By Will Feuer


Elevance Health Inc. posted a lower second-quarter profit but beat expectations with its adjusted earnings.

The health insurer, formerly known as Anthem Inc., reported net income of $1.65 billion for the second quarter, compared with $1.80 billion a year earlier. Earnings were $6.79 a share, compared with $7.25 a share.

Stripping out one-time items including amortization and losses on financial instruments, Elevance said its adjusted earnings were $8.04 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast adjusted earnings of $7.75 a share.

Revenue grew to $38.63 billion from $33.85 billion in the year-ago period, driven by higher premium revenue due to membership growth in Medicaid, recent acquisitions, as well as premium rate increases to cover overall cost trends, the company said. Analysts were forecasting revenue of $37.90 billion.

Premiums were up 16% year over year at $33.08 billion.

Medical enrollment was 47.1 million as of the end of the quarter, up by 2.7 million from a year earlier.

The benefit expense ratio, a measure of the proportion of premiums paid out in healthcare costs, was 87%, up by 20 basis points from a year earlier, driven by faster growth in government programs, which have a higher benefit expense ratio, Elevance said.

The company said it had $231 million in losses on financial instruments in the quarter, compared with a gain of $172 million a year earlier.


Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-20-22 0638ET