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Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) tumbled Tuesday after the company lowered its full-year profit outlook to reflect the impact of a cyberattack against its Change Healthcare division in February.

The health insurer dropped its earnings per share (EPS) forecast to between $15.50 and $15.75 from $15.95 to $16.40. On an adjusted basis, the company said it has absorbed an estimated 75 cents per share of disruption from the cyberattack, 10 cents more than its prior-quarter estimate. 

In February, the company announced that Change Healthcare’s information technology systems had been hit with "a suspected nation-state associated cyber security threat" that disrupted medical billing and care authorization portals.

Shares of the company fell more than 9% at the opening bell Tuesday—enough that the stock is pulling the Dow Jones Industrial Average into the red nearly by itself. The average is down despite only a third of its 30 components trading lower, with next-biggest decliner, Intel (INTC), down just 2%. Recently, UnitedHealth shares were 7% lower at $561.16.

In the third quarter, UnitedHealth's revenue grew 9% year-over-year to $100.8 billion, beating the Street's analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Net income was $6.1 billion, $6.51 per share, which missed expectations.

The company attributed its revenue growth to “strong expansion in people served at Optum and UnitedHealthcare.” Optum revenue rose more than 12% year-over-year to $63.9 billion, just above expectations.

Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth, includes a mail-order pharmacy division, a health savings accounts (HSA) arm and a health-care provider payment processing operation.

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Shares of Wolfspeed (WOLF) soared nearly 25% Tuesday when the maker of high-speed semiconductors reported it could receive as much as $2.5 billion in funding under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, and from an investment group.

The company noted that the U.S. Department of Commerce has proposed $750 million in direct funding from the CHIPS Act, and that it expects $1.0 billion in refunds from the tax credit included in the legislation. 

It also announced that a consortium of investment funds led by Apollo, The Baupost Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Capital Group agreed to provide an additional $750 million.

Wolfspeed explained that it would use the money to expand domestic manufacturing of chips with its silicon carbide technology, which the company calls "a superior alternative to silicon" for high-power applications, including "EV powertrains, e-mobility, renewable energy systems, battery energy storage systems, and AI and cryptocurrency data centers."

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said federal investment in firms like Wolfspeed are "a meaningful step towards reigniting U.S. manufacturing of the chips" behind technologies such as AI, EVs, and clean energy.

Apollo Partner Joseph Jackson added that the firm believes "Wolfspeed is at the forefront of a critical transformation in sustainable transportation and ensuring that the company has durable capital access to complete its expansion plans will help solidify its leadership in this space."

Even with today's jump, Wolfspeed shares have lost two-thirds of their value this year. 

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Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares advanced Tuesday after the pharmaceutical and medical device company posted better third-quarter sales and adjusted profit than expected.

Johnson & Johnson reported $22.47 billion in revenue, up 5% year-over-year and better than analysts had projected, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. It registered $2.69 billion in net income, down 38% and well short of expectation, on billions in one-time expenses like legal costs and acquisitions.

After accounting for over $3 billion in one-time expenses like legal costs, "intangible asset amortization expense," and the cost of acquisitions, Johnson & Johnson's adjusted profit of $5.88 billion came in more than half a billion dollars higher than expected.

The company also adjusted its full-year outlook, lifting sales projections to $88.4 billion to $88.8 billion from the prior range of $88 billion to $88.4 billion. Still, Johnson & Johnson lowered its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) projections to $9.88 per share to $9.98 per share from $9.97 to $10.07 to account for the impact of its recently completed acquisition of V-Wave, which develops treatments for heart failure.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joaquin Duato said the company's recent drug approvals and development milestones of other projects is "further strengthening our confidence in our near- and long-term growth targets."

Johnson & Johnson shares fell in premarket trading after the report but were up 2% in late-morning trading. They are about 5% higher this year.

—This story has been updated with the latest share price information.

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Can you imagine if you went to your primary care doctor's office for cooking classes? What if your visit included time spent planning meals, discussing grocery lists and the benefits of home cooking, and learning culinary techniques?

If that sounds odd to you, it shouldn't.

We already know that the more people cook at home, the healthier their diet, the fewer calories they consume, and the less likely they are to be obese or develop type 2 diabetes. A growing body of scientific evidence supports teaching patients how to cook meals at home as an effective medical intervention for improving diet quality, weight loss, and diabetes prevention.

