Humana posts $796M loss in Q4 as elevated Medicare Advantage costs continue

Humana reported a $796 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2025, with its losses growing year over year as increased utilization continues to drag Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.

By comparison, Humana reported a $693 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company did post a profit for the full year of $1.2 billion, flat from the company's $1.2 billion haul in 2024.

Humana's medical loss ratio in the fourth quarter was 93.1%, up slightly from the prior-year quarter's 92.1% rate. Across all of 2025, the MLR was 90.4%, the same as 2024 and falling within the company's guidance window of 90.1% to 90.5%.

The insurer attributed the ongoing MLR trends to a rise in its Part D enrollment alongside a decline in its MA membership, as Part D carries a higher MLR by design. It also reflects investments that the company has made in improving outcomes and to "support operational excellence.

Humana said its MA plan exits and its adjustments to benefit designs as well as some favorable 2025 cost tailwinds helped partially offset the factors dragging its MLR.

Revenues in the fourth quarter were $32.5 billion, up from $29.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company's full-year haul was $129.7 billion, increasing from 2024's $117.8 billion.

The fourth-quarter results surpassed analysts' predictions on both profit and revenue, per Zacks Investment Research.

“We were pleased with our solid financial performance and operational progress in 2025,” Humana CEO Jim Rechtin said in the press releaseJim Rechtin. "We continue to feel good about our consumer-focused strategy and our individual Medicare Advantage membership growth in 2026, which will allow us to build for the future with even better outcomes and experiences."

At the company's core insurance business, revenues were $31.3 billion for the quarter, up from $28.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. Revenues for the full year also increased, rising from $113.8 billion in 2024 to $124.6 billion in 2025.

Humana said the revenue growth reflects higher premiums in Medicare as well as growth in its state-based contracts and Part D, which was offset in part by its decision to leave certain MA markets and the resulting membership decline.

Humana said it had just shy of 15 million members as of Dec. 31, though that figure has risen as it received the results of Medicare's annual enrollment period. As of January, the company said it has close to 6.3 million individual MA members, adding 1 million, or about 20%, compared to the end of 2025 thanks to the AEP.

Revenue at its CenterWell division was also up year over year, according to the earnings report, growing from $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Full-year revenue was $22.5 billion, up from 2024's $19.9 billion.

Humana said it expects at least $9 in earnings per share in 2026, a prediction that disappointed Wall Street, per Seeking Alpha. The guidance led the company's share price to drop premarket, down by about 4%.