CNC
Centene Corporation
CNC's fundamentals are strong, but it looks expensive: trading at 23x earnings, above its usual 19x. Analysts expect strong earnings growth, though they disagree widely on how much.
CNC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
CNC's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable.
CNC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $34.05 | -52% |
| Forward | 13x | $70.27 | — |
| Fair | 19x | $57.25 | -19% |
| Current | 23x | $70.27 | — |
| Expensive | 33x | $100 | +43% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CNC's PE is in its fair range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 13x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CNC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect CNC's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CNC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.24 | +74% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.01 | +$13.76 |
| Q2 2026 | -$10.35 | -352% |
| Q1 2026 | -$13.05 | -292% |
| Q4 2025 | -$13.53 | -314% |
| Q3 2025 | -$10.75 | -285% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.11 | -23% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.78 | +34% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.31 | +27% |
CNC has returned to profit: it earned $3.01 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
CNC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $50.6B | +1.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $53.6B | +9.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $49.9B | +7.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $49.7B | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $49.7B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $48.7B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $46.6B | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $40.8B | +3.4% |
CNC's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $50.6B last quarter, up 1.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.6% | +13 points |
| Q2 2026 | 2.2% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.7% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | -3.5% | -3.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | -14% | -16 points |
| Q2 2025 | -0.9% | -4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.3% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 0.4% | +0.9 points |
CNC's operating margin was −0.6% last quarter, up 13 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CNC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.9B | -437% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.4B | +117% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.2B | +203% |
| Q4 2025 | $224M | +$965M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +$2.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.6B | -21% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.4B | +$2B |
| Q4 2024 | -$741M | -$735M |
CNC usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$3.9B, but it generated $3.9B over the past year.
CNC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -3.5M shares |
| 1 year | +0.6% | +3M shares |
| 3 years | -8.7% | -47.1M shares |
| 5 years | -16% | -96.6M shares |
| Available history | -10% | -57.9M shares |
CNC has 494M diluted shares, up 0.6% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $24M |
| Q2 2026 | $4M |
| Q1 2026 | $29M |
| Q4 2025 | $2M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $432M |
| Q1 2025 | $41M |
| Q4 2024 | $943M |
CNC spent $59M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 96% from the year before.
CNC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q3 2024 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2024 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q4 2023 | 0.2x | Very low |
CNC has more cash than debt.
CNC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 62.6 | Neutral |
CNC's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 63 (neutral).
CNC PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | CNC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 9.7% below |
| PE % | 64 | 29 | 35 pts above |
CNC is trading at 23x earnings, in line with the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
CNC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $67.3 | 4.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $66.3 | 5.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $54.3 | 29% above |
| 100 week MA | $51.0 | 38% above |
| 200 week MA | $60.6 | 16% above |
CNC has climbed back above all five of its weekly moving averages, and it's now 16% above its 200-week average.
CNC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $63.7 | $58.0 | -8.8% |
| 2021 | $58.0 | $84.7 | +46% |
| 2022 | $84.7 | $81.6 | -3.6% |
| 2023 | $81.6 | $74.2 | -9.1% |
| 2024 | $74.2 | $60.6 | -18% |
| 2025 | $60.6 | $40.5 | -33% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $70.3 | +73% |
CNC has finished four years in a row lower, and it's up 73% so far in 2026.