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Global health insurance company The Cigna Group CI is set to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Jan. 30, 2025, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings is currently pegged at $7.83 per share on revenues of $63.25 billion.
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The fourth-quarter earnings estimate remained stable over the past week. The bottom-line projection indicates year-over-year growth of 15.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues suggests year-over-year growth of 23.7%.
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For 2024, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cigna’s revenues is pegged at $244.64 billion, implying a rise of 25.3% year over year. Also, the consensus mark for 2024 EPS is pegged at $28.50, signaling growth of 13.6%, year over year.
Cignabeat the earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 4.4%. This is depicted in the figure below.
Cigna Group Price and EPS Surprise
Cigna Group price-eps-surprise | Cigna Group Quote
Q4 Earnings Whispers for Cigna
However, our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for the company this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That’s not the case here.
CI has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
What’s Shaping Cigna’s Q4 Results?
Cigna’s revenues are likely to have benefited on the back of solid pharmacy revenues stemming from a well-performing specialty pharmacy business within the Evernorth segment. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for pharmacy revenues indicates a 31.7% improvement from the prior-year quarter’s number.
The consensus mark for premiums predicts a 2.5% increase from the year-ago quarter. Also, the consensus estimate for fees and other revenues signals 22.5% year-over-year growth.
The consensus mark for revenues from the overall Evernorth segment is pegged at $51.1 billion, indicating 26.1% growth from the prior-year quarter’s figure. Organic growth in Specialty and Care Services businesses and new client wins are likely to have aided the segment.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cigna Healthcare revenues suggests a 3.1% increase. Premium rate hikes are expected to have benefited the business in the fourth quarter. While the above-mentioned factors are likely to have positioned the company for year-over-year growth, lower total customers and net investment income and rising medical costs are likely to have partially offset the positives, making an earnings beat uncertain.