UnitedHealth at an Inflection Point: Margin Recovery or Prolonged Challenges?

In 2025, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) faced a notable increase in medical costs amid other challenges, forcing management to cut its earnings guidance in April before withdrawing it completely a month later. As a result, the stock fell nearly 45% from peak to trough as profit margins shrank. The once-steady healthcare insurance giant looked anything but reliable last year.Yet the stock has staged a solid recovery from its summer lows, aided by the arrival of Stephen Hemsley as CEO in May. Hemsley was the architect of UnitedHealth's vertical integration playbook when he was CEO from 2006 to 2017. Since then, management has focused on restoring margins in 2026 through rate increases across the majority of its insurance business.For long-term investors, the question is whether the worst is behind the company or if ongoing cost trends signal more enduring challenges ahead.Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool