UNH changes
Pick any two versions below to diff them.
- Balance sheet
- UnitedHealth borrows at the parent holding company, mostly through senior unsecured notes. Total debt was $73.3 billion at June 30, 2026. Of this, $3.8 billion was due within one year, and no commercial paper was outstanding. Cash and short-term investments were $31.5 billion. But most of this cash sits in regulated insurance subsidiaries. These subsidiaries must keep minimum statutory capital and need state approval for large dividends. The parent itself held only $303 million of cash at December 31, 2025. In 2025, it put a net $535 million into these subsidiaries and received no net dividends from them. Debt was 41.2% of total capital at June 30, 2026, down from 44.1% a year earlier. Management targets about 40% by the end of 2026. In the first half of 2026, earnings from operations of $17.0 billion covered interest expense of $1.9 billion about 9 times. $21 billion of bank credit facilities back the commercial paper program, and they were undrawn at December 31, 2025. Moody's (A2), S&P Global (A+) and Fitch (A) all had a negative outlook at June 30, 2026. The debt does not put the business at risk. But the negative outlooks and the reliance on subsidiary dividends explain its choices in the first half of 2026. The company repaid $2.5 billion of debt and kept buybacks to $1.6 billion. As of 2026-06-30.
- Checkpoints
- Oct 13, 2026: Q3 2026 results: medical care ratio trend. Pending. Watch: A medical care ratio that stays below the year-earlier level and confirmed full-year guidance pass; a rise in the ratio or a guidance cut fails. Jan 2027 (estimate): Full-year 2026 results and first 2027 earnings outlook. Pending. Watch: A 2027 outlook with earnings growth and debt to capital near 40% passes; a flat or lower outlook or new reserve charges fails. 2027 (estimate): Department of Justice Medicare Advantage billing investigation outcome. Pending. Watch: A settlement with a fine the company can pay from one quarter of cash flow and no forced change to risk coding passes; a large fine or forced coding changes fail.