesting 39.9% year-over-year growth.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Harmony Biosciences’ current-year earnings of $3.16 per share has witnessed two upward revisions in the past 30 days against one movement in the opposite direction. Harmony Biosciences beat earnings estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average surprise being 7.2%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $867.9 million, suggesting 21.4% year-over-year growth.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Veracyte’s current-year earnings of $1.66 per share has witnessed one upward revision in the past 30 days against no movement in the opposite direction. Veracyte beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise being 45.1%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $510.1 million, suggesting 14.4% year-over-year growth.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cigna Group (CI): Free Stock Analysis Report Fortress Biotech, Inc. (FBIO): Free Stock Analysis Report Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT): Free Stock Analysis Report Harmony Biosciences Holdings, Inc. (HRMY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks