How CenterWell Is Driving Humana's Growth Beyond Insurance
CenterWell is playing a growing role in Humana Inc.'s HUM strategy to evolve beyond its traditional health insurance business. By combining primary care, home health and pharmacy services under one platform, CenterWell helps HUM deliver more coordinated care while supporting better health outcomes and improving the overall patient experience.
The segment is also emerging as a meaningful growth driver. In the first quarter of 2026, CenterWell generated $6.1 billion in revenues, up 19.7% year over year, reflecting growth across all three business lines. Higher Medicare enrollment and continued expansion of its payor-agnostic client base contributed to the increase. HUM expects the segment’s total revenues to generate at least $25 billion in 2026.
Humana is further strengthening CenterWell's platform through strategic investments and acquisitions. During the first quarter, CenterWell Senior Primary Care recorded sequential patient growth of 110,500, including approximately 59,000 patients and 54 centers from the recent MaxHealth acquisition. The expansion broadens the company's primary care network while creating additional opportunities to deliver coordinated, value-based care. HUM is also broadening its pharmacy capabilities through its Cost Plus partnership, which aims to develop end-to-end prescription drug solutions for employers.
HUM is also improving operational efficiency by increasing automation and using AI-enabled analytics to identify care gaps, accelerate chronic disease detection and support more proactive care management. These initiatives can improve clinical outcomes while enhancing productivity across the platform. As CenterWell continues to expand its care delivery network and technology capabilities, it is evolving into a key long-term growth engine that diversifies Humana's business beyond health insurance while supporting sustainable earnings growth.
How Are Competitors Faring?
Some of HUM’s major competitors in the value-based care space are UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH and Elevance Health, Inc. ELV.
UnitedHealth, through its Optum segment, is scaling AI-driven care management, pharmacy and provider solutions to improve care coordination and operational efficiency. Its integrated care model supports value-based reimbursement while diversifying revenues beyond its insurance business. UnitedHealth’s total revenues rose 2% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.
Elevance Health is pursuing a similar strategy through Carelon, its healthcare services platform. Carelon combines pharmacy, care delivery and care management capabilities to diversify revenues beyond health insurance. Elevance Health’s total operating revenues rose 1.5% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.
Humana’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of HUM have rallied 49.9% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s rise of 8.2%.
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From a valuation standpoint, Humana trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, significantly above the industry average of 16.80. HUM carries a Value Score of B.
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Humana’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $9.01 per share, implying a 47.4% drop from the year-ago period.
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HUM stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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