CVS vs HCA vs ELV Stock Comparison

Cvs Health, HCA Healthcare and Elevance Health Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CVS CVS HEALTH Corp
$92.55 +3.8% 1M +13.0% 1Y
Market cap
$116.81B
P/E
23.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$415.09B
Div. yield
–
Managed Care Healthcare
3 wins
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$464.89 +6.7% 1M +4.0% 1Y
Market cap
$97.41B
P/E
14.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.01B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
5 wins
ELV Elevance Health, Inc.
$431.39 +9.0% 1M +26.0% 1Y
Market cap
$90.85B
P/E
17.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$201.83B
Div. yield
–
Managed Care Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

HCA Healthcare leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (HCA Healthcare 5, Cvs Health 3, Elevance Health 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCVSHCAELVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $116.81B $97.41B $90.85B CVS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.9x 14.2x 17.7x HCA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.8x 15.4x 14.4x CVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.4% +7.3% +3.6% CVS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.2% 8.8% 2.5% HCA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.0% 22.0% 8.3% HCA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.7x 3.1x -0.5x ELV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.0% +4.0% +26.0% ELV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.0%/yr +13.6%/yr -0.1%/yr HCA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.4% 31.0% 36.1% HCA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 59/100 71/100 ELV

Percentile Scorecard

CVSHCAELV

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCVSHCAELV
Valuation 79 #6 of 25 87 #13 of 93 83 #5 of 25
Growth 52 #12 of 24 25 #66 of 88 26 #18 of 24
Profitability 52 #12 of 24 94 #6 of 87 78 #6 of 24
Financial Health 16 #22 of 26 16 #84 of 100 72 #8 of 26
Shareholder Returns 67 #6 of 16 75 #15 of 56 93 #2 of 16
Overall 53 59 71
  • CVS ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • HCA ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ELV ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCVSHCAELVSPY
1 month +3.8%+6.7%+9.0% -0.8%
3 months -13.6%+19.4%+14.0% +3.5%
6 months +18.1%+4.3%+21.1% +7.0%
Year to date +16.6%-0.4%+23.1% +12.2%
1 year +13.0%+4.0%+26.0% +13.0%
3 years +39.6%+106.4%-2.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.8%+27.3%-0.8% +23.1%
5 years +5.1%+89.5%-0.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +1.0%+13.6%-0.1% +11.0%
10 years +5.7%+489.0%+247.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year +0.6%+19.4%+13.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCVSHCAELVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.4%31.0%36.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.4%30.5%39.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.140.130.29 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.400.130.72 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -60.5%-39.7%-51.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.3%-14.7%-3.2% -1.8%
52-week high $110.55$545.13$445.45 $779.14
52-week low $70.08$361.32$280.74 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCVSHCAELV
P/E now vs peer median 24.2xmedian 24.3x 15.0xmedian 25.1x 18.2xmedian 24.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.3x 1.3xmedian 1.6x 0.5xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.9xmedian 13.5x 9.4xmedian 14.5x 9.6xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 15.6x 16.9xmedian 22.4x 14.3xmedian 15.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.5x -15.3xmedian 3.1x 2.1xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.33median 1.33 1.07median 0.66 -7.78median 1.33

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCVSHCAELV
Revenue $415.09B $78.01B $201.83B
Gross profit $184.68B – $53.35B
Operating income $8.29B – $7.70B
Net income $4.93B $7.85B $5.13B
Free cash flow $11.76B $6.00B $6.51B
EPS (diluted) $3.80 $30.70 $23.62
Cash & equivalents $11.33B $1.01B $10.35B
Total debt $61.41B $49.72B $30.76B
Shares (diluted) 1.29B 222.83M 217.60M
Enterprise value $69.22B $93.42B -$51.73B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCVSHCAELV
P/E 24.2x 15.0x 18.2x
P/FCF 10.1x 16.9x 14.3x
P/Operating cash flow 8.0x 9.1x 12.3x
P/S 0.3x 1.3x 0.5x
P/B 1.5x -15.3x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 2.1x -15.3x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 12.9x 9.4x 9.6x
EV/EBIT 20.0x 12.3x 11.5x
EV/Revenue 0.4x 1.9x 0.4x
EV/FCF 14.1x 25.0x 13.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.2x 13.5x 11.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.33 1.07 -7.78

