Health insurance provider Elevance Health (NYSE: EVH) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales up 2.9% year on year to $50.18 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $12.58 per share was 16.4% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy Elevance Health? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.
Elevance Health (ELV) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $50.18 billion vs analyst estimates of $48.33 billion (2.9% year-on-year growth, 3.8% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $12.58 vs analyst estimates of $10.81 (16.4% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $8.65 billion vs analyst estimates of $3.78 billion (17.2% margin, significant beat)
- Management raised its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance to $26.75 at the midpoint, a 4.9% increase
- Operating Margin: 16.4%, up from 6.4% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 8.2%, up from 1.7% in the same quarter last year
- Customers: 45.42 million, up from 45.23 million in the previous quarter
- Market Capitalization: $72.07 billion
Company Overview
Formerly known as Anthem until its 2022 rebranding, Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV) is one of America's largest health insurers, serving approximately 47 million medical members through its network-based managed care plans.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Luckily, Elevance Health’s sales grew at a decent 10% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. Its growth was slightly above the average healthcare company and shows its offerings resonate with customers.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within healthcare, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. Elevance Health’s annualized revenue growth of 8% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results were respectable. 
We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its number of customers, which reached 45.42 million in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, Elevance Health’s customer base averaged 1.1% year-on-year declines. Because this number is lower than its revenue growth, we can see the average customer spent more money each year on the company’s products and services. 
This quarter, Elevance Health reported modest year-on-year revenue growth of 2.9% but beat Wall Street’s estimates by 3.8%.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to decline by 3.7% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and indicates its products and services will face some demand challenges. At least the company is tracking well in other measures of financial health.
ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention.
AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won’t last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.
Adjusted Operating Margin
Elevance Health’s adjusted operating margin has more or less stayed the same over the last 12 months , averaging 6.7% over the last five years. This profitability was mediocre for a healthcare business and caused by its suboptimal cost structure.
Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Elevance Health’s adjusted operating margin might fluctuated slightly but has generally stayed the same over the last five years. This raises questions about the company’s expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability.
In Q1, Elevance Health generated an adjusted operating margin profit margin of 16.5%, up 8.6 percentage points year on year. This increase was a welcome development and shows it was more efficient.
Earnings Per Share
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
Elevance Health’s EPS grew at a decent 6% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. Despite its adjusted operating margin improvement and share repurchases during that time, this performance was lower than its 10% annualized revenue growth, telling us the delta came from reduced interest expenses or taxes.
In Q1, Elevance Health reported adjusted EPS of $12.58, up from $11.97 in the same quarter last year. This print easily cleared analysts’ estimates, and shareholders should be content with the results. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Elevance Health’s full-year EPS of $30.78 to shrink by 12.9%.
Key Takeaways from Elevance Health’s Q1 Results
We enjoyed seeing Elevance Health beat analysts’ full-year EPS guidance expectations this quarter. We were also glad its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Zooming out, we think this was a good print with some key areas of upside. The stock remained flat at $329.70 immediately following the results.
Indeed, Elevance Health had a rock-solid quarterly earnings result, but is this stock a good investment here? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
