MCK vs UNH Stock Comparison

Mckesson and Unitedhealth Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MCK Mckesson Corp
$1,001.01 +13.6% 1M +26.2% 1Y
Market cap
$117.56B
P/E
25.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$410.98B
Div. yield
0.00%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
8 wins
UNH Unitedhealth Group Inc
$418.02 +12.6% 1M +16.0% 1Y
Market cap
$370.53B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$450.13B
Div. yield
0.02%
Managed Care Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mckesson leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Mckesson 8, Unitedhealth 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMCKUNHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $117.56B $370.53B UNH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.6x 26.2x MCK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.2x 19.8x UNH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.8% +6.5% MCK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.1% 3.1% UNH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 107.9% 10.3% MCK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.6x MCK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% UNH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +26.2% +16.0% MCK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +36.8%/yr -1.4%/yr MCK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.6% 36.1% MCK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 52/100 MCK

Percentile Scorecard

MCKUNH

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

AxisMCKUNH
Valuation 54 #12 of 25 42 #15 of 25
Growth 65 #9 of 24 9 #22 of 24
Profitability 65 #9 of 24 91 #3 of 24
Financial Health 52 #13 of 26 48 #14 of 26
Shareholder Returns 63 #7 of 17 69 #6 of 17
Overall 60 52
  • MCK ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • UNH 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

PeriodMCKUNHSPY
1 month +13.6%+12.6% -1.0%
3 months +19.1%-0.6% +2.9%
6 months +20.9%+17.8% +6.4%
Year to date +22.0%+26.6% +11.4%
1 year +26.2%+16.0% +13.1%
3 years +121.4%-20.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +30.4%-7.3% +21.5%
5 years +378.7%-6.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +36.8%-1.4% +10.9%
10 years +521.6%+187.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +20.1%+11.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureMCKUNHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.6%36.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.4%38.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.250.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.860.44 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.2%-62.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.8%-4.2% -2.5%
52-week high $1,030.18$436.35 $779.14
52-week low $725.17$259.02 $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.

MultipleMCKUNH
P/E now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 24.5x 26.7xmedian 24.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.3x 0.8xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 14.4x 16.2xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 15.8x 16.0xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median -27.5xmedian 2.5x 3.6xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 2.16median 1.35 -2.33median 1.35

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 monthsMCKUNH
Revenue $410.98B $450.13B
Gross profit $14.96B $139.28B
Operating income $6.50B $21.68B
Net income $5.30B $14.91B
Free cash flow $6.42B $23.62B
EPS (diluted) $38.52 $15.59
Cash & equivalents $5.16B $28.59B
Total debt $9.73B $309.77B
Shares (diluted) 119.20M 906.00M
Enterprise value $101.45B $249.10B

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
MetricMCKUNH
P/E 25.9x 26.7x
P/FCF 18.2x 16.0x
P/Operating cash flow 17.0x 14.0x
P/S 0.3x 0.8x
P/B -27.5x 3.6x
P/Tangible book -14.1x 4.5x
EV/EBITDA 16.7x 16.2x
EV/EBIT 18.7x 19.4x
EV/Revenue 0.3x 0.9x
EV/FCF 18.9x 17.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.7x 15.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.16 -2.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMCKUNH
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.8% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.2% 1.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 46.6% -29.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.5% -10.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 58.1% -32.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.7% -11.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 52.8% -33.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.0% -11.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.7% -6.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.7% -13.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.8% -6.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.3% -14.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMCKUNH
Gross margin 3.6% 30.9%
EBITDA margin 1.8% 5.8%
Operating margin 1.6% 4.8%
Pretax margin 1.6% 3.9%
Net margin 1.1% 3.1%
FCF margin 1.6% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 1.7% 6.0%
Return on equity – 14.3%
Return on assets 6.2% 4.8%
Return on invested capital 107.9% 10.3%
Return on capital employed 43.4% 10.9%
Asset turnover 4.8x 1.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMCKUNH
Debt / assets 11.0% 23.7%
Debt / equity -2.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.6x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 104.8% 66.3%
Equity / assets -4.8% 33.7%
Interest coverage 23.6x 5.6x
Current ratio 0.9x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 5.91 3.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMCKUNH
Dividend yield 0.3% 2.2%
Net buyback yield 5.7% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 6.0% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 7.4% 54.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) 6.1% 34.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 11.3% 4.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.0% 8.3%

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.

ConsensusMCKUNH
Forward P/E 21.2xFY2026 19.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $47.14FY2026 $21.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.5%FY2026 +29.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.1% +12.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $444.51BFY2026 $420.88BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.2%FY2026 -6.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% +15.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMCKUNH
Held by institutions 89.1% 86.6%
Institutions holding 2,007 3,359
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +5.0%
Institutions buying 879 1,822
Institutions selling 791 1,247
Buyers to sellers 1.11 1.46

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.

MCKUNH
MCK 1.00 0.01
UNH 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MCK and UNH?

Unitedhealth (UNH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mckesson (MCK) $117.56B, Unitedhealth (UNH) $370.53B.

Which stock is cheaper, MCK and UNH?

Mckesson (MCK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mckesson (MCK) 25.6x, Unitedhealth (UNH) 26.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Unitedhealth (UNH) is cheapest (Mckesson (MCK) 21.2x, Unitedhealth (UNH) 19.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mckesson (MCK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mckesson (MCK) +8.8%, Unitedhealth (UNH) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Unitedhealth (UNH) has the highest net margin (Mckesson (MCK) 1.1%, Unitedhealth (UNH) 3.1%). On return on invested capital, Mckesson (MCK) leads (Mckesson (MCK) 107.9%, Unitedhealth (UNH) 10.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mckesson (MCK) returned the most: Mckesson (MCK) +26.2%, Unitedhealth (UNH) +16.0%. Over five years, Mckesson (MCK) compounded fastest (Mckesson (MCK) +36.8%/yr, Unitedhealth (UNH) -1.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Unitedhealth (UNH) has the highest dividend yield: Mckesson (MCK) 0.00%, Unitedhealth (UNH) 0.02%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mckesson (MCK) has been the steadiest (Mckesson (MCK) 30.6%, Unitedhealth (UNH) 36.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do MCK and UNH move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.01, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, MCK and UNH?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mckesson (MCK) leads on 8. 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.