In fact, research is turning to studying the value of nutrition programs that include cooking instruction. These programs have been shown to help people adhere to a healthier diet, eat smaller portions, and lose weight — improvements that lasted as long as a year after the study ended. These programs can even help patients with type 2 diabetes to eat healthier, lower blood pressures and blood sugars, and lose weight. Hard to believe it, but time in the kitchen can be as valuable as medication for some people with diabetes.

I recently met with a lovely patient of mine,* She has type 2 diabetes, and has trouble eating a healthy diet. Most of her meals are frozen dinners or takeout, which is all highly processed food with little nutritional value. I asked her if she would like to consult with a nutritionist.

"I have, many times," she laughed. "They're all very nice and everything, and it's all good information, but I can't cook. I get to the produce section of the grocery store, and I don't know where to start." Aha. No surprise, then, that multiple studies have shown that home cooking instruction significantly increase a person's confidence in his or her food preparation skills, which translates into eating a healthier diet.

Diet and lifestyle interventions have already been shown to be quite effective for weight loss and prevention of type 2 diabetes, and adding a home cooking instruction component could be even more powerful.

Let's get cooking!

*True story, details changed to protect the patient's identity.

Additional information and selected sources

Additional free and simple recipes from Dr. Rani Polak

Free cooking at home cooking videos from the American Collage of Preventative Medicine (ACPM)

Dr. Rani Polak's Harvard Medical School Talk@12: "What to Eat: The Emerging Field of Culinary Medicine"

Is cooking at home associated with better diet quality or weight-loss intention?Public Health Nutrition, June 2015.

Consumption of Meals Prepared at Home and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: An Analysis of Two Prospective Cohort Studies. PLOS Medicine, July 2016.

Impact of cooking and home food preparation interventions among adults: outcomes and implications for future programs. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, July-August 2014.

Impact of cooking and home food preparation interventions among adults: A systematic review (2011-2016). Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, February 2018

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

Goldman Sachs (GS) reported third-quarter earnings that were better than analysts expected Tuesday morning, continuing a stretch of strong big bank earnings kicked off last week by rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

The shares edged higher in early trading after the firm reported $12.7 billion in total revenue, above the $11.82 billion Goldman reported a year ago and ahead of analysts' consensus as compiled by Visible Alpha.

Net interest income (NII) came in at $2.62 billion, up from $1.55 billion a year ago and better than the $1.95 billion analysts had projected. Goldman's profits came in just shy of $3 billion, nearly half a billion better than analysts expected and up from $2.06 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

The KBW Banking Index (BKX) was recently up 0.4%.

Goldman reported Tuesday alongside Bank of America (BAC), which also surpassed estimates. On Friday JPMorgan turned in estimate-beating results, while Wells Fargo saw profits drop less year-over-year than analysts had expected.

The financial-sector results come weeks after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years. Analysts have said the first rate cut, and others likely to come in the next year, could help boost future bank earnings by lowering deposit costs and sparking activity like mergers and acquisitions.

Goldman Sachs shares are up over 35% this year through Monday's close.

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Bank of America (BAC) reported third-quarter results above analysts' estimates Tuesday morning, as revenue rose year-over-year and profit fell by a smaller amount than expected.

The company reported $25.34 billion in revenue, above last year's $25.17 billion and the $25.28 billion consensus projection of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. The key banking metric of net interest income (NII) came in at $13.97 billion, down from $14.38 billion a year ago but better than the $13.85 billion expectation.

Bank of America posted profit of $6.90 billion, or $0.81 per share, down from $7.8 billion and $0.90, respectively, the same time last year. Analysts were expecting a larger drop to $6.45 billion, or $0.75 per share.

Bank of America shares rose by more than 1.5% in morning trading soon after the report. The company's shares are up roughly 25% through Monday's close. The KBW Banking Index (BKX) was recently up 0.4%.

Big bank earnings season kicked off last Friday, with JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) reporting better-than-expected third-quarter results, which helped Bank of America shares rise 5%. They are up almost 25% year-to-date through Monday's close.

The earnings reports come less than a month after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since 2020. Analysts have said the cuts should boost bank earnings in future quarters as deposit costs fall and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity picks up.

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