WellPoint 2nd-quarter profit falls on higher expenses, but still tops Wall Street projections

WellPoint's second-quarter profit fell 8.6 percent as expenses climbed.

Its performance beat Wall Street's expectations.

The Indianapolis health insurer reported Wednesday that net income declined to $731.1 million, or $2.56 per share, from $800.1 million, or $2.64 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Earnings, adjusted for investment gains, came to $2.44 per share. The average per-share estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.28.

Total expenses increased to $17.21 billion from $16.48 billion.

Operating revenue, which excludes investment gains or losses, rose 4.2 percent to $18.23 billion from $17.49 billion. That is slightly above the $18.22 billion Wall Street forecast.

Shares of WellPoint Inc. are up almost 22 percent this year.