Talleyrand IntelligenceThe facts. Your judgement.

The Quarter — Q2 2026

13 of 13 records published12 verified EPS comparisonsEvery number opens to its source record
What the quarter is saying

Margin, not growth, is setting the quarter.

The strongest cross-company signal is margin, with sourced evidence from 7 companies. Market share also reaches pattern status across 4 companies.

Reporting is complete across all 13 tracked companies.
100%
Season complete
16.08M▲ +0.8%Tracked MA enrolment · CLOV, ELV, HUM, UNH
3–3Benefit ratio improved – deteriorated
3Full-year guides raised
3Claims the quarter left silent · Stars, Prior authorization, Compression

The two spines

Health plans · same order in both panels

Benefit ratio and membership, read across the plans rather than down a company. Both panels carry the same plans in the same order, so a row reads straight across. A plan that filed one measure and not the other keeps its place and says so.

Benefit ratio · as filed

UNH86.7%▼ -2.7pp
CVS87.4%▼ -2.5pp
ALHC86.3%▼ -40bp
ELV89.7%▲ +0.8pp
HUM91.2%▲ +1.3pp
MOH92.2%▲ +1.8pp
CInot filed
CLOVnot filed
CNCfiles an operating cost ratio

Membership · as filed

UNH7.57M▼ -9.4%
CVS26.0Mtotal medical membership▼ -2.6%
ALHCnot filed
ELV1.90M▼ -15.9%
HUM6.45M▲ +23.4%
MOHnot filed
CInot filed
CLOV157,309▲ +48%
CNCnot filed

The board

Every tracked company · blanks are filings, not gaps

Plans and care-delivery companies do not report the same measures, so each group states its own columns. Where a company files a measure on its own basis, the row says which. An empty cell means the company did not file it.

Plans · the columns change with the group
CompanyBenefit ratioMedicare Advantage membershipRevenue
ALHCAlignment HealthcareEPS $0.17 vs $0.13 · benchmark not corroborated86.3%▼ -40bpBenefit expense rationot filed$1.3B▲ +31.6%
CIThe Cigna GroupEPS $7.78 · beat +2.4%not filednot filed$71.7B▲ +7%
CLOVClover HealthEPS $0.05 · beat +25.0%not filed157,309▲ +48%Medical membership$743.2M▲ +55.6%
CNCCenteneEPS $2.51 vs $1.08 · benchmark not corroboratedfiles an operating cost rationot filed$53.6B▲ +9.9%
CVSCVS Health / AetnaEPS $2.58 vs $1.85 · benchmark not corroborated87.4%▼ -2.5ppBenefit expense ratio26.0M▼ -2.6%Medical membership$106.1B▲ +7.3%
ELVElevance Health, Inc.EPS $7.45 · beat +20.0%89.7%▲ +0.8ppBenefit expense ratio1.90M▼ -15.9%$49.8B▲ +0.8%Operating revenue
HUMHumana Inc.EPS $7.61 · beat +22.3%91.2%▲ +1.3ppInsurance benefit ratio6.45M▲ +23.4%Individual MA members$40.9B▲ +26.2%
MOHMolina HealthcareEPS $1.51 · beat +8.6%92.2%▲ +1.8ppBenefit expense rationot filed$10.9B▼ -4.8%
UNHUnitedHealth Group IncorporatedEPS $6.38 vs $4.92 · benchmark not corroborated86.7%▼ -2.7ppMedical care ratio7.57M▼ -9.4%Medicare Advantage members$112.0B▲ +0.4%
Care delivery · the columns change with the group
CompanyMedical marginAdjusted EBITDARevenueNet income
AGLagilon healthEPS $1.04 vs $0.06 · benchmark not corroborated$197.0M$70.0M$1.5B▲ +7%not filed
ASTHAstrana HealthEPS $0.80 vs $0.34 · benchmark not corroboratednot filed$68.9M▲ +43%$972.5M▲ +49%$19.7M▲ +109%
PRVAPrivia HealthEPS $0.19 · No verified consensusnot filed$37.4M▲ +29.1%$632.6M▲ +21.4%$9.0M▲ +233.3%
Distribution · the columns change with the group
CompanyRevenueAdjusted EBITDANet income
EHTHeHealthEPS ($1.18) vs ($0.84) · benchmark not corroborated$33.6M▼ -44.7%($21.8M)($23.6M)

The Long View, this quarter

All seven claims · silence included

A claim advances only on sourced evidence from independent companies: three or more is a pattern, two is emerging. Figures covering a book wider than Medicare Advantage are published and do not count. Company pages remain records; conclusion begins here.

C1Margin

Margin discipline is structural and permanent, not a cycle to wait out.

  • AGL reported Medical margin of $197M versus ($53M).
  • ALHC reported Benefit expense ratio of 86.3% (-40bp).
  • CVS reported Benefit expense ratio of 87.4% versus 89.9%.
  • ELV reported Benefit expense ratio of 89.7% versus 88.9% (+0.8pp).
7companies · Pattern
C2Risk adjustment

Risk adjustment is a cost of participation, not a source of advantage.

  • AGL: Investing.com said, “Medical margin surged to $197M from negative $53M YoY; adjusted EBITDA reached $70M versus negative $83M, driven by risk adjustment and cost improvements.”

One company is not a market. Recorded, not concluded from.

1company · Watch
C3Stars

Star ratings will be restructured, not merely disputed.

No company filed evidence bearing on this claim this quarter.

0companies · Silent
C4Prior authorization

Prior authorisation moves from payer discretion to regulated process.

No company filed evidence bearing on this claim this quarter.

0companies · Silent
C5Market share

Penetration keeps rising. Who captures the growth is unresolved.

  • CLOV reported Medical membership of 157,309 (+48%).
  • CVS reported Medical membership of 26.0M versus 26.7M (total medical membership, read across).
  • ELV reported Medicare Advantage membership of 1.90M versus 2.26M (-15.9%).
  • HUM reported Individual MA members of 6.45M versus 5.23M (+23.4%).
Read across, not counted: CVS
4companies · Pattern
C6Distribution

The independent distribution channel consolidates under financial stress.

  • EHTH: Finance · via Yahoo Finance said, “Medicare Advantage enrollment and submissions declined 44% in Q2, reflecting the deliberate reduction in marketing spend and the transition to the Lifetime Advisory model.”

One company is not a market. Recorded, not concluded from.

1company · Watch
C7Compression

The cost of margin recovery is passed through. Where it lands is unresolved.

No company filed evidence bearing on this claim this quarter.

0companies · Silent
METHOD · Figures are as filed. A prior year is published only where the filing states one or a prior-year filing supplies it; a change worked out here rather than filed is shown in grey. EPS status requires a same-basis, dated public consensus, and a surprise beyond 25% publishes the figures without a verdict. Pattern = 3+ independent companies; emerging = 2. Evidence set c9d7281d57e6.