Marketplace - Less coverage, more profit

Episode Date: October 13, 2026

UnitedHealth Group just reported Q3 earnings: Total revenue was down but profits were up. How’s it possible? A decline in Medicaid enrollment, AI-driven billing tools, and some good ol’ corporate diversification. We’ll get into it. Also in this episode, we continue our coverage of the labor force in Mumbai with trips to an Oscar-winning visual effects studio and an English-language night school.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.Read the stories in today’s episode:"Can't go to the moon every quarter": Big banks' bumpy start to earning seasonMovie studios and night schools: Inside India's growing economyUnitedHealth stopped insuring some people. Its profits rose.What the low-hire, low-fire economy looks like for a new grad

Banks today and healthcare and our series, The Age of Work, from American Public Media. This is Marketplace. In Los Angeles, I'm Kyle Rizdahl. 13 October is what the calendar says. Tuesday, good as always to have you along, everybody. Our entree into the inner workings of this economy today runs through 270 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10017, at which address you will find the less than one-year-old three-ish-billion-dollar headquarters of J.P. Morgan Chase and Company, which this morning along with several of its peer Wall Street banks, open the books on third quarter earnings season. Banks are not, of course, the economic

be-all and end-all, but how they're performing. Profit and loss-wise can tell us some things about how things are going. Marketplace's Kristen Schwab gets us going. J.P. Morgan Chase is the largest bank in the U.S. So when it misses expectations, as it did, everyone sits up a little straighter. Christopher Maranac is a banking analyst at Green Capital. They are a trendsetter, whether we like it or not. Chase has a lot of information about businesses and consumers, and it makes a lot of money off investment fees and company deals,

which were volatile in the third quarter. It is certainly just the reality of the business can't go to the moon every quarter. Miranac says never-ending expectations of growth have soured what has otherwise been a pretty good period for banks. Commercial lending is up because of AI. Consumer credit and debit spending is strong because of steady employment. Chris McGrady is head of U.S. Bank Research at KBW. So as long as that continues, there should be, I would see, a pretty good support to GD. The forward guidance part of these earnings reports, though, also hinge on what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates and how companies and consumers respond, says Stephen Bigger.

He's Director of Financial Institutions Research at Argus Research. You know, if you're about to proceed with a project, let's say, as a commercial customer, you might say, look, a quarter point is not going to impact whether or not I take this loan out. The Fed increased rates by a quarter point in September. markets are expecting another quarter point increase before the end of the year. And Bigger says added together, a half-point hike can have a real impact on bank lending. The old statement about you can't fight the Fed. It's a statement because in the end, the Fed is going to do with interest rates what the Fed needs to do. I'm Kristen Schwab for Marketplace.

If it's a nice day, you can walk down Park Avenue, the Grand Central Station jump on the four or the five train. you'll be at the New York Stock Exchange inside a half an hour. Had you done that today, you would have find traders who were a little mopey, to be honest. We will have the details when we do the numbers. We're going back to India now for our series, The Age of Work. About 65% of the Indian population is what's called prime working age. That's 25 to 54. And unlike in the United States and a lot of developed economies, where workforces are aging,

India's prime age population is going to hit nearly 70% in just a few years. So by way of getting going, I want to start with two pieces of audio. Interviews that we did in Mumbai on the same day 12 miles apart. I need that drive. I need that purpose. And, you know, in some ways, we've reinvented ourselves. I want actually big opportunities. So that's why I'm learning right now here. So I'll be better.

Those are similar sentiments, right? But their places in this fastest-growing major economy in the world could not be more different. One person works at a visual effects studio that literally brings imagination to life, making the invisible visible. The other is a 30-year-old night school student who is trying to become more visible in this economy. We are starting our day at that visual effects studio, D-Neg, it's called. It's not a household name, but it has won eight Oscars. It did the effects for The Odyssey. It's currently working on Dune 3,

as well as another big blockbuster we're going to get to in a minute. I saw the trailer for this movie. That's Neal Richardson, ADP chief economist, as you know, and also my partner for this series. We're in a part of Mumbai known as Film City. You've heard of Bollywood? This is where the magic happens. It's a very aesthetic office.