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCVSHCAELV
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.4% 7.3% 3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 8.0% 6.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.5% – 4.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.8% – 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -7.4% – -9.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.9% – -4.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.6% 14.1% -7.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.2% 4.2% -5.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.5% 24.4% -4.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.1% 14.0% -2.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 95.3% -6.8% 54.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.4% 4.2% -7.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 146.0% -17.8% 72.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.7% 6.7% -7.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCVSHCAELV
Gross margin 44.5% – 26.4%
EBITDA margin 3.1% 20.4% 4.6%
Operating margin 2.0% – 3.8%
Pretax margin 1.4% 12.7% 3.1%
Net margin 1.2% 8.8% 2.5%
FCF margin 2.8% 7.7% 3.2%
Operating cash flow margin 3.6% 14.3% 3.8%
Return on equity 6.2% – 11.4%
Return on assets 1.9% 12.6% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 5.0% 22.0% 8.3%
Return on capital employed 5.0% 27.1% 9.6%
Asset turnover 1.6x 1.3x 1.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.0x 1.4x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.5% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCVSHCAELV
Debt / assets 24.2% 78.6% 24.1%
Debt / equity 0.8x -7.5x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.7x 3.1x -0.5x
Debt / FCF 5.2x 8.3x 4.7x
Liabilities / assets 68.5% 110.5% 65.0%
Equity / assets 31.5% -10.5% 35.0%
Interest coverage 2.7x 5.3x 5.3x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.0x 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.8x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 2.46 2.60 3.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCVSHCAELV
Dividend yield 2.9% 0.7% 1.6%
Net buyback yield -0.4% 8.6% 2.2%
Shareholder yield 2.5% 9.2% 3.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCVSHCAELV
Forward P/E 10.8xFY2026 15.4xFY2026 14.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.59FY2026 $30.21FY2026 $30.04FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +27.3%FY2026 +7.1%FY2026 -0.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +1.7% +11.0% +4.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $427.31BFY2026 $73.03BFY2026 $211.76BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.3%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026 +7.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.8% +18.8% -0.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCVSHCAELV
Held by institutions 89.1% 59.5% 91.8%
Institutions holding 2,069 1,333 1,610
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +0.3% +1.7%
Institutions buying 1,101 567 859
Institutions selling 730 563 540
Buyers to sellers 1.51 1.01 1.59

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CVSHCAELV
CVS 1.00 0.07 0.54
HCA 0.07 1.00 0.01
ELV 0.54 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CVS, HCA and ELV?

Cvs Health (CVS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cvs Health (CVS) $116.81B, HCA Healthcare (HCA) $97.41B, Elevance Health (ELV) $90.85B.

Which stock is cheaper, CVS, HCA and ELV?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cvs Health (CVS) 23.9x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 14.2x, Elevance Health (ELV) 17.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cvs Health (CVS) is cheapest (Cvs Health (CVS) 10.8x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.4x, Elevance Health (ELV) 14.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cvs Health (CVS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cvs Health (CVS) +7.4%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +7.3%, Elevance Health (ELV) +3.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) has the highest net margin (Cvs Health (CVS) 1.2%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 8.8%, Elevance Health (ELV) 2.5%). On return on invested capital, HCA Healthcare (HCA) leads (Cvs Health (CVS) 5.0%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 22.0%, Elevance Health (ELV) 8.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Elevance Health (ELV) returned the most: Cvs Health (CVS) +13.0%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +4.0%, Elevance Health (ELV) +26.0%. Over five years, HCA Healthcare (HCA) compounded fastest (Cvs Health (CVS) +1.0%/yr, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +13.6%/yr, Elevance Health (ELV) -0.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, HCA Healthcare (HCA) has been the steadiest (Cvs Health (CVS) 32.4%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 31.0%, Elevance Health (ELV) 36.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CVS, HCA and ELV?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, HCA Healthcare (HCA) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.