Healthcare · Profile from Healthcare Research Companion
Molina Healthcare, Inc.
The Long Beach health plan that began as one physician's clinic for Medi-Cal patients and became the most purely government-funded managed care company in the United States. Molina earns nearly all of its revenue from state Medicaid contracts, dual-eligible Medicare plans and ACA marketplace policies. Its story has three acts: a family-run growth company (1980–2017), a board-led ouster of the founding family and a margin-first turnaround under Joseph Zubretsky (2017–2024), and a 2025–2026 cost-trend shock that cut earnings by more than half and forced a retreat from the exchanges and mainstream Medicare Advantage.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1980, Long Beach, California, as a single primary-care clinic for Medi-Cal (Medicaid) patients
- Founder
- Dr. C. David Molina, an emergency-room physician (died 1996); sons J. Mario Molina, MD (CEO 1996–2017) and John C. Molina, JD (CFO) led the company until 2017
- Headquarters
- Long Beach, California
- Ownership / structure
- Public company, NYSE: MOH (IPO July 2003 at $17.50/share); no controlling shareholder since the Molina family left the board in 2017–2018
- Leadership (2026)
- Joseph M. Zubretsky, President and CEO since November 2017 (contract extended through at least end-2027); Mark Keim, CFO (verify current titles)
- Segment and buyer
- Payer: Medicaid managed care (~75–80% of premium revenue), Medicare (mostly dual-eligible special-needs plans), ACA Marketplace. The buyer is the state Medicaid agency, CMS, and (on the exchanges) subsidised individuals
- Scale
- ~5.5m members across 21 states at end-2025 (Medicaid ~4.57m, Medicare ~262k, Marketplace ~655k); ~4.9m members at September 30, 2026 (reported)
- Financials
- 2025 revenue $45.4bn (+12%), premium revenue $43.1bn; net income $472m ($8.92/share) versus $1,179m in 2024; adjusted EPS $11.03; medical care ratio (MCR) 91.7% (2024: 89.1%). 2026 guidance: ~$42bn premium revenue, adjusted EPS of at least $5.25 (raised from $5.00 in July 2026)
- Capital history
- IPO raised ~$115m gross (2003); funded growth since with retained earnings, debt and equity; >$10bn of acquired revenue 2019–2025 (company figure); $1bn of buybacks in 2025
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding clinic model; 2003 IPO; Medicaid IT and behavioural diversification (Unisys MMIS, Pathways), later unwound; ACA marketplace bet (2014–2017 losses); 2017 board ouster of the Molina brothers and restructuring; 2018 contract losses (New Mexico); 2020–2024 acquisition roll-up (Magellan Complete Care, Affinity, Bright Health's California MA, ConnectiCare); 2024 California Medi-Cal expansion; 2025 guidance collapse and 2026 retreat from Marketplace and MAPD
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1980
Founding Medi Cal Clinic
Founding
2003
NYSE IPO
IPO
2010
Medicaid Solutions and Pathways Diversification
Acquisition (2010, 2015), later divestiture (2018)
2014
ACA Marketplace Bet
Launch / expansion
2017
Founder Ouster and Restructuring
Restructuring / leadership change
2018
New Mexico Loss and Footprint Reset
Contract loss / retrenchment (and, in 2023, re-entry)
2020
Acquisition Roll Up
Acquisition (programme of bolt-on health-plan purchases)
2024
California Medi Cal and Bright MA
Contract win (procurement) and acquisition
2025
Cost Shock and Marketplace Retreat
Guidance reset / restructuring (market exits)