Humana Shares Drop 11% on Disappointing Guidance

Shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM) experienced a significant drop of more than 11% today following the health insurance company's release of its 2024 profit guidance, which significantly underperformed analyst expectations.

Humana projected its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for 2024 to be around $16.00, starkly lower than the consensus estimate of $26.09. The company attributed this outlook to the expectation that the higher Medicare Advantage medical costs seen in the fourth quarter of 2023 will continue throughout 2024.

Regarding its fourth-quarter performance, Humana reported an unexpected loss per share of 11 cents, in contrast to the anticipated $2.15 by analysts. However, the company did exceed revenue expectations, recording $26.46 billion for the quarter, which is higher than the forecasted $25.6 billion.