A merchant on the soil of the New York Stock Exchange.
Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images / AFP
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tilting legend
Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images / AFP
The problem of deepening of the United Group affects the business leaders, investors and the tens of millions of people who rely on health insurance and medical care.
Now they also injure one of the best gauges on the US stock market, while UNITEDHEALTH’s plunging shares weigh the DOW.
United is one of the 30 companies that make up the industrial average of Dow Jones, the powerful stock market index which aims to represent some of the most important companies in the American economy. For this reason, the DOW is considered a key bell tower that represents the overall health of the economy and the markets at a glance.
A month ago, United was the most expensive stock in DOW – but now its shares have lost more than 50% of their value.
The DOW is up almost 5% during the same period. This is apparently good news, especially since the American markets are recovering from the widespread sale and volatility launched by the new prices of President Trump and chaotic.
But compared to the other main American clues, the Dow rally was attenuated. The S&P 500 benchmark, which follows much more of the largest American companies, is up almost 10% compared to the month earlier. The Nasdaq, heavy with technology, has soaked, gaining almost 14%.
The terrible year of Unitedhealth has worsened this week
United is one of the largest companies in the world and controls large expanses in the way Americans get and pay health care. It employs tens of thousands of doctors; treats payments and complaints for hospitals and pharmacies; And has the largest American health insurer, Unitedhealthcare.
But for more than a year, the company has faced commercial problems and the reputation of assembly, including the generalized anger of consumers in the face of complaints and high costs of American health care. This fury acquired public visibility after the best executive of Unitedhealthcare, Brian Thompson, was shot in a street in Manhattan in December.
This week, Unitedhealth’s commercial problems have worsened considerably: its actions plunged Tuesday after the company suddenly replaced CEO Andrew Witty and suspended its financial guidelines in 2025.
Then the Wall Street Journal Wednesday evening, the United States Ministry of Justice was investigating the company “for a possible fraud in criminal insurance”.
The company said in a statement that it had not been informed “by the Doj” of the supposed criminal investigation “. He also called the WsjThe “deeply irresponsible” relationships and said “by the integrity” of its Medicare activity.
But investors are always frightened. On Thursday, Unitedhealth’s shares dropped by an additional 11%.
“The Bad News strikes quickly and furious,” Creditsights analysts wrote in a research report on Thursday.
They added that Unitedhealth could possibly face “penalties in the area of several billion dollars” of a potential DOJ survey.
However, there seems to be a silver lining for the Dow. The current sale of Unitedhealth means that its actions now play a much smaller role in the overall index than a month ago.
Despite their diving on Thursday, the DOW increased for the day, closing less than 1%.