It's beautiful. Beautiful and so new that some of the statues in the reception area are still wrapped in plastic. It's a lot of glass and a lot of dark wood. It looks just like our offices back home. Yeah, that's not true. We went upstairs, passed a lot of rooms with people actively working on movie scenes

and played a quick game with a slideshow of Dean Egg's past projects. Well, let's see if you can name all these movies or TV shows, right? June. Masters of the Air, the really bad follow-up to Band of Brothers. Don't at me on that one. It was really, really big.

Dad. Hello. Hello. We're just trying to guess which movie is which. We're having a good time. Kai. Hi. Nice to see you.

Nice to meet you. Hi, Merson. I'm Mila. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. You're a busy guy, so we're just going to jump right in. Yeah. Mersen Tavaria is the co-founder and president of D.Negg.

And the company's origin story is going to sound familiar. We've started with in a garage with just four of us. Really in a garage? Yeah. Actually garage. That's quite the Silicon Valley story. Now they've got upwards of 10,000 employees around the world, more than half of them in India,

in that prime age workforce. You guys are a global company. Yes. Offsies in L.A. and London and all over the place. What's the competitive advantage that being in India gives you? It's that you're always the underdog trying to do the next best thing. And that's, I think, the biggest comparative edge, for sure. I find it so interesting with all the titles that you have under your belt, you still see yourself as an underdog.

Oh, for sure, absolutely. And I would love to stay that way because, like I said, I get personally, you know, I need something new. I need that drive. I need that purpose. And, you know, in some ways, again, we've reinvented ourselves if you've heard about it. This is, we are creating our own IP. And we've just going to release our first big feature film. It's based on the Ramayana, if you are aware of that.

I actually wasn't. The Ramayana is one of India's oldest epics. And Dean Egg is telling the story in a two-part film, it hopes, is going to rival the Odyssey worldwide. Sony's doing the distribution. Hans Zimmer is doing the soundtrack. The budget is 400. $120 million U.S. dollars.

We are also releasing the movie in multiple languages globally, which is going to be in lip sync, using AI to help the process, using our technology to be able to push that. And that means more hiring. In the last six months, I would have added in 1,200 plus additional people. It's like 10%-ish of your headcount.

Yeah. But that's also driven largely by the project because you're absolutely peaking like... I love how you just call it the project. Yeah, it's the project. And those are permanent hires or do you contract? No. India per se used to be a full-time destination over the years. We've developed a pool, but at the same time also, I hate the idea of going up and down,

but it also helps in just keeping a steady business. Keeping the business steady means constantly developing the workforce. Coming from India as a culture, it's not like we've always had everything. So you're always trying to figure out as you go because you need to get ahead. You know, like I said, I started in a garage not knowing anything. You're literally learning on the job, figuring out, getting depressed, disappointed, finding solutions. and that's where if I had to do something, either I could say, I don't have it, so let's just sit back,

or you start pushing harder. 12 miles away and two full hours in Mumbai traffic, I mean that, two hours moving inches at a time. I need a shot to settle my nerves. We're seeing a different kind of pushing harder. Remember how we started this story with two pieces of audio? I want actually big opportunities, so that's why I'm learning right now here. So I'll be better.

Right now, here is school, night school, where the only classrooms lit and occupied are the three being used. Grades 8 through 10 for students of literally all ages. We're walking into an 8th grade math class. The 7 times tables are being done on the chalkboard. I'm really sorry to interrupt. I'm really sorry. Could you tell me your name? Juti Rator.

Juti Rator is 30 years old. By day, she does clerical work in a mutual fund. By night, she's here. Why are you here in class now? Because my father, when I am 10 years old, my father expired. So after that, I'm not continuing my school. So family problems on all. So when I came here, I realized, study is the very most important for us.

Yes. You've worked a whole day today. Yes. And now here you are. You work 10 to 6. And now it's quarter to 8 at night. Yes. And you're in school studying your multiplication tables. Awesome.

And then what happens? After you finish this school, is it more school and then a better job? Yes. I want actually big opportunities. So that's why I'm learning right now here. So I'll be better. You will be better. Yes.

You will be better. All right. I'm so sorry. Oh, no. Your English is way better than my Marathi or my Hindi. There are also kids as young as 14 because during the day, they're working. Wait, she did the whole seven times table all we were standing here. That she did your work for you.

You guys, man. Juti and the other students are both the current and the future prime age workforce that Indian needs to make the most of its demographic golden age. out in the hallway, we meet up with the principal here, Anamesh Singh. Hi. Hi, I'm Mila. Nice to meet you. Hello, I'm Kai.

