Goodwill and Intangible Assets
The passage of the OBBBA in July 2025 had various implications for the Company, including potential membership impacts to the Company's Medicaid reporting unit as well as the non-renewal of Marketplace Enhanced APTCs. As a result of these market conditions along with the decline in the Company's stock price, the Company performed a quantitative impairment analysis during the third quarter of 2025 to determine whether goodwill, intangibles or other assets were impaired.
The goodwill impairment analysis utilized a weighted discounted cash flow model and guideline public company market approach to measure the fair value of the Company's reporting units. As a result of the analysis, the Company recorded a $6,723 million impairment to goodwill.
The following table summarizes the changes in goodwill by operating segment ($ in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Medicaid | | Medicare | | Commercial | | Other | | Consolidated Total |
| Balance, December 31, 2023 | $ | 10,198 | | | $ | 1,592 | | | $ | 5,424 | | | $ | 344 | | | $ | 17,558 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Current year activity | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Balance, December 31, 2024 | $ | 10,198 | | | $ | 1,592 | | | $ | 5,424 | | | $ | 344 | | | $ | 17,558 | |
| Impairments | (6,186) | | | — | | | (212) | | | (325) | | | (6,723) | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Balance, December 31, 2025 | $ | 4,012 | | | $ | 1,592 | | | $ | 5,212 | | | $ | 19 | | | $ | 10,835 | |
Intangible assets at December 31, consist of the following ($ in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Weighted Average Useful Life in Years |
| | 2025 | | 2024 | | 2025 | | 2024 |
| Purchased contract rights and customer relationships | $ | 7,737 | | | $ | 7,845 | | | 13.5 | | 13.5 |
| Trade names | 913 | | | 943 | | | 15.5 | | 15.6 |
| Provider contracts | 492 | | | 612 | | | 13.8 | | 14.0 |
| Developed technologies | 227 | | | 298 | | | 3.8 | | 4.4 |
| Intangible assets | 9,369 | | | 9,698 | | | 13.4 | | 13.4 |
| Less: accumulated amortization | | | | | | | |
| Purchased contract rights and customer relationships | (3,891) | | | (3,348) | | | | | |
| Trade names | (438) | | | (383) | | | | | |
| Provider contracts | (283) | | | (271) | | | | | |
| Developed technologies | (227) | | | (287) | | | | | |
| Total accumulated amortization | (4,839) | | | (4,289) | | | | | |
| Intangible assets, net | $ | 4,530 | | | $ | 5,409 | | | | | |
As discussed in Note 3. Acquisitions and Divestitures, Magellan Health was considered held for sale as of December 31, 2025, and the related intangible assets of $140 million were reclassified to other current assets. Additionally, during 2025 the Company recorded intangible asset impairment related to the wind-down of certain contracts in the Other segment of $55 million.
Amortization expense was $685 million, $692 million and $718 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Estimated total amortization expense related to the December 31, 2025 intangible assets for each of the five succeeding fiscal years is as follows ($ in millions):
| | | | | | | | |
| | Estimated Total Amortization Expense |
| 2026 | | $ | 650 | |
| 2027 | | 645 | |
| 2028 | | 644 | |
| 2029 | | 540 | |
| 2030 | | 482 | |
About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures
Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.
Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.