Humana Wednesday reported $195 million in third quarter profits as the health insurer’s medical cost trends were in line with the company’s earlier forecasts. In this photo is Humana signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
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Humana Wednesday reported $195 million in third quarter profits as the health insurer’s medical cost trends were in line with the company’s earlier forecasts.
Like most of its rivals in the health insurance industry, Humana has been seeing higher costs, particularly in its Medicare Advantage plans, which are a big share of Humana’s business. Medicare Advantage plans contract with the federal government to provide extra benefits and services to seniors, such as disease management and nurse help hotlines with some also offering vision, dental care and wellness programs. In Humana’s case, the company exited certain “unprofitable” plans and counties.
“Our 3Q25 insurance segment benefit ratio of 91.1% is in line with our guidance of ‘just above 91%’” Humana said in prepared management remarks released along with the company’s third quarter quarter earnings report.
The benefit expense ratio, which is the percentage of premium revenue that goes toward medical costs, was 91.1.% compared to 89.9 percent in the third quarter of last year.
Still, Humana’s net income fell to $195 million, or $1.62 per share, compared to $480 million, or $3.98 a share in the year ago quarter. Revenue rose to $32.6 billion, compared to $29.4 billion in the year-ago period.
Given the less volatile cost trends the industry has been facing over the last year or so, Humana said it is reaffirming its full year 2025 Adjusted (earnings per share) outlook of ‘approximately $17.00’ and insurance segment benefit ratio guidance of 90.1% to 90.5%, supported by solid execution and results,” the company said.
In particular, Humana reported a better-than-expected picture of its Medicare Advantage enrollment, which stood at more than 5.2 million individual enrollees at the end of the third quarter. “We now anticipate a FY 2025 decline of ‘approximately 425,000’ Individual Medicare Advantage (MA) members, improved from our previous expectation of a loss of ‘up to 500,000’, driven by stronger retention and better than expected sales,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Humana said its CenterWell healthcare services business continues to take off, reporting “growth of 56,600 patients, or nearly 15%,” the company said. “CenterWell Pharmacy continues to drive strong growth across payor agnostic offerings with increased Specialty volumes and strong Direct to Consumer growth, both exceeding previous expectations in 3Q25.”
Looking ahead, Humana executives said they were confident in the company’s strategy and outlook.
“Our strategy of putting the consumer at the heart of everything we do is working, with solid year to date performance and strong momentum heading into the Annual Election Period,” said Humana President and CEO Jim Rechtin. “We feel positive about the direction we’re headed and the value we are creating for our members, patients and investors.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2025/11/05/humana-reports-195-million-profit-as-costs-land-within-expectations/
