Shareholders Sue UnitedHealth For Blatantly Pretending CEO’s Brutal Murder Wouldn’t Impact Guidance…

You can’t make this up…

If UnitedHealth didn’t have enough reasons to be yeeted into the abyss, we’ve officially added another one. A group of shareholders is now suing UnitedHealth, claiming the company “materially misled” them by sticking to its 2025 earnings guidance after CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in the streets of NYC. 

(Source: The Guardian) 

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, argues that UNH should’ve updated its outlook immediately after the killing…which makes sense, considering the entire strategic direction of a $450 billion healthcare empire just got deleted in real life. Instead, the company decided to do... nothing. On December 3rd, the day before the murder, UNH issued guidance: net earnings of $28.15 to $28.65 per share, and adjusted net earnings of $29.50 to $30.00. Then Thompson was tragically murdered. Then on January 16th, six weeks later, they confirmed that they were still riding with the same numbers, as if the very foundation of their business didn’t just crumble. 

Now with that, I’d like to pause here and acknowledge how completely batsh*t this is. A Fortune 5 company loses its chief executive to literal homicide, and their response is, “Business as usual”. Because of this, the lawsuit calls this behavior “deliberately reckless”. Which is putting it lightly. The plaintiffs argue that Thompson’s death didn’t just rattle the C-suite, it triggered a massive reputational blow to the company and the entire health insurance industry. They claim the backlash crippled UnitedHealth’s ability to pull off its usual anti-consumer gymnastics (a.k.a. The stuff that makes margins sparkle and patients cry). 

(Source: CNBC) 

However, it wasn’t until April 17th, nearly three and a half months later, that the company finally revised its outlook. Translation: Yeah, maybe this CEO catastrophe actually did matter when it comes to business optics. The result? The stock cratered 22% in a single day. So now the investors want blood, or atleast damages. They’re not asking for a refund on the trauma, just the cash they lost while the company allegedly played Weekend at Bernie’s with the guidance.

Meanwhile, UnitedHealth denies everything and says it’ll “defend the matter vigorously.” What’s more, is the fact that a legal defense fund for the alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione, has passed $1 million is also just... whatever the hell the opposite of poetic justice is. Apparently this is America in 2025. Everything is upside down. The CEO of the most powerful healthcare company in the country gets murdered, shareholders sue the company for not admitting that might be a problem, and the guy awaiting trial has more GoFundMe support than my town’s local public schools. 

(Source: The Hill) 

To be fair though, there’s no playbook for this type of travesty. CEOs retire, resign, get canceled, but assassinated? That’s not in the 10-K. But the issue here isn’t just the lack of human morals… it’s the willful delusion. UnitedHealth’s top brass looked at a gaping leadership vacuum, a PR grenade, and a potential regulatory sh*tstorm, and decided to keep the forecast sunny. Either they were in denial, or they thought investors were too dumb to notice. Spoiler: they weren’t.

Going forward, the lawsuit has legs. No one’s saying UNH should’ve known exactly how the Thompson fallout would unfold, but pretending it wouldn’t impact operations at all was a mistake. Now they’re on a road that could cost them even more losses. Meaning, keep your head on a swivel with this story, and place your bets accordingly. Until next time, friends… 

P.S. Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you liked getting rekt. Let’s face it, retail investors get the short end of the stick all day everyday. It’s the smart money’s world, and we are just living in it–only useful when it comes to liquidity purposes in the market. Meaning, if you’re as pissed off as I was when I found out Milli Vanilli was lip syncing the whole time, then it’s time to go from investing blind, to investing smart. Luckily for you, the key is right here as a Stocks.News premium member. Click here to see exactly how our premium members are printing while others quake in the face of today’s market chaos. 

Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.