EL

Elevance Health, Inc. stock research

Dec 31, 2023

FY2023 Q4

Elevance Health (ELV) Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Dec 31, 2023

Revenue was slightly lower than the prior quarter, while cost of revenue increased, reducing gross profit and weakening gross margin. Compared to the same quarter a year earlier, revenue was higher but cost of revenue grew more, resulting in a lower gross margin.

Gross margin takeaway

Quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 · FY2023 Q4

Revenue was slightly lower than the prior quarter, while cost of revenue increased, reducing gross profit and weakening gross margin. Compared to the same quarter a year earlier, revenue was higher but cost of revenue grew more, resulting in a lower gross margin.

  • The strongest observable driver of the margin change is the rise in cost of revenue relative to revenue. Cost of revenue increased from both the prior quarter and the year-ago quarter, outpacing the change in revenue.
  • Gross margin weakened compared to the immediately preceding quarter and the same quarter one year earlier. The decline reflects a higher share of cost of revenue.

Gross margin snapshot

The selected quarter's reported revenue, gross profit, direct costs, and margin comparisons.

Gross margin

88.7%

Gross profit

$37.8B

Revenue

$42.6B

Cost of revenue

$4.8B

Quarter-over-quarter change

-0.5 pts

Year-over-year change

-2.2 pts

Quarterly gross margin trend

A four-quarter view of the revenue and direct-cost bridge behind gross margin.

PeriodRevenueGross profitCost of revenueGross margin
Mar 31, 2023$42.2B$38.7B$3.5B91.7%
Jun 30, 2023$43.7B$39.3B$4.3B90.1%
Sep 30, 2023$42.8B$38.2B$4.6B89.2%
Dec 31, 2023$42.6B$37.8B$4.8B88.7%

Quarterly comparisons

Compare the selected margin with the preceding quarter and the same fiscal quarter one year earlier.

Previous-quarter change

Sep 30, 2023

-0.5 pts

Year-over-year change

Dec 31, 2022

-2.2 pts

What the margin says

Filing-constrained interpretation of margin direction, comparisons, and what to monitor next.

The strongest observable driver of the margin change is the rise in cost of revenue relative to revenue. Cost of revenue increased from both the prior quarter and the year-ago quarter, outpacing the change in revenue.

Gross margin weakened compared to the immediately preceding quarter and the same quarter one year earlier. The decline reflects a higher share of cost of revenue.

Monitor the trajectory of cost of revenue in relation to revenue, as its relative growth has pressured gross margin.