UnitedHealth posted a better-than-expected profit in the final quarter of 2024, but a nagging rise in medical costs and care utilization surprised Wall Street. Shares of the health care giant slid Thursday after it released its first financial report since the brazen shooting of one of its executives outside a New York City hotel touched a

UnitedHealth Group Inc. reported fourth-quarter profit that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations in its first financial statement since a top executive was killed in New York last month.

UnitedHealth Group beat estimates for fourth quarter profit as the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based health care giant released its first earnings report since the fatal ambush last month of top executive Brian Thompson in New York City.