08:52 AM EST, 01/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- UnitedHealth Group's ( UNH ) fourth-quarter results increased on an annual basis but revenue fell short of market expectations, while the health insurer kept its full-year outlook unchanged on Thursday.

Per-share adjusted earnings came in at $6.81 for the December quarter, up from $6.16 the year before, topping the FactSet-polled consensus of $6.73. Revenue climbed to $100.81 billion from $94.43 billion, but missed the Street's view for about $101.6 billion. The stock declined 3.5% in premarket activity.

Revenue in the UnitedHealthcare segment, which provides health care benefits to people including Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, grew to $74.13 billion from $70.81 billion in the prior-year quarter. The number of people served domestically by the division advanced by 2.4 million in 2024, the insurer said.

The Optum business, which serves the global health care marketplace, logged sales of $65.1 billion, rising from $59.5 billion last year. Within the segment, Optum Health and Optum Rx recorded revenue gains, while Optum Insight edged down to $4.78 billion from $4.79 billion.

Net margin for the quarter declined to 5.5% from 5.8% year-on-year. UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) full-year 2024 medical care ratio, which is used to measure medical costs as a percentage of premium revenue, rose to 85.5% from 83.2% a year ago. Total operating costs widened to $93.03 billion from $86.74 billion.

"The people of UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) remain focused on making high-quality, affordable health care more available to more people while making the health system easier to navigate for patients and providers, positioning us well for growth in 2025," Chief Executive Andrew Witty said in a statement.

For full-year 2025, the insurer reiterated its outlook provided in December for adjusted EPS of $29.50 to $30 and revenue of $450 billion to $455 billion. The Street is looking for earnings of $29.83 per share and revenue of $447.9 billion. In 2024, UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) adjusted EPS grew to $27.66 from $25.12, while revenue inclined 8% to $400.28 billion.