UnitedHealth Leads Major Earnings Beat Wave as JPMorgan and Wells Fargo Miss on Revenue

UnitedHealth Group delivered a sweeping third-quarter beat and raised its full-year profit outlook, headlining a busy morning of large-cap earnings. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.69 against an estimate of $4.14, a 61% jump year over year, on revenue of $112.7 billion that topped the $111.4 billion consensus. Net income rose to $4.11 billion, or $4.56 per share, from $2.35 billion, or $2.59 per share, a year earlier. UnitedHealth now guides for full-year 2026 adjusted EPS of at least $20.50, up from its prior range of $19.50 to $20, and above analyst expectations of $19.86.

The key driver was a medical cost ratio of 88.4%, well below the 90.1% estimate, reflecting improved cost controls across its insurance and Optum units. Optum generated $3.7 billion in segment operating earnings while UnitedHealthcare contributed $2.8 billion on revenue of $86.3 billion. The company also recorded $610 million in net favorable prior-period reserve development, repurchased $5.0 billion of shares year to date, and paid $6.2 billion in dividends.

Johnson and Johnson also beat estimates, posting Q3 adjusted EPS of $2.59 against a $2.52 consensus on sales of $25.4 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Innovative Medicine revenue of $16.76 billion exceeded expectations, driven by Tremfya at $2.4 billion, up 68.3% year over year, though Darzalex came in at $4.24 billion, slightly below the $4.33 billion estimate. MedTech sales of $8.64 billion missed the $8.77 billion target. JNJ raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $11.05 to $11.15 and revenue guidance to $101.0 billion to $101.4 billion. GAAP EPS fell sharply to $0.09 due to a one-time charge tied to a proposed talc litigation resolution, the Firefly Bio acquisition, and a Sail Biomedicines collaboration. The company's CFO indicated a preference for spinning off the orthopedic unit rather than selling it.

The major banks delivered mixed results. Wells Fargo reported Q3 EPS of $1.87, beating the $1.85 estimate and up 13% year over year, but revenue of $21.87 billion and net interest income of $12.52 billion both missed consensus. The bank guided for full-year 2026 net interest income of approximately $50 billion. JPMorgan Chase posted adjusted EPS of $5.75, missing the $5.90 estimate, on managed revenue of $50.9 billion, also below the $51.22 billion forecast. Fixed income markets revenue of $5.37 billion fell well short of the $6 billion estimate, while equity markets revenue of $5.0 billion surged 49% year over year to beat expectations of $4.5 billion. JPMorgan's net income reached $15.3 billion and ROTCE was 17%, though the quarter included $658 million in net investment securities losses. The bank noted it reduced share repurchases during the quarter.

Domino's Pizza rounded out the morning with Q3 revenue of $1.19 billion, slightly above estimates, and EPS of $4.60, topping the $4.37 forecast by 5.3%. U.S. same-store sales grew 0.3% and international same-store sales rose 0.2% excluding currency effects. The company added 175 net new stores globally and announced that Joe Jordan has stepped into the CEO role.