UNH Earnings Sell-Off: Trading the Turnaround with a Cashless Collar

In this video, we take a deep dive into UnitedHealth Group ($UNH) following its disappointing Q2 2025 earnings report. While the company met revenue expectations, profitability was hit hard by rising medical costs in their Medicare Advantage plans, leading management to slash 2025 guidance well below Wall Street consensus.

Shares closed more than 7% lower, pushing the stock into a long-term turnaround story with management targeting a return to growth in 2026.

But as technical traders, a collapsing stock price isn't just a red flag—it's an invitation to analyze the options chain. We jump into the platforms to look at the September 2025 options cycle and uncover a highly unusual phenomenon: positive call skew on a down-trending stock.

We map the volatility surface, compare it directly to the typical negative skew found in the SPY, and walk through how to structure a Cashless Collar to trade this sell-off with heavily defined risk. By selling high-IV upside calls to fully finance downside put protection, we can design a trade with a beautifully asymmetric risk-to-reward ratio.

What We Cover in This Video:
UNH Earnings Breakdown: The fundamentals behind the miss, guidance cuts, and the Medicare Advantage headwinds.
Technical Chart Analysis: Looking at the 1-year daily and 10-year weekly charts to identify critical historical support levels.
Visualizing Option Skew: A step-by-step walk through the Product Depth tool in ThinkOrSwim to see why UNH calls are uniquely juicy.
Structuring the Collar: How to construct an asymmetric risk trade (selling the 340 call / buying the 220 put) vs. a tighter, more conservative alternative (selling the 290 call / buying the 240 put).
Using unusual implied volatility allows you to establish long equity positions in falling stocks while keeping your risk strictly controlled from day one.

Would you make this trade on UNH, or are you staying away from the health insurance sector right now? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Timestamps
0:00 - UnitedHealth Q2 2025 Earnings & Guidance Miss
1:10 - Industry Headwinds: Medicare Advantage Challenges
1:52 - Technical Analysis: UNH 1-Year Daily & 10-Year Weekly Charts
2:35 - Options Chain & Implied Volatility (IV) Analysis
3:25 - Visualizing Call Skew: UNH vs. SPY (ThinkOrSwim Product Depth)
4:46 - Trade Simulation: Structuring the Asymmetric Cashless Collar
5:36 - Risk-Averse Alternative: Tighter Strike Selection
6:04 - Conclusion: What Are Your Thoughts on UNH?

Disclaimer
This video is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, or trading advice. No recommendations to buy or sell securities are being made. All examples are hypothetical and for illustration only. Options trading involves significant risk and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Consult a qualified financial adviser before implementing any strategy.

Видео UNH Earnings Sell-Off: Trading the Turnaround with a Cashless Collar канала Nichol Hermel