UnitedHealth Group has reported quarterly profits of $5.5 billion after tax in its first earnings release since the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, which sparked a wider debate about the cost of health insurance and medication for the American public.
The Minnetonka insurance giant, the 6th biggest company in the U.S. by revenue, generated $100.8 billion of revenue in the 4th quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, of which $5.54 billion was profit.
The company also sent $16 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.
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The earnings release makes no mention of Thompson, who was shot dead outside a Manhattan hotel allegedly by Luigi Mangione on Dec. 4, but UnitedHealthcare, the insurance arm of which Thompson was CEO, made pre-tax profits of just under $3 billion.
UHG leaders did start Thursday’s analysts call by thanking people for the condolences it had received in the wake of Thompson’s death, with CFO John Rex saying the Twin Cities father “helped build this company and forged deep, trusted relationships for over 20 years.”
Optum, the Minnetonka-based home of UHG’s Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) OptumRx, made pre-tax quarterly profits of $4.8 billion. Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission released a study suggesting that PBMs, including OptumRx, markup prices of life-saving drugs by hundreds and sometimes a thousand percent, resulting in massive profits.
In total, UHG’s revenues in 2024 grew to $400.3 billion, a rise of $28.7 billion compared to 2023.
The company made $14.4 billion in post-tax profits for 2024, which marks a 35% decline on a year earlier, with income hit by the aftereffects of a cyberattack and a one-off, $8.3 billion loss following the sale of its South American operations.
The killing of Thompson put UHG and other health insurers under extreme scrutiny over the morality of posting massive profits at a time when millions of Americans are either in medical debt or struggle to pay their premiums, as well as controversial instances of insurers denying care for patients even when they have coverage.
In a statement, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty says, “The people of UnitedHealth Group remain focused on making high-quality, affordable health care more available to more people while making the health system easier to navigate for patients and providers, positioning us well for growth in 2025.”
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