Molina Healthcare (MOH)

Healthcare insurance company Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) reported Q4 CY2025 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 8.3% year on year to $11.38 billion. On the other hand, the company’s full-year revenue guidance of $44.5 billion at the midpoint came in 4.9% below analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP loss of $2.75 per share was significantly below analysts’ consensus estimates.

Company Overview

Founded in 1980 as a provider for underserved communities in Southern California, Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) provides managed healthcare services primarily to low-income individuals through Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace insurance programs across 21 states.

Upfront premiums collected by health insurers lead to reliable revenue, but profitability ultimately depends on accurate risk assessments and the ability to control medical costs. Health insurers are also highly sensitive to regulatory changes and economic conditions such as unemployment. Going forward, the industry faces tailwinds from an aging population, increasing demand for personalized healthcare services, and advancements in data analytics to improve cost management. However, continued regulatory scrutiny on pricing practices, the potential for government-led reforms such as expanded public healthcare options, and inflation in medical costs could add volatility to margins. One big debate among investors is the long-term impact of AI and whether it will help underwriting, fraud detection, and claims processing or whether it may wade into ethical grey areas like reinforcing biases and widening disparities in medical care.

Molina Healthcare's primary competitors in the Medicaid managed care space include Centene Corporation, CVS Health Corporation, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem), UnitedHealth Group, and various large not-for-profit healthcare organizations. In the Marketplace segment, Centene Corporation is Molina's main competitor for low-income members.

Larger companies benefit from economies of scale, where fixed costs like infrastructure, technology, and administration are spread over a higher volume of goods or services, reducing the cost per unit. Scale can also lead to bargaining power with suppliers, greater brand recognition, and more investment firepower. A virtuous cycle can ensue if a scaled company plays its cards right.

With $45.43 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Molina Healthcare boasts impressive economies of scale. It may not be as large as heavyweights such as UnitedHealth Group and The Cigna Group from a topline perspective, but its heft is still an important advantage in a healthcare industry that is heavily regulated, complex, and resource-intensive.

A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Over the last five years, Molina Healthcare grew its sales at an impressive 18.7% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth beat the average healthcare company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a helpful starting point for our analysis.

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. Molina Healthcare’s annualized revenue growth of 15.5% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results suggest healthy demand.

We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its number of customers, which reached 5.49 million in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, Molina Healthcare neither added nor lost customers. 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, Molina Healthcare reported year-on-year revenue growth of 8.3%, and its $11.38 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 3.7%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to decline by 2.9% 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.

Molina Healthcare was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average adjusted operating margin of 4% was weak for a healthcare business.

Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Molina Healthcare’s adjusted operating margin decreased by 2.2 percentage points over the last five years. The company’s two-year trajectory also shows it failed to get its profitability back to the peak as its margin fell by 3 percentage points. We still like Molina Healthcare but would like to see some improvement in the future.

In Q4, Molina Healthcare generated an adjusted operating margin profit margin of negative 1.2%, down 5.2 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue.

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.

Sadly for Molina Healthcare, its EPS declined by 5.9% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew by 18.7%. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded due to non-fundamental factors such as interest expenses and taxes.

Diving into the nuances of Molina Healthcare’s earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Molina Healthcare’s adjusted operating margin declined by 2.2 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don’t tell us as much about a company’s fundamentals.

In Q4, Molina Healthcare reported adjusted EPS of negative $2.75, down from $5.05 in the same quarter last year. This print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Molina Healthcare’s full-year EPS of $10.65 to grow 23.3%.

If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills.

Molina Healthcare has shown mediocre cash profitability over the last five years, giving the company limited opportunities to return capital to shareholders. Its free cash flow margin averaged 2.3%, subpar for a healthcare business.

Taking a step back, we can see that Molina Healthcare’s margin dropped by 8.8 percentage points during that time. If the trend continues, it could signal it’s in the middle of a big investment cycle.

Molina Healthcare burned through $297 million of cash in Q4, equivalent to a negative 2.6% margin. The company’s cash burn increased from $235 million of lost cash in the same quarter last year. These numbers deviate from its longer-term margin, but we wouldn’t put too much weight on the short term because investment needs can be seasonal, causing temporary swings.

Companies with more cash than debt have lower bankruptcy risk.

Molina Healthcare is a well-capitalized company with $4.25 billion of cash and $3.77 billion of debt on its balance sheet. This $482 million net cash position is 5.3% of its market cap and gives it the freedom to borrow money, return capital to shareholders, or invest in growth initiatives. Leverage is not an issue here.

We enjoyed seeing Molina Healthcare beat analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its full-year revenue guidance missed and its full-year EPS guidance fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this quarter could have been better. The stock traded down 31.4% to $121.32 immediately after reporting.

Updated: February 9, 2026 at 11:09 PM EST

The latest quarterly earnings matters, sure, but we actually think longer-term fundamentals and valuation matter more. Investors should consider all these pieces before deciding whether or not to invest in Molina Healthcare.

There are things to like about Molina Healthcare. To kick things off, its revenue growth was impressive over the last five years. And while its declining EPS over the last five years makes it a less attractive asset to the public markets, its scale gives it meaningful leverage when negotiating reimbursement rates.

Molina Healthcare’s P/E ratio based on the next 12 months is 15.4x. When scanning the healthcare space, Molina Healthcare trades at a fair valuation. If you believe in the company and its growth potential, now is an opportune time to buy shares.

Wall Street analysts have a consensus one-year price target of $174 on the company (compared to the current share price of $127.86), implying they see 36.1% upside in buying Molina Healthcare in the short term.