Centene (cnc) Reports Q4 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have To Say

For the quarter ended December 2025, Centene (CNC) reported revenue of $49.73 billion, up 21.9% over the same period last year. EPS came in at -$1.19, compared to $0.80 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +3.08% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $48.24 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being -$1.25, the EPS surprise was +4.76%.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Centene performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Total Medical Health (Benefits) loss Ratios -Total Ratio (HBR): 94.3% compared to the 93.7% average estimate based on five analysts.
• Membership by line of business - Medicaid: 12.52 million compared to the 12.66 million average estimate based on four analysts.
• Membership by line of business - Medicare PDP: 8.12 million versus 8.01 million estimated by four analysts on average.
• Membership by line of business - Medicare: 1 million versus 1.01 million estimated by four analysts on average.
• Revenues- Service: $749 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $756.97 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -3.6%.
• Revenues- Premium: $43.98 billion versus $43.52 billion estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +23.8% change.
• Revenues- Premium and service revenues: $44.73 billion compared to the $44.27 billion average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +23.2% year over year.
• Revenues- Premium tax: $5 billion compared to the $3.93 billion average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +10.8% year over year.
• Revenues- Premium and service revenues- Commercial: $10.79 billion versus $11.05 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +23.7% change.
• Revenues- Premium and service revenues- Medicare: $9.61 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $9.28 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +75.5%.
• Revenues- Premium and service revenues- Other: $1.28 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $1.31 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +0.6%.
• Revenues- Premium and service revenues- Medicaid: $23.05 billion compared to the $23.01 billion average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +10.7% year over year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Centene here>>>

Shares of Centene have returned -14.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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