Humana Raises 2026 Adjusted EPS Guidance to At Least $9.50

By Amara Osei

Humana raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to at least $9.50 per share, up from its previous forecast of at least $9. The health insurer also lifted its full-year GAAP earnings guidance to at least $15.09 per share from at least $6.52. Both increases came after Humana reported third-quarter GAAP earnings of $1.33 per diluted share.

What drove the third-quarter earnings gap?

Humana reported third-quarter income before taxes of $216 million, compared with $134 million in the year-earlier quarter. The company’s adjusted result moved in the opposite direction. It recorded a pre-tax loss of $104 million, versus adjusted pre-tax income of $527 million a year earlier.

Adjusted loss per share was $0.70, compared with adjusted earnings of $3.24 per share in the prior-year period. Humana said the large difference between GAAP and adjusted results included valuation changes associated with nonconsolidated minority investments. It also included costs connected with the company’s value-creation initiatives.

How do the first nine months compare?

For the first nine months of 2026, Humana recorded GAAP earnings of $16.84 per diluted share, compared with $16.43 in the prior-year period. Adjusted earnings totaled $17.17 per share, down from $21.10 a year earlier. Humana’s reported figures show slightly higher GAAP earnings but lower adjusted earnings on a year-over-year basis.

Humana said its full-year adjusted outlook still reflects a year-over-year decline. The company tied that decline to the 2026 Star Ratings headwind, net of mitigation measures. Its raised $9.50 adjusted EPS floor therefore sits within an outlook that still calls for lower full-year adjusted earnings.

What drove Medicaid membership growth?

Humana’s Medicaid membership grew by 103,600, or 7%, during the year to date. The company attributed the increase largely to the start of integrated programs serving people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Those programs started in Michigan, Illinois, and South Carolina.

Humana also said its benefit-expense ratio was tracking slightly above 94%. Management said that level remained consistent with expectations. The ratio disclosure came as Humana worked through the 2026 Star Ratings headwind and changes across its insurance and CenterWell operations.

What does the higher guidance signal?

Humana’s raised adjusted EPS floor suggests improved confidence in execution through year-end. The higher GAAP forecast reflects valuation adjustments and other items that can create substantial differences between reported and adjusted performance. Humana’s two floors therefore convey different signals: the $15.09 GAAP figure reflects those items, while the $9.50 figure defines the adjusted earnings floor.

Humana continues to manage pressure from Star Ratings amid changes across its insurance and CenterWell operations. The higher adjusted forecast does not erase the company’s stated year-over-year adjusted earnings decline, which remains tied to the 2026 Star Ratings headwind after mitigation. Management’s guidance therefore combines a higher floor with continued pressure, not a full reversal of that year-over-year trend.

Jim Rechtin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Humana, said: “Humana is delivering positive results for our members, our patients and their health. We are also increasingly driving financial and operating performance toward being ahead of our plan.”

For year-end, Humana has less room for slippage than its prior $9 adjusted forecast implied. It must convert 7% Medicaid membership growth and mitigation measures into earnings while containing the Star Ratings effect. A benefit-expense ratio slightly above 94% and changes across insurance and CenterWell will test delivery of the raised $9.50 floor.