New York, May 18, 2026, 04:03 EDT
• UnitedHealth slipped 4.8% to $375.06 in early premarket trade, after finishing Friday at $393.85.
• Berkshire Hathaway said it dumped its UnitedHealth holding in a first-quarter shuffle.
• These moves landed ahead of the NYSE regular session, which opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
UnitedHealth Group shares slid early Monday in premarket trading as Berkshire Hathaway’s exit from the stock put new pressure on a recent rally for the health insurer.
Shares were set at $375.06 in premarket trading at 4:00 a.m. EDT, about 4.8% below Friday’s close of $393.85. The stock was already off 1.3% on Friday, as the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow each finished in the red.
Timing is a factor here. UnitedHealth was coming off a run toward a 52-week high as investors got interested in managed-care stocks again. The stock closed Friday up 25.4% over the last 30 days, just 2.6% under its May 13 high of $404.15.
Berkshire disclosed on Friday that it dumped a handful of smaller positions, with UnitedHealth, Amazon, Visa and Mastercard all sold. Reuters said the moves came as part of a broad first-quarter shakeup following Greg Abel’s CEO appointment. Berkshire’s U.S. stocks made up nearly all of its $288 billion portfolio at the end of March.
UnitedHealth’s operations are not affected by the sale, but the move could dampen sentiment. Selling tied to Buffett sometimes grabs attention, as investors watch Berkshire’s portfolio shifts for signals, even if it’s not clear from the filing which manager was behind a trade.
UnitedHealth’s bounce lately is tied to medical costs coming in lower than feared. Major U.S. health insurers like UnitedHealth, Cigna, Humana and Elevance Health all posted first-quarter beats, with several saying they had better control over expenses, Reuters reported last week. Medical costs are what insurers pay for patient care. If they rise quicker than premiums, margins get squeezed.
UnitedHealth posted first-quarter revenue of $111.7 billion, a 2% rise, with adjusted earnings at $7.23 per share. The company lifted its 2026 adjusted earnings forecast to above $18.25 per share. CEO Stephen Hemsley said UnitedHealth aims to deliver “greater value, affordability, transparency and connectivity” in health care. unitedhealthgroup.com
Strong start but caution for UnitedHealth this year, CFO says
UnitedHealth’s management isn’t calling the pressure off yet. Speaking at the BofA healthcare conference, CFO Wayne DeVeydt said Q1 was strong, but stressed the need to watch April and May since a lot of Q1 claims get paid then. If the first-quarter trends keep going, DeVeydt said, “this will be a very strong year.” StockAnalysis
Analysts are saying pretty much the same thing. “It is probably a little early to call a victory,” Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback told Reuters. Whit Mayo at Leerink Partners said claims tend to surprise health insurers in the second quarter, making it “the test” for most. Reuters
Cost relief may not last. Flu was mild and weather may have slowed care use early in the year. Medicare Advantage is still stuck with payment rates that don’t always match real costs. UnitedHealthcare CEO Tim Noel told the BofA crowd that some benefit cuts in 2027 are probably on the table to help margins.
Humana is seen as more exposed to Medicare Advantage, and Elevance is being looked at for signs on commercial and government-plan spending. Investors will be watching peers to see if the same read-through holds. If these companies show a solid second quarter, that bolsters the bull case. But a spike in claims would put more weight on Friday’s Berkshire disclosure.
UnitedHealth heads into Monday trading with a rebound in earnings on one side and the recent exit of a big shareholder on the other. The opening auction will be the stock’s first test.
