UnitedHealth 4Q adj. Profit is the top Street

The fourth quarter adjusted profit of UnitedHealth Group beat Wall Street’s expectations, as the Optum and UnitedHealthcare segments grew.

For the period ending Dec. 31, the largest U.S. insurance company earned $4.76 Billion, or $5.03 per Share.

Adjusted for amortization costs, earnings came in at $5.34 per Share, exceeding Wall Street projections by $5.17 per Share, according to Zacks Investment Research’s survey of analysts.

The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company’s revenue was $82.79 billion. This is in line with Wall Street’s predictions. It was able to serve more people, which is why it saw increased growth at Optum & UnitedHealthcare.

UnitedHealthcare is an insurance company that provides health care to more than 50 millions people, most of them in the United States. The fast-growing Optum segment runs one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers and a growing number of clinics and urgent care and surgery centers.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. is expanding its Optum segment to deliver care. The company has expanded clinic-based, surgical, and home care services while expanding its coverage under value-based payment arrangements.

They allow the doctor or care provider to base their payment on how the patient performs, rather than calculating a fee for each service. These arrangements have been increasingly sought after by federal and state health care payers. They aim to prevent costly care such as hospital stays and keep patients healthy.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UNH at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UNH