Centene (CNC) Q1 FY2026 earnings: revenue $49.9 billion, up 7.1% on the year

Centene Corp. (CNC) reported revenue of $49.9 billion for Q1 FY2026, the quarter ended 31 March 2026, up 7.1% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $1.5 billion, up 17.5% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $3.11. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-Q it filed with the SEC on 28 April 2026.

Revenue

$49.9 billion

+7.1% on the year · +0.4% on the quarter

Q2 FY2024Q1 FY2026

Operating margin

3.7%

3.3% a year earlier

Q2 FY2024Q1 FY2026

Net income

$1.5 billion

+17.5% on the year

Q2 FY2024Q1 FY2026

Diluted EPS

$3.11

+18.3% on the year

Q2 FY2024Q1 FY2026

this quarterthe same quarter a year earlierHover a bar for its figure.

What management said

Guidance figures: 4 raised, 3 lowered, 1 new, 4 kept.

Adjusted EPS $3.37, GAAP $3.11: Management reported adjusted diluted EPS of $3.37 and GAAP diluted EPS of $3.11, compared with $2.63 GAAP diluted EPS a year earlier. Management said adjusted EPS was about $0.50 above its expectations.
Medicaid HBR down 50 basis points: Medicaid HBR was 93.1% against 93.6%. Management attributed the decline to rate and revenue increases, progress in managing medical costs and moderate flu costs.
Commercial HBR above expectations: Commercial HBR was 75.3% against 75.0%. Management said this was slightly above expectations, mainly from higher acuity among Marketplace Silver Tier members.

Read the earnings call summary

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ million	Q1 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	Q1 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Revenue	49,944	49,725	46,620	+0.4%	+7.1%
Cost of revenue	702	680	698	+3.2%	+0.6%
Gross profit	5,650	2,558	5,288	+120.9%	+6.8%
Gross margin	11.3%	5.1%	11.3%
Selling, general and administrative	3,397	3,370	3,353	+0.8%	+1.3%
Operating income	1,861	-1,745	1,534		+21.3%
Operating margin	3.7%	-3.5%	3.3%
Interest expense	164	168	170	-2.4%	-3.5%
Pre-tax income	2,099	-1,543	1,746		+20.2%
Income tax	560	-443	432		+29.6%
Effective tax rate	26.7%	n/a	24.7%
Net income	1,541	-1,101	1,311		+17.5%
Net margin	3.1%	-2.2%	2.8%
Diluted EPS	$3.11	-$2.24	$2.63		+18.3%

$ million except per share.

Fourth quarters are the year less the first three quarters. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ million	Q1 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	Q1 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Operating cash flow	4,366	437	1,510	+899.1%	+189.1%
Capital expenditure	200	213	135	-6.1%	+48.1%
Free cash flow	4,166	224	1,375	+1,759.8%	+203.0%
Free cash flow margin	8.3%	0.5%	2.9%
Cash from investing	89.0	660	-529	-86.5%
Cash from financing	-1,063	-187	-250
Depreciation and amortisation	300	330	314	-9.1%	-4.5%
Share-based compensation	67.0	58.0	59.0	+15.5%	+13.6%
Buybacks	29.0	2.0	41.0	+1,350.0%	-29.3%
Diluted shares, weighted	496m	492m	498m	+0.8%	-0.5%
Shares outstanding at period end	494m	492m	498m	+0.4%	-0.8%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet

$ million	Q1 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	Q1 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Shareholders' equity	21,427	19,953	27,916	+7.4%	-23.2%
Non-controlling interest	75.0	80.0	91.0	-6.2%	-17.6%
Redeemable equity	25.0	23.0	12.0	+8.7%	+108.3%
Debt	16,371	17,493	18,320	-6.4%	-10.6%
Operating lease liabilities	n/a	615	n/a
Other liabilities	43,277	38,583	40,705	+12.2%	+6.3%
Total liabilities and equity	81,175	76,747	87,044	+5.8%	-6.7%
Fixed assets	2,090	2,037	2,044	+2.6%	+2.3%
Goodwill	10,835	10,835	17,558	0.0%	-38.3%
Intangible assets	4,364	4,530	5,236	-3.7%	-16.7%
Investments	19,076	19,467	20,740	-2.0%	-8.0%
Cash and equivalents	21,264	17,888	14,815	+18.9%	+43.5%
Other assets	23,546	21,990	26,651	+7.1%	-11.7%
Total assets	81,175	76,747	87,044	+5.8%	-6.7%

Questions

What was Centene's revenue in Q1 FY2026?

