Centene Corporation (CNC) earnings on July 28, 2026

Before the market opens Q2 2026

More Centene Corporation earnings

Prior outlook: Pessimistic Outcome: Partial

Centene shares swung wildly after earnings, initially jumping then falling, but closed higher. The company reported softening Medicaid membership and a lower outlook.

CNC price around the earnings

63.91

Change: -0.3%

2026-07-28, 20:00 UTC

Start of the measured window End of the measured window
57.23 60.86 64.48 68.11 64.08
Price series around the eventClosing price per minute from before the event to the end of the measured window.
July 28, 2026
  • Price: green if it ends above the starting price; red if it ends below
  • Start of the measured window
  • End of the measured window
  • Market open
  • Starting price
Price series around the event

Prior thesis

Prior outlook: Pessimistic Outcome: Partial

Thesis published
Results released

Despite strong historical beats, persistent Medicaid policy headwinds and limited analyst upside drive a negative recent trend.

Context analyzed before publication

Trend
Consistent negative recent trend into earnings, driven by sector headwinds and limited analyst upside.

Analysts

Evidence

Analyst consensus
Buy
Consensus average (1-5)
2.48
Analysts covering the stock
18
Average price target
65.17
Lowest price target
40
Highest price target
80
Upside to price target
1.7%
Quarterly earnings growth
17.5%
Revenue growth
5.1%
Forward EPS
4.48
Trailing EPS
-13.19
Analyst moves in the last 60 days
10
  • Strong buy: 1
  • Buy: 6
  • Hold: 13
  • Sell: 1
  • Strong sell: 0
Strong buy
1
Buy
6
Hold
13
Sell
1
Strong sell
0
  • July 14, 2026 · TD Cowen: Maintains rating (Hold → Hold)
  • July 14, 2026 · Truist Securities: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
  • July 13, 2026 · Wells Fargo: Maintains rating (Equal-Weight → Equal-Weight)
  • July 9, 2026 · RBC Capital: Maintains rating (Sector Perform → Sector Perform)
  • July 7, 2026 · Cantor Fitzgerald: Maintains rating (Overweight → Overweight)
  • June 23, 2026 · RBC Capital: Initiates coverage (Sector Perform)
  • June 8, 2026 · Mizuho: Maintains rating (Neutral → Neutral)
  • June 8, 2026 · JP Morgan: Maintains rating (Neutral → Neutral)
  • June 4, 2026 · B of A Securities: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
  • June 4, 2026 · Morgan Stanley: Maintains rating (Equal-Weight → Equal-Weight)

News and sentiment

Evidence

Sentiment
Sentiment
Neutral
Mention volume
Low
Normalized volume
33%
News
Sources (4)

Technicals

Evidence

Average true range (ATR)
3.3%
Distance to 52-week high
-6.8%
14-day change (14d)
-6.2%
30-day change (31d)
-2.5%
30-day relative strength
-3.8%
SPY change (31d)
+1.3%
Nearest support
63.83
Nearest resistance
64.43
Volume accumulation ratio (14d / 46d)
0.69

Trends

Evidence

Average earnings surprise
+71.8%
  • April 28, 2026: actual EPS 3.37 vs estimate 2.13 (surprise +57.9%)
  • February 6, 2026: actual EPS -1.19 vs estimate -1.22 (surprise +2.5%)
  • October 29, 2025: actual EPS 0.5 vs estimate -0.16 (surprise +404.3%)
  • July 25, 2025: actual EPS -0.16 vs estimate 0.21 (surprise -177.3%)

Expected move

Implied move
+7.0%
Source
Options chain

Reactions over its last 20 earnings

Median move
4%
75th percentile move
6.1%
90th percentile move
10.5%
Up / down moves
11 / 9
Average up move
+6.3%
Average down move
-3.5%

Monitoring and close

What Centene Corporation reported

Status
Finished
Actual EPS2.51
EPS estimate1.08
EPS surprise+132.4%
Revenue$53,579 million
Revenue estimate$47,617 million
Revenue surprise+12.5%

Centene beats Q2 estimates and raises 2026 guidance, but stock falls on Medicaid outlook and regulatory changes. Optimistic on earnings, pessimistic on membership.

Sources (24)

Pre-market second reading after the results

Verdict
Beat expectations

Heading into the open, the figures don't clearly confirm the prior scenario.

How the stock reacted

Outcome
Partial
Consolidated
-0.3%
Max favorable move (MFE)
11.6%
Max adverse move (MAE)
6.3%