News · Elevance Health Inc. (ELV) · Healthcare

Elevance Health falls 1.4% after third-quarter results beat expectations and outlook raised

Session of October 21, 2026 · Published October 22, 2026 · 4 min read

What happened

Elevance Health (ELV) fell 1.4% on October 21, 2026, because it reported third-quarter results and raised its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook. The company delivered adjusted diluted EPS of $6.99 against $4.71 expected, 48.4% above estimates, and disclosed net income of $1.34 billion, or $6.27 per share, according to Reuters and Business Wire. Management said performance was supported by Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and Individual ACA businesses and cited Carelon growth. The company raised its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook to at least $26.75 per share or at least $29 per share and said it expects at least 12% growth in adjusted diluted earnings.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 21, 2026, ELV closed at $434.13, down 1.4% on the day and 4.2% higher than 30 sessions earlier.

How big was the move

The stock closed at $434.13 and traded at 2.0 times its 20-day average volume. The change on the day was a fall of 1.4%, a move that was 0.9 times a typical daily move for this stock. Over the last five sessions the stock rose 1.4%. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% over five sessions while the S&P 500 on the day rose 0.6% and the Healthcare sector median on the day fell 0.3%, making the stock’s one-day performance 1.1 percentage points worse than the sector median. The stock opened 1.1% above the previous close and has a beta of 0.44, meaning it tends to move less than the market.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 21, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 2.2%, so the latest move equals 0.6 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 4.4%) are unusual.

The technical picture

The stock is 6.0% above its 20-day moving average and 6.9% above its 50-day moving average. It sits 17.2% above its 200-day moving average, and the 50-day average is above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend. The stock has spent 128 consecutive trading days above the 200-day average. Its Relative Strength Index (14 days) was 66, which is between 30 and 70, a neutral range. The stock is 3.7% below the 52-week high. Over one month the stock rose 7.9% and over three months it rose 14.5%; over one year it rose 22.6%, which is 7.4 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500. Volatility was 24% annualized over 60 days, lower than 74% of its own readings over five years.

Closing price over the past year. ELV ends the period 1.4% below its 52-week high, above its 50-day average ($406.29) and above its 200-day average ($370.40).

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, revenue was $201.83 billion, which grew 3.6% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were $23.45 for that period, which fell 4.1% from a year earlier, while gross margin improved to 36.6% from 26.3% a year earlier. Operating margin was 3.7% compared with 4.4% a year earlier. Free-cash-flow margin was 3.2% and return on invested capital was 6.3%. The balance sheet shows net cash of $9.97 billion and share count over one year decreased by 3.6%.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $51.4B, 1.4% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

Valuation measures include 18.5 times trailing earnings and 15.9 times expected forward earnings, with a free-cash-flow yield of 7.0%. The price to trailing earnings is higher than 57% of its own readings over the past five years, where the five-year median is 18.3 times earnings. Market participants may weigh that above-average valuation against the company’s strong liquidity position and the PromtFinance stability score of 97, which ranks exceptional within the sector.

Earnings and analyst expectations

The last report, on October 21, 2026, delivered adjusted diluted EPS of $6.99 versus $4.71 expected, a 48.4% beat, and marked five consecutive quarters beating estimates. The company raised its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook to at least $26.75 per share or at least $29 per share and said it expects at least 12% growth in adjusted diluted earnings, according to Business Wire and Reuters. Historically, the typical two-day reaction after recent reports has been that the stock fell 1.6%.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows $6.27, against $5.32 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Thirty-eight analysts cover the stock, with a consensus rating of Buy and 71% of analysts rating the stock Buy or Strong Buy. The consensus price target is $445.13, which is 2.5% above the closing price on October 21, 2026. Investors will also note the PromtFinance momentum score of 80 and value score of 93, which together indicate strong near-term performance and exceptional valuation metrics relative to peers.

What to watch

January 27, 2027: next scheduled earnings report date.
Management’s guidance range and any communications clarifying the baseline of at least $26.75 per share versus at least $29 per share for 2026.
Trends in Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and Individual ACA businesses, and Carelon revenue growth metrics.
Changes in operating margin and free-cash-flow margin in upcoming quarters.

Full ELV analysis: scores, chart and financials →