Nice to see you. How are you, Amish? Talk to me for a second, would you, about the place that this school has in the development of the Indian economy, right? The Indian economy, there are 1.4 billion people in this country, more working people than almost any other country in the world. And here you are trying to train a new generation of workers and citizens. Tell me about that for a minute. As we say, like, in India, we have a lot of people who cannot afford to study. So every student should have that basic need of education.

And this is an English school? This is English medium school, yes, please. Why English, yeah. Why English? New generations, new things, so everything is in English. So, obvious, English is the future for the working class people, you can say. What are the other challenges that you see or your students? students see just to complete their 8 through 12.

Sometimes what happens, parents do not allow them to come in. Why not? If you don't have earning members in your house and if you are literally economically weak, so naturally the child would not come into school rather than working in. So that is, again, we have to follow up with parents, convince them, okay, we don't charge any fees. Please send them. Speaking of fees, we did pay a permit fee to tape here.

There are, it turns out, more than 100 of these night schools across Maharashtra, state of which Mumbai is the capital. The classroom across the hall is a 10th grade class studying Hindi. Hi. Hello. What is it? Tell me your name, please. Arriva. Araba is 18 years old.

She works with her dad at his car accessory shop came straight here from work. Our fixture Ankit translated for us. Five years from now, what would you like to be doing? for work. I'm going to vacill. She wants to become a lawyer.

Great career. That's a lot of school. That's a lot of school. Her uncle, her brother is already their advocate. Why? So you're working for your father.

Did you have to stop going to school because you were working for your father? Her father was not financially doing well, So she had to stop studying and help her father with his shop. But your brother was able to go to school? Her uncle made him study. All financial support was given by her uncle.

To the brother. To the brother, yeah. Anamesh, the principal, told us the night school has more women and girls this year than usual. We've told you that India is the fastest-growing major, in the world. But right now, the labor force participation rate for women in that economy is still only 32%. And also, as happens everywhere, some of the students in this night school are looking for a little upward mobility. So, tell me your name? My name, Taya Mahmah. Okay, good. What do you do during the day? Do you work?

What do you do? What do you do? I am a so-eyed engineer. He works at solar system. installation and he's a project manager. No, sir. No, sir. Supervisor. Supervisor. Not a manager or supervisor. Okay. How old are you? 25. 25. Okay.

In two years when you graduate, will you be able to get promoted to a new job at the same company or will you look for another job at a different company? Lossi's other company increase will. It will be a future in a good job. Nice. He is saying that

obviously he would like to go to a different place with a higher salary. Is that what you laughed at, obviously? You worked a full day today, right? You worked eight or ten hours? He worked for eight hours. Yeah, eight hours. Do you ever get tired? No, sir.

I am strong. And new generation. He's saying I'm strong. I'm from the new generation. That new generation is what's driving India's growing economy. But for this economic momentum to be sustained, everybody needs to feel the gains, from DEN-EG all the way to the night schools. Coming up tomorrow, then, what manufacturing means for this country and specifically for its women. Coming up.

Where am I? I was like, why am I here? Sometimes, gang, life just throws you a curveball. First, though, let's do the numbers. Now industrial is down 180 points today, a third of one percent. 51,670. The NASDAQ fell 41 points. That's about a 10%. 27,204 S&P 500, basically flat 7805. India's media and entertainment industry is growing fast. Indian research firm Markintel

says the industry is valued at about $33 billion now, $53 billion by the year 2013. The top dog in streaming over there is a company called Geo Hot Star features live cricket and HBO Disney programming as well. Premier tier there runs $24. That's annually. Kristen was talking about bank earnings. J.P. Morgan Chase declined eight-tenths of 1% Goldman Sachs went the other way up 9 tenths percent. Always a good time for a slice.

So we'll mention the domino's sagged 4.7% today. That's after reporting results that were not what investors were looking for, such as the way of capitalism. You are listening to Marketplace. This is Marketplace. I'm Kai Rizdal. Here's another one for the Healthcare Finance is just weird file.

United Health reported third quarter profits this morning. Total revenue for the biggest health insurer in this economy went down because fewer people are on Medicaid and on company health plans. Which, bad news, right, for an insurance company? Yeah, but no, because United Health's profits actually went up. Marketplace is Kelly Wells. has today's health care economy update. Profit is not about how many people an insurance company serves.

