Centene
Runs Medicaid, Wellcare Medicare, and Ambetter Marketplace health plans for underserved US populations.
Something off on this page? Send us feedback.
Profile
Provides managed health coverage through Medicaid plans, Wellcare Medicare products, and Ambetter Health Marketplace policies, earning primarily premiums and service revenue. Its local health plans share centralized capabilities and depend on state contracts, CMS payments, federal subsidies, and accurately pricing members' medical needs.
Provides managed health plans for lower-income and medically complex populations through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other. Wellcare sells Medicare Advantage and stand-alone Part D plans; Ambetter Health serves the ACA Marketplace. Other houses specialty pharmacy, vision, dental, and clinical services, while the remaining Magellan Health businesses are held for sale.
Operates across the US through locally tailored plans. Overlapping Medicaid and Medicare footprints support dual-eligible special-needs plans, while centralized claims, technology, and pharmacy functions provide shared scale.
Earns mainly premiums and service revenue under state Medicaid contracts and CMS-regulated Medicare and Marketplace programs. Results depend on membership eligibility, government rates and subsidies, contract renewals, medical-cost pricing, and federal and state rules.
Company facts
Key statistics
Year to date +55.0% · Average volume (30d) 4.5M
Analysts
Ratings
Target range
Latest analyst notes
| Date | Firm | Action | Prior rating | Rating | Prior target | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2026 | UBS | Target | $61 | $79 | ||
| Aug 11, 2026 | Argus Research | Upgrade | Hold | Buy | $80 | |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Bernstein | Reiterate | Outperform | $59 | $79 | |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Stifel Nicolaus | Target | $79 | |||
| Jul 29, 2026 | Morgan Stanley | Target | $57 | $66 |
Earnings
EPS
Revenue
History
| Report date | EPS est | EPS | Surprise | Revenue est | Revenue | Surprise | Next session |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2026Q2 FY26 | $1.09 | $2.51 | +130.3% | $47.64B | $53.58B | +12.5% | −3.27% |
| Apr 28, 2026Q1 FY26 | $2.23 | $3.37 | +51.1% | $47.53B | $49.94B | +5.1% | +8.90% |
| Feb 6, 2026Q4 FY25 | −$1.22 | −$1.19 | +2.5% | $48.41B | $49.73B | +2.7% | −1.09% |
| Oct 29, 2025Q3 FY25 | −$0.14 | $0.50 | +445.4% | $47.72B | $49.69B | +4.1% | −6.21% |
Financial highlights
| 12 quarters | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $46.62B | $48.74B | $49.69B | $49.73B | $49.94B | $44.38B | |
| Gross profit | $5.20B | $2.95B | $8.14B | $7.55B | $10.94B | $4.62B | |
| Operating income | $1.53B | −$458.0M | −$6.95B | −$1.74B | $1.86B | $1.38B | |
| Net income | $1.31B | −$253.0M | −$6.63B | −$1.10B | $1.54B | $1.09B | |
| Diluted EPS | $2.63 | −$0.51 | −$13.50 | −$2.24 | $3.11 | $2.19 | |
| Gross margin | 11.2% | 6.0% | 16.4% | 15.2% | 21.9% | 10.4% | |
| Operating margin | 3.3% | -0.9% | -14.0% | -3.5% | 3.7% | 3.1% |
Fiscal years (4-quarter sums)FY21 $125.98B · FY22 $144.55B · FY23 $154.00B · FY24 $163.07B · FY25 $194.78B
Revenue by product · Q2 FY26
Balance sheet, Jun 30, 2026Cash & short-term investments $27.06B · Total debt $16.11B · Total assets $83.01B · Shareholders' equity $22.56B
Dividends
No dividends on record.
Ownership
A 13F quarter can total more than the shares outstanding — sub-advisers file the same block twice, and a filer's own share count can be a quarter stale. No split is drawn from it.
Shares outstanding 494.00M · Float 483.27M · 97.8% free float
Top shareholders13F · 13D/G · Form 4
| Holder | Shares | % outstanding | Form | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock, Inc. | 41.45M | 8.39% | 13F | Aug 7, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management LLC | 31.48M | 6.37% | 13F | Aug 13, 2026 |
| AQR Capital Management LLC | 28.68M | 5.81% | 13F | Aug 14, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC | 22.35M | 4.52% | 13F | Aug 13, 2026 |
| State Street Corp | 21.97M | 4.45% | 13F | Aug 7, 2026 |
Insider tradesForm 4
| Date | Insider | Role | Shares | Avg price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2026 | Christopher Koster | officer: Secretary & General Counsel | −56,500 | $66.90 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | Christopher Koster | officer: Secretary & General Counsel | −47,603 | $65.36 |
| Jun 10, 2026 | Kenneth A. Burdick | director | −80,000 | $64.55 |
| Dec 4, 2025 | Kenneth A. Burdick | director | −32,796 | $39.00 |
| Dec 3, 2025 | Kenneth A. Burdick | director | −33,211 | $39.04 |
Peers
- UnitedHealth Group
Broadest national MCO; competes across Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Marketplace, and PDP.
- Elevance Health
Large Medicaid and Marketplace MCO via Blue Cross plans; growing Medicare Advantage.
- Molina Healthcare
Pure-play Medicaid and Marketplace MCO; closest direct mirror to Centene's government-programs book.
- Humana
Medicare Advantage giant; WellCare by Centene contests D-SNP and PDP head-to-head.
- CVS Health
Integrated pharmacy-insurer; Aetna competes in Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and Marketplace.
- Oscar Health
ACA Marketplace specialist competing directly with Ambetter across overlapping states.
CompareAfter-hours close
| Company | Price | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centene | $64.94 | +0.28% | $31.99B | — | 14.3 | 0.2 | +9.9% |
| UnitedHealth Group | $392.50 | −0.12% | $356.86B | 25.3 | 18.4 | 0.8 | +0.4% |
| Elevance Health | $397.30 | +0.72% | $85.54B | 17.5 | 14.5 | 0.4 | +0.1% |
| Molina Healthcare | $200.00 | −0.01% | $10.44B | 1,052.6 | 28.5 | 0.2 | −4.8% |
| Humana | $386.23 | +0.16% | $46.30B | 36.5 | 31.2 | 0.3 | +26.2% |
| CVS Health | $93.07 | +0.02% | $118.74B | 24.6 | 11.5 | 0.3 | +7.3% |
| Oscar Health | $30.50 | +0.12% | $7.90B | 21.8 | 19.2 | 0.5 | +67.2% |
| Median | 24.9 | 18.8 | 0.4 | +3.8% |