UnitedHealth Reports on Oct. 13. Here's the 1 Number I'm Watching.

UnitedHealth Group will report Q3 earnings on October 13. The key metric to watch is the medical care ratio (MCR), which measures the percentage of insurance premiums paid out for claims. A lower MCR improves profitability. UnitedHealth successfully reduced its MCR to 86.7% in Q2 from 89.4% a year earlier, driven by benefit design, pricing discipline, and member mix adjustments. Investors will closely monitor whether the company can maintain or further reduce this critical ratio.