WellPoint (ELV 0.52%), the #2 insurer by number of customers, reported mixed earnings this week. Revenue of $17.6 billion slightly missed analyst expectations of $18.0 billion, but adjusted earnings of $2.40 per share destroyed analyst expectations of $2.13 to $2.17 per share. So even though the company's earnings declined, they did so much less than the market was expecting.
Perhaps part of the lift was due to management's bullish opinion on earnings -- WellPoint's management increased adjusted earnings estimates to above $8.40 per share, reflecting a number of growth drivers over the coming year (most notably the increase in membership by 1.3 million from December of 2013 in the first quarter). In the video below, Motley Fool health care analysts Michael Douglass and David Williamson break down earnings and what you need to know from the release.
