WellPoint, Inc.
Thesis
WellPoint is also trading at 9x earnings, which is attractive considering the expected growth from the healthcare reforms. The company is likely to benefit from an increase in membership as more uninsured individuals gain access to healthcare.
Did it work?
The thesis's core premise — that healthcare reform would pass and expand insurance coverage, driving membership growth for managed-care operators like WellPoint — did play out historically, as reform was enacted and millions of previously uninsured individuals gained coverage. However, the profitability of that expansion was mixed for WellPoint (its ACA exchange business later ran losses), and with no price performance or time horizon available, the actual investment payoff at the cited 9x earnings valuation cannot be verified. The thesis dynamics partially materialized, but the return outcome is unconfirmed.