Photo: The Cigna Group / newsroom press archive
Cigna raised its full-year profit forecast Thursday as its health-insurance business grew, even while earnings from its pharmacy-benefit business fell sharply.
The split matters to employers buying coverage and the workers paying for it. Cigna said higher insurance premiums helped cover rising medical costs. Its stronger earnings outlook is not a promise of lower premiums or cheaper prescriptions for customers.
The Bloomfield, Connecticut-based company now expects at least $30.60 a share in adjusted income from operations for 2026, an increase of 15 cents from its previous forecast, according to its third-quarter results.
Revenue rose 6% to $73.7 billion. Adjusted operating income was almost unchanged at $2.1 billion, while the per-share figure rose to $7.98 from $7.83.
Higher premiums, higher medical costs
Cigna Healthcare, the insurance business, reported a 9% increase in adjusted revenue to $11.7 billion. The company said premium increases were intended to cover expected increases in medical costs.
The business’s adjusted pretax operating income rose 15% to $1.19 billion, helped by higher investment income and improved operating efficiency.
Its medical care ratio was 85%, up from 84.8% a year earlier. That measure tracks the share of premium revenue used for medical care. Cigna attributed the increase mainly to the mix of its U.S. employer business, partly offset by a lower ratio in individual and family plans.
Total medical customers reached 18.5 million, up 2% from the end of 2025.
Drug-benefit earnings go the other way
Within Evernorth, Pharmacy Benefit Services reported 9% adjusted revenue growth but a 22% decline in adjusted pretax operating income to $765 million. Cigna pointed to large client contract renewals and strategic investments.
Specialty and Care Services moved in the opposite direction: adjusted pretax operating income rose 15% to $1.06 billion. Cigna cited growth in its specialty businesses, including greater use of biosimilars and specialty generics.
Pharmacy customers fell 5% from the end of 2025 to 117.7 million, reflecting expected client transitions and lower membership among health-plan clients.
Reported net income fell to $1.44 billion, or $5.47 a share, from $1.87 billion, or $6.98 a share. Cigna said the decline mainly reflected the absence of a gain from a sale recorded a year earlier. The adjusted figures exclude items including acquisition-related amortization and special charges, and are not the same as reported profit.
JBizNews Desk | Bloomfield, Connecticut
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