Healthcare is a great place to invest in for the long term as there are plenty of growth opportunities, especially as the population grows in size and gets older. Investing in a behemoth such as UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) can be a great way to gain exposure to the industry as a whole. UnitedHealth is a leading company and it has expanded via acquisitions over the years.
From $240 billion in revenue in 2019, the business' top line grew to more than $322 billion last year, for an increase of 34% during that time frame. Net income of just under $14 billion also climbed by 45% to over $20 billion.
And there's no sign of things slowing down for UnitedHealth as the company reported earnings on Friday, which demonstrated more continued growth. Second-quarter revenue of $92.9 billion was up 16% year over year and operating earnings rose by 13%. It was another strong showing for the business, with CEO Andrew Witty stating that, "Our diverse health care capabilities and dedicated colleagues are enabling us to meet the needs of more people in more ways, driving substantial growth and expanding our opportunities to serve well into the future."
Even though the company's medical care ratio of 83.2% was higher than 81.5% last year, the strong growth overshadowed the rising expenses. The healthcare stock was up over 7% on Friday and it can still go higher as it trades at a very reasonable 20 times earnings. And with a dividend that yields 1.5%, there are multiple reasons investors may want to load up on this stock for the long haul.
