Cigna is the latest health insurance company to boost its guidance for the year on the back of its Q3 results.
The company released its earnings report on Thursday morning, where it posted $1.4 billion in profit. That's down year-over-year from the $1.9 billion haul the company reported in the third quarter of 2025.
In addition, revenues for the quarter were $73.7 billion, up from $69.7 billion in the prior-year quarter. Both figures surpassed Wall Street analysts' predictions, per Zacks Investment Research.
Through the first three quarters of the year, the company has earned $4.8 billion in profit, on par with the $4.7 billion posted for the first nine months of 2025. Total revenue at the end of Q3 was $213.8 billion, growing from $202.4 billion through three quarters in 2025.
CEO Brian Evanko said in the release that the company's current financial strategy is rooted in three key principles, including "driving core growth, leveraging our distinct capabilities and executing with discipline."
"As we put our strategy in action, our strong third quarter results demonstrate how we are building on this momentum by making health care more affordable and personalized, while advancing Accelerate to One to drive productivity, reduce costs, and support sustained long-term earnings growth," he said.
The company reported a medical loss ratio in the quarter of 85%, up slightly from the 84.8% it reported in Q3 2025. Cigna attributed the uptick to higher costs in its employer plans, while lower costs in the individual market segment did partially offset this trend.
Cigna Healthcare, the company's core insurance business, reported 18.45 million members as of Q3. By comparison, the insurer had 18.1 million members at the end of 2025.
Pharmacy benefit membership, meanwhile, was 117.7 million, down 123.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2025. Cigna said the decrease reflects "expected client transitions" as well as lower membership at its health plan clients.
Its Evernorth unit reported $63.8 billion in adjusted revenue for the quarter, up from $61.5 billion a year ago. Highlights include ongoing organic growth in its specialty pharmacy business, the company said.
Cigna Healthcare reported $11.7 billion in adjusted revenue for Q3, up from $10.7 billion in the prior-year quarter. The company said this largely reflects higher premium revenue as it adapts to higher medical costs.
On the back of the results, Cigna is elevated its outlook and now expects at least $30.60 in earnings per share for 2026. It also projects a full-year MLR of 84.2%.