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Proposed flat Medicare payments rock health insurers
United States health care stocks have plummeted following the Trump administrations proposing keeping federal payments to private Medicare plans roughly flat in 2027, which is far below insurers' expectations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a net average payment of 0.09% in 2027 in a press release, which is significantly lower than the expected proposed rate between 4% and 6%. “By strengthening payment accuracy and modernising risk adjustment, CMS is helping ensure beneficiaries continue to have affordable plan choices and reliable benefits, while protecting taxpayers from unnecessary spending that is not oriented towards addressing real health needs,” CMS administrator Mehmet Oz said. CMS finalises Medicare Advantage rates in early April, and if the current proposal holds, the rate increase would result in more than US$700 million in payments to Medicare. This proposal threatens revenue and margins in a core profit engine for major health insurers. In comparison, insurers received a more than 5% payment bump for 2026. CMS also proposed eliminating a practice that allows the insurers to add diagnoses after reviewing patients' medical records — a move that addresses coding practices th
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UnitedHealth forecasts decline in revenue, shares sink
UnitedHealth Group’s earnings slightly beat estimates last quarter, but its shares fell 19.6% after forecasting a decline in revenue for 2026. Earnings per share were US$2.11, above LSEG estimates of $2.10 but falling from $6.81 one year ago. Revenue was $113.22 billion, under estimates of $113.82 billion but climbing from $100.81 billion. “We confronted challenges directly and finished 2025 as a much stronger company, giving us the momentum to better serve those who count on us and continue to improve our core performance,” said CEO Stephen Hemsley. The company’s 2026 guidance includes revenue of at least $439 billion, which would be a 2% year-over-year drop. This is due to “planned right-sizing across the enterprise,” UnitedHealth said. UnitedHealth plans around $1 billion in cost reductions during 2026, part of its plans to divest from assets and cut insurance plan members to restore its profitability. Net divestitures added $442 billion to its net earnings this year, it said, while restructuring costs were $2.52 billion. It also incurred $799 million in costs this year from the aftermath of a cyberattack in 2024. Earnings from operations were $19.0 billion last quarter, down 41%. Its UnitedHealthcare segment’
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Abbott sales sink as nutrition struggles, shares fall 10%
Abbott Laboratories missed sales estimates last quarter as nutrition revenue fell, sending shares down 10%. Sales were up 4.4% year-over-year to US$11.46 billion, below Zacks estimates of $11.78 billion. Earnings per share were $1.50, growing 12% and in line with estimates. “In 2025, we expanded margins and achieved double-digit earnings per share growth, our new product pipeline was highly productive, and we took important strategic steps to shape the company for the future,” said Abbott CEO Robert B. Ford. “We're well positioned for accelerating growth in 2026.” Sales for its nutrition segment dropped by 8.9% to $1.94 billion, including a 13.2% fall in the United States. This was due to lower sales volumes and price adjustments intended to raise future volume growth, the company said. Its medical devices division reported the best sales performance, with 12.3% growth to $5.68 billion. Diagnostics sales were down 2.5% to $2.46 billion amid a drop in Covid-19 test sales, and established pharmaceuticals sales rose 9% to $1.38 billion. Total U.S. sales climbed 0.9% to $4.38 billion, while international sales rose 6.7% to $7.08 billion. Operating earnings were up 17.8% to $2.25 billion. Abbott’s operating expense
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P&G shares strengthen despite drop in Q2 profit
Procter & Gamble (P&G) has announced a 7% fall in net income for the second quarter of the 2026 financial year (Q2 FY26) due to an increase in restructuring charges. The consumer products company said net income dropped to US$4.319 billion (A$6.31 billion) in the three months ended 31 December 2025 from $4.63 billion in the prior corresponding period. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell 5% to $1.78 on net sales which grew just 1% to $22.2 billion over the same period. Excluding one-off items, P&G’s core EPS of $1.88 surpassed analysts' estimates of $1.86. P&G (NYSE: PG) shares closed $3.87 (2.65%) higher at $149.93 USD on Thursday (Friday AEDT), valuing the Cincinnati-based company at $350.35 billion.Image: Proctor & GamblePresident and Chief Executive Officer Shailesh Jejurikar said P&G was on track to deliver within its organic sales growth, core EPS growth and adjusted free cash flow productivity fiscal year guidance ranges in a challenging consumer and geopolitical environment. “We have confidence in our plans to deliver stronger results in the second-half of the fiscal year,” Jejurikar said in a news release. Organic sales, which exclude the impacts of foreign exchange and acquisitions and divestitures, we
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Johnson & Johnson beats despite Halda purchase
