Cigna Posts Strong First-Quarter Results Despite VillageMD Writedown

In its first quarter results, The Cigna Group’s low care utilization numbers and focus on stock repurchases garnered the commercial insurance giant positive reviews from Wall Street analysts — despite a net first-quarter loss that executives attributed that loss to a $1.8 billion writedown on Cigna’s VillageMD joint venture with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. Cigna also raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance by $0.15. 

Cigna lost $277 million in the first quarter due to the VillageMD writedown, compared to a $1.2 billion profit in the first quarter of 2023. However, total revenue increased, with the firm taking in $57.2 billion for the first quarter, a year-over-year increase of over $10.7 billion. EPS for the first quarter of this year will be -$0.97. However, full-year EPS guidance increased to $28.40, in large part because Cigna posted a first-quarter medical loss ratio (MLR) of 79.9%, down 140 basis points year over year.