Centene (CNC) reported revenue of $49.9 billion for Q1 FY2026, the quarter ended 31 March 2026, up 7.1% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did Centene earn in Q1 FY2026?

Net income for Q1 FY2026 was $1.5 billion, up 17.5% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $3.11.

When did Centene report Q1 FY2026 results?

Centene filed its 10-Q for the quarter ended 31 March 2026 with the SEC on 28 April 2026.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

	Q4 FY2021 *	Q1 FY2022	Q2 FY2022	Q3 FY2022	Q4 FY2022 *	Q1 FY2023 †	Q2 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2023 *	Q1 FY2024	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024 *	Q1 FY2025	Q2 FY2025	Q3 FY2025	Q4 FY2025 *	Q1 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2026
Revenue	32,568	37,185	35,936	35,865	35,561	38,889	37,608	38,042	39,460	40,407	39,836	42,023	40,805	46,620	48,742	49,690	49,725	49,944	53,579	50,647
Cost of revenue	1,384	1,988	2,099	1,571	1,374	870	877	856	961	669	680	692	688	698	641	651	680	702	729	675
Gross profit	31,184	4,406	4,557	4,044	3,911	4,648	4,614	4,632	3,743	4,736	4,528	4,006	3,799	5,288	3,018	3,345	2,558	5,650	4,617	3,302
Gross margin	96%	12%	13%	11%	11%	12%	12%	12%	9%	12%	11%	10%	9%	11%	6%	7%	5%	11%	9%	7%
SG&A	2,842	2,745	2,800	2,846	3,198	3,011	3,016	3,048	3,488	3,218	2,894	3,057	3,231	3,353	3,036	3,145	3,370	3,397	3,103	3,235
Operating income	603	1,253	-129	476	-282	1,218	1,171	735	-194	1,106	1,229	665	175	1,534	-458	-6,954	-1,745	1,861	1,198	-307
Operating margin	2%	3%	-0%	1%	-1%	3%	3%	2%	-0%	3%	3%	2%	0%	3%	-1%	-14%	-4%	4%	2%	-1%
Interest expense	162	160	162	169	174	180	181	181	183	178	176	176	172	170	170	170	168	164	153	149
Pre-tax income	694	1,148	-236	1,009	41.0	1,391	1,415	768	24.0	1,473	1,516	921	347	1,746	-257	-6,674	-1,543	2,099	1,486	-122
Tax rate	15%	26%	n/a	27%	634%	19%	25%	38%	-62%	21%	24%	23%	19%	25%	n/a	n/a	n/a	27%	27%	n/a
Net income	599	849	-172	738	-213	1,130	1,058	469	45.0	1,163	1,146	713	283	1,311	-253	-6,631	-1,101	1,541	1,091	-71.0
Net margin	2%	2%	-0%	2%	-1%	3%	3%	1%	0%	3%	3%	2%	1%	3%	-1%	-13%	-2%	3%	2%	-0%
Diluted EPS	$1.02	$1.44	-$0.29	$1.27	-$0.38	$2.04	$1.92	$0.87	$0.08	$2.16	$2.16	$1.36	$0.56	$2.63	-$0.51	-$13.50	-$2.24	$3.11	$2.19	-$0.14
Operating cash flow	675	1,151	3,354	3,332	-1,576	4,269	2,546	1,021	217	-456	2,175	-978	-587	1,510	1,785	1,356	437	4,366	3,590	-3,669
Capital expenditure	248	242	282	247	233	225	215	136	223	151	186	153	154	135	208	211	213	200	174	194
Free cash flow	427	909	3,072	3,085	-1,809	4,044	2,331	885	-6.0	-607	1,989	-1,131	-741	1,375	1,577	1,145	224	4,166	3,416	-3,863
Buybacks	248	71.0	349	1,243	1,433	423	405	774	31.0	151	803	1,227	943	41.0	432	0.0	2.0	29.0	4.0	24.0
Shares outstanding	582m	585m	581m	570m	551m	552m	546m	535m	534m	536m	526m	510m	496m	498m	491m	491m	492m	494m	494m	495m
Filing	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q

Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.

* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. A quarter marked † is shown as the company last restated it in a later filing, so it compares with the quarters around it on one basis; rest on a figure for the one first filed. EPS is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-Q for the period ended 31 March 2026, filed 28 April 2026: the filing.