Elevance Health (ELV) Reaffirms 2026 Earnings Target of at Least $29 Per Share

Elevance Health, Inc. recently reaffirmed its full-year 2026 financial guidance during investor and analyst meetings, according to a regulatory filing dated November 10, 2026. The insurer expects full-year shareholders' earnings to reach at least $22.00 per diluted share, which includes roughly $7.00 per diluted share of net unfavorable items. Excluding these factors, Elevance continues to forecast adjusted diluted earnings of at least $29.00 per share, without incorporating any new adjustments beyond those reported in its third-quarter results.

The company also reiterated its full-year 2026 benefit expense ratio target of 90.2%, plus or minus 50 basis points. In the third quarter, the insurer posted a benefit expense ratio of 90.6%, marking a 70-basis-point improvement from the previous year. Additionally, the company recorded a $1.85 per-share net non-operating benefit in that quarter. Meanwhile, full-year Medicare Advantage operating margin is projected to reach at least 2 percent, trailing the company's long-term objective of 3 percent to 5 percent.

Executive leadership identified 2026 as the low point for Medicaid margins and expects an operational turnaround starting in 2027. Elevance established an adjusted earnings baseline of at least $26.75 per share, aiming for adjusted diluted earnings per share to grow by at least 12 percent in 2027 compared to that mark. Investors will get their next comprehensive operational update when the health insurer reports in January 2027.

Institutional activity followed the company's upgraded and reaffirmed profit forecasts, with ACR Alpine Capital Research lifting its position in Elevance by 25% in the third quarter. Despite solid performance metrics, including a 7.85% return over 90 days, analysts at Simply Wall St noted that elevated medical cost trends in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans, along with potential membership erosion, remain risks for future profit quality.

Independent models indicate the stock trades at a discount to theoretical value. Analysts at Simply Wall St calculate a fair value of $474.57 against a recent close of $429.48 using a 7.28% discount rate, citing the company's digital tools like HealthOS and Sydney Health to manage medical expenses. Separately, GuruFocus estimates a fair value of $457.21.