It's about which people it serves. The healthiest people leave the market, the sickest people stay in the market, becomes a less profitable market. Howard Foreman teaches health and economics at Yale. He says Medicare Advantage plans had a lot of sick people in them, so they were losing United Health money. And they are unafraid of leaving businesses that lose money. Profits also went up thanks to something that five,

years ago would have sounded like sci-fi. There's what people have called the war of the bots going on now. Health Finance Professor Emeritus J.B. Silvers at Case Western Reserve says providers are splitting bills, changing patient codes, to squeeze more out of insurers. So now insurers are doing the same thing in reverse. This is basically AI working on both sides of the equation. Finally, United Health Subsidiary Optum is a health care provider, clinics, pharmacy benefits manager, and other non-insurance stuff. All of that,

has been really profitable. Optum accounted for more than half of earnings this corner. Senior fellow Matthew Feedler at the Brookings Institution says in-house providers save money for United Health as an insurer. You can sidestep that market power on the provider's side and maybe pay lower prices for care or be in a position to negotiate lower prices with the providers you don't own. Optum earned $735 million last quarter, nearly 18 times what it made a year ago. I'm Kaylee Wells for Marketplace.

It is a long-standing belief of this program that whatever the headlines might say, the way to know what's going on in this economy, is to hear from the people in this economy. The relevant headline for this next piece is that the unemployment rate for people aged 20 to 24 hit 8% even last month. That is almost double the headline figure. What those young people are actually experiencing? Here's today's installment of our series, My Economy. I'm Zoe Goff. I'm 23 years old, and I'm currently in St. Louis, Missouri. I graduated undergrad from Northeastern, and directly after that, I was given the opportunity

to be a campaign manager, then transitioned onto a congressional race, also in the Boston area, doing fundraising. Worked that job until September 1st, 2026, which was election election night we had all of our volunteers community supporters advocates donors all in like a neighborhood bar in jamaica plane in boston it was great it felt kind of like a celebration of just like all of our hard work and then as the night progresses you know you get the results after a while it becomes kind of like mathematically obvious what's going to happen i don't know on one hand i was so proud of everything we did like just looking around seeing all the room full of people who helped us work so hard to get that far. At the same time, I was like, I really cannot believe this is over.

The idea of having to put myself out there again and having had a job for a year, I watched a lot of my friends, you know, they graduated maybe a year after I did. And they're still looking for jobs, six months, a year even. So just kind of like, I was nervous in 2025. In 2026, I was like, this is just so much worse than it was even a year ago. I really don't know how this is going to turn out. I could have stayed and paid rent with no job or gotten a new job, but I think I honestly was just in a really good position to be like, I can't move home. The first night I was here, I woke up, I was like, where am I? I was like, why am I here? My mom, like, keeps her exercise stuff in my room. Moving back in, sometimes it feels like a concession, but it's like this was

the right move for me and I just have to like be confident and firm in that. Last I looked, because I wanted to be prepared for this. I got like six active applications right now, which is not that many. Twelve more I need to kind of like get into, maybe I'll get rejected in a day. That happened. Maybe I'll just hear nothing.

I do think I will get a job. I don't know if it's going to be, you know, I think the idea of having like a job that you love and you're like, I'm waking up every day and I can't wait to do this. Maybe that doesn't exist. And maybe that's okay. And it's more just about, like, do I have a job where I can be happy enough, pay back my student loans?

Will I have insurance, you know, the basics right now? Zoe Goff on the hunt for her next gig living in St. Louis, Missouri, for now. I know I say this all the time, but this series does not happen without you and what you are doing. We'd be obliged if you would share your stories with us. You can do it at marketplace.org slash my economy. This final note on the way out today, you have surely heard. You probably couldn't miss it, actually. The cacophonous street sounds of Mumbai in our stories so far this week.

I'll tell you, that audio alone does not really capture it. You kind of have to experience it, which is what I had in mind when I pulled out my phone, our first night there driving from the airport to eventually our hotel. It's 1.30 in the morning. we're reversing down a highway because there's a monumental traffic jam and yet I don't think we're actually getting anywhere

welcome to Mumbai welcome to Mumbai indeed I was so tired the amazing thing is that a government survey a couple of years ago showed only 8% of households in India even own a car Jordan Manjee Zanel Maharaj

Janet Winnoga Oaks and Virginia K. Smith are the digital team. I'm Kai Rizdahl. We will see you tomorrow, everybody. This is APN.