Cigna reports $700M 3Q profit despite $1B loss from VillageMD investment

Hartford Business Journal – Thursday, October 31, 2024
By David Krechevsky

The Cigna Group on Thursday reported a nearly $740 million profit for the third quarter of 2024, despite an after-tax loss of $1 billion related to its investment in VillageMD.

The Bloomfield-based healthcare and insurance company reported net income attributable to shareholders of $739 million, or $2.63 per share, down 52% from $1.55 billion, or $5.45 per share in the second quarter. The third-quarter results topped analysts’ expectations, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Total revenues were $63.7 billion, up 5% from $60.5 billion in the second quarter.

Year over year, revenues increased 30% from the third quarter of 2023, primarily driven by growth in Evernorth Health Services, the company said.

Wall Street reacted positively to the results, with Cigna’s stock surging 17% to $330 per share in morning trading.

Cigna invested $2.5 billion into VillageMD’s acquisition of Summit Health, stating at the time the investment was intended to grow its Evernorth portfolio of health services.

In its earnings report, Cigna said it recorded a $1 billion, or $3.69-per-share, loss from that investment. During an earnings webcast, Cigna Senior Vice President of Investor Relations Ralph Jacoby said the investment loss “includes both the write down of the remaining carrying value of the asset, as well as the impairment of the dividend, which is recognized as a special item in the quarter” and is excluded from adjusted income from operations and adjusted earnings per share.

Cigna’s Evernorth Health Services segment includes its pharmacy benefit services and specialty and care services operating segments, which partner with health plans, employers, governmental organizations and healthcare providers on pharmacy benefits, care delivery and management.

For the third quarter, Cigna reported net investment income from Evernorth of $40 million, down 36.5% from a year earlier. However, Cigna reported that Evernorth’s adjusted revenues and adjusted income from operations increased 36% and 9%, respectively.

Its Cigna Healthcare segment, meanwhile, reported adjusted income from operations in the third quarter of $1.2 billion, down 4.1% from $1.22 billion in the third quarter last year.

Cigna also reported that its overall customer relationships totaled 183.5 million, an 11.8% increase from the same quarter last year.

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