Fundamentals snapshot
CNC · NYQ · Healthcare · Healthcare Plans
Current price
$67.04
52-week range
$28.33 - $69.36
Market cap
$33.12B
One-glance verdict
We don't put a cash-flow fair value on banks and insurers. For these companies the reported 'cash flow' is really just money moving between loans, deposits and trades — not the leftover profit the owners could actually pocket — so the usual method would print a misleading number.
Balance sheet
Net cash $10.95B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
What this company does
Centene is a large health insurance company that primarily provides government-funded plans like Medicaid for low-income families and Medicare for seniors. The company gets paid by the government to manage the healthcare for these members, and it makes money if the cost of that care is less than the payments it receives. This is important because government healthcare is a massive and steady market, meaning Centene's success depends on its ability to efficiently manage medical costs for millions of people.
Centene started in 1984 as a single nonprofit health plan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, founded by a former bookkeeper, Elizabeth Brinn. After her death, the company was sold to investors, and in 1996, a new leader named Michael Neidorff took charge, eventually taking the company public in 2001. Through a series of major acquisitions of other health insurance companies, like Health Net in 2016 and WellCare in 2020, Centene grew from a small local plan into a national healthcare giant. Today, under CEO Sarah M. London, the company focuses on providing government-sponsored healthcare plans across the United States.
Think of Centene as a manager of health insurance plans, primarily on behalf of the U.S. government. The company acts as a middleman, connecting people who are under-insured or uninsured with healthcare services. It doesn't own the hospitals or employ the doctors directly; instead, it creates networks of healthcare providers and manages the insurance plans that allow people to access them. Centene's main customers are individuals and families enrolled in government programs like Medicaid and Medicare, as well as those who buy insurance on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
This is Centene's largest and original line of business, making it the biggest Medicaid managed care organization in the country. Medicaid is a government program that provides health coverage to low-income individuals and families. State governments pay Centene a fixed fee per member to manage the healthcare for these individuals, which includes everything from doctor visits to hospital stays. This segment is the foundation of the company, serving millions of members across many states.
This part of the business provides health plans for seniors (typically age 65 and older) and some younger people with disabilities, through the federal Medicare program. Centene offers Medicare Advantage plans, which are an alternative to the original government-run Medicare, often including extra benefits like prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage. The government pays Centene to manage the care for these members. This is a significant business for Centene, though smaller than its Medicaid segment.
This segment, often known by its brand name Ambetter, offers health insurance plans to individuals and families who don't get coverage through an employer and may not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. People shop for these plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace, which was created by the Affordable Care Act. Customers pay a monthly fee, often with the help of government subsidies (financial assistance to lower the cost), for their health coverage. This has been a major growth area for the company.
Centene's leadership is currently focused on strengthening its core businesses of Medicaid, Medicare, and the Commercial marketplace plans. The company has been selling off non-core assets to simplify its operations and improve profitability. A key priority is improving margins (the profit made on each dollar of revenue) in its health plans, particularly in the Medicare and Commercial segments. Management is also investing in technology and data analytics to better manage healthcare costs and improve the health of its members.
Price history
Earnings history
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
Is it cheap or expensive?
For a bank or insurer, the "free cash flow" shown on its statements is mostly money flowing through loans, deposits and trades — not the leftover profit the owners could actually keep, which is what this kind of valuation needs. Running that through the usual method would spit out a meaningless number, so we leave the cash-flow fair value out here rather than show you something misleading.
Is it drowning in debt?
Net cash $11.0B - more cash than debt. Interest coverage -0.5x.
Centene Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 0.0 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Total debt $16.10B Interest coverage -0.46x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $73.33B Interest coverage 4.74x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CNC does not.
Total debt $31.04B Interest coverage 5.79x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CNC does not.
Total debt $14.74B Interest coverage 3.46x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CNC does not.
Total debt $31.88B Interest coverage 5.79x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CNC does not.
Total debt $3.95B Interest coverage 4.07x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CNC does not.
What you should know
The numbers
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Valuation
Profitability
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Cash flow
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What you should know