UnitedHealth, Centene Hit Hard By Guidance Shock, Trump's Medicaid Push

Zinger Key PointsUnitedHealth’s market cap plunged 40.9% in Q2, but it remains the largest U.S. insurer at $283 billion.Centene shares crashed 40.37% on July 2 after it pulled 2025 guidance, sparking sector-wide declines.Get daily-updated rankings across momentum, growth, value, trends, and quality to spot the strongest stocks in any market.Managed care insurers have faced a turbulent few months, with several major players experiencing steep market capitalization losses amid earnings uncertainty andlooming policy shifts.UnitedHealth Leads The Downturn Amidst Guidance Withdrawal And CEO ResignationUnitedHealth Group Inc.UNHled the downturn with a staggering 40.9% drop in market cap in the second quarter and a 39.6% decline year over year, triggered largely by its decision to withdraw 2025 earnings guidance.UnitedHealth’s CEO,Andrew Witty, resigned for personal reasons, and the previous CEO,Stephen Hemsley, succeeded him. The company alsowithdrew 2025 guidance.Also Read:UnitedHealth Board Reelects Directors, Hikes Dividend As CEO Pledges Review Of Medicare PracticesDespite the significant drop, UnitedHealth retained its top spot as the largest U.S. insurer, with a market cap of $283 billion, well ahead of second-rankedThe Progressive Corp.PGR, which stood at $156.44 billion.Managed Care Suffers While Property And Casualty GainsAn analysis by S&P Global of the 20 largest U.S. insurers by market capitalization highlighted a sharp divide between segments.Among the eight companies that saw market cap declines of more than 5%, half were managed care firms. In contrast, five of the six insurers with gains were property and casualty providers, reflecting stronger investor confidence in that sector.Ripple Effect: Other Health Insurers Follow SuitOther health insurers followed UnitedHealth’s downward trajectory.Centene Corp.CNCsaw its market cap drop 10.3% in the second quarter, whileElevance Health Inc.ELVdeclined 10.8%.Humana Inc.HUMandThe Cigna GroupCIposted more modest losses of 7.6% and 1%, respectively.Third-Quarter Woes Intensify With Policy UncertaintyThe pressure has extended into the third quarter. Last week, Centene alsowithdrew its 2025 guidance, sending the market into shock. The result was a 40.37% stock plunge in a single day. The fallout also affected peers, with UnitedHealth and Elevance falling 5.7% and 11.5%, respectively.Investor sentiment was further rattled by PresidentDonald Trump’sproposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which appears close to congressional approval.The S&Preportadded that the legislation could significantly impact Medicaid access, a key business area for managed care insurers like UnitedHealth and Centene that administer the program through government funding. The policy risk triggered another selloff in the first week of the third quarter.Broader Insurance Industry Shows ResilienceStill, the broader insurance industry has shown resilience. At the end of the second quarter, the S&P 500 insurance index climbed 19.55% year over year, surpassing the S&P 500’s 15.16% gain during the same period.Loading...Loading...Read Next:Home Health Braces For Potential $1 Billion Cut In Medicare PaymentsPhoto by Piotr Swat via ShutterstockCIThe Cigna Group$313.31-2.01%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members OnlyBenzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock – anytime.Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum54.79Growth78.85Quality52.77Value42.55Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewCNCCentene Corp$33.420.35%ELVElevance Health Inc$347.01-0.24%HUMHumana Inc$235.41-1.78%PGRProgressive Corp$254.95-2.56%UNHUnitedHealth Group Inc$303.86-1.52%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs© 2025 Benzinga.com. . .Posted In:Large CapNewsHealth CareTop StoriesMoversGeneralBriefsStories That Matterwhy it's moving