Johnson & Johnson beat estimates on revenue and earnings last quarter, despite hits to profits from acquisitions and tariff relief agreements. Revenue was US$24.56 billion, up from $22.52 billion one year ago and above LSEG estimates of $24.16 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $2.46, rising from $2.04 and passing estimates of $2.44. “2025 was a catapult year for Johnson & Johnson, fueled by the strongest portfolio and pipeline in our history” said Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato. “Last year kicked off a new era of accelerated growth, driven by medical innovation that is transforming lives in our six key businesses: Oncology, Immunology, Neuroscience, Cardiovascular, Surgery, and Vision. In each of these important areas, our leadership is expanding driven by game-changing science and technology.” Sales in the company’s Innovative Medicine segment, its largest, climbed 10% year-over-year to $15.76 billion. This was driven by its oncology, immunology, and neuroscience drugs. Revenue for its MedTech segment, which includes medical devices, was up 7.5% to $8.80 billion. Its acquisition of cancer treatment developer Halda Therapeutics impacted earnings per share by $0.10. Johnson & Johnson said it would

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Pharma giants lift prices despite Trump deals
Drugmakers have unleashed a synchronised price hike across over 350 brands, effectively daring the White House to act on its affordability agenda, leaving millions of patients caught in the crossfire of a multi-billion-dollar tug-of-war. While the administration touts high-profile deals, manufacturers are quietly ratcheting up costs on everything from life-saving cancer therapies to essential vaccines. Reported by Reuters, pharmaceutical industry leaders such as Pfizer, GSK and Saniofi appear to be front-loading these increases to insulate margins against a looming regulatory crackdown and the onset of federal price controls. Product data from 3 Axis Advisors captures a staggering 40% jump in the volume of price escalations compared to the same period last year.Pfizer’s margin preservationNew York-based heavyweight Pfizer has emerged as the most prolific participant in this round of pricing revisions, implementing hikes on ~80 different products. Revisions cover a wide spectrum of the company’s assets, including the oncological staple Ibrance, migraine treatment Nurtec, and the antiviral Paxlovid. Notably, Pfizer has boosted the cost of its COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, by 15%, even as global demand for the shot ente
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Medline shares up 41% in Nasdaq's largest IPO of 2025
Medical supplies company Medline’s shares soared 41% in their Nasdaq debut, after the largest initial public offering of 2025. Medline (NASDAQ: MDLN) closed trading at US$41.25, above its public offering price of $29.00. It said it had sold more than 216 million shares, raising around $6.26 billion. “Historically, we’ve done very little advertising, very little marketing, and this gives us a way to amplify our voice and actually expand really the receptivity of who we are,” Medline CEO Jim Boyle told CNBC. Medline is among the world’s largest manufacturers of medical supplies, including surgical gloves and other personal protective equipment. It had initially expected to raise $5.4 billion, the Financial Times reported, before upsizing its share sale. The company’s lead bookrunners for the offering were Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, and JPMorgan. Medline first went public in 1972, but was taken private again soon after. It was purchased by a group of private equity firms, including Blackstone and Carlyle, in 2021. It posted $977 million in net income in the nine months to 27 September, rising from $911 million the previous year. This is the largest United States IPO in over four years. Chines
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Pfizer to make huge commitment to weight loss R&D
Pfizer has reaffirmed its 2025 earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $3 to $3.15 as it looks to continue its strategy to capture a bigger slice of the global obesity market. For 2026, the forecast is more tempered, with Pfizer anticipating revenues in the range of US$59.5-$62.5 billion, with adjusted diluted EPS expected to fall between $2.80 and $3.00. The company attributes this projection to several factors, including a predicted drop in COVID-19 product revenue of about $1.5 billion relative to 2025. There's also the expiration of patents for key legacy medicines, which is expected to result in another $1.5 billion hit due to loss of exclusivity. Pfizer says the upcoming period is a transition, with 2026 acting as a potential trough year before the new portfolio assets begin to scale.Going large on obesityThe company expects to return to revenue growth by 2029, relying on the commercialisation of its newly acquired assets to offset the declining sales of its COVID-19 portfolio and older medicines. Adjusted R&D expenses for 2026 are projected to be between $10.5 billion and $11.5 billion as the company invests in its late-stage pipeline. Despite these near-term financial pressures, Pfizer is aggressively pursui
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Bupa ordered to pay $35m for ripping off sick Australians
The Federal Court has ordered Bupa to pay A$35 million in penalties for unconscionable conduct and making misleading representations to members regarding their health coverage entitlements. The insurer admitted that between May 2018 and August 2023, it engaged in conduct that resulted in thousands of Australians being wrongly denied benefits for medical treatments. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought the action, establishing that Bupa misled members, hospitals, and medical providers. The company incorrectly advised that members were not entitled to benefits for any part of a claim when, in fact, they were covered for portions of the treatment.The breakdownThe core of the issue centred on "Mixed Coverage Claims" - situations where a patient received hospital treatment involving multiple procedures, some covered by their policy and others not. Instead of paying out for the covered segment, Bupa rejected the entire claim. The "all-or-nothing" approach meant that members paying premiums for specific coverage were told they had none, often leaving them with out-of-pocket expenses. Key rulings:Admission: Bupa cooperated with the ACCC, admitting it engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and, in