UNH vs ELV Stock Comparison

Unitedhealth and Elevance Health Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
UNH Unitedhealth Group Inc
$418.02 +12.6% 1M +16.0% 1Y
Market cap
$368.94B
P/E
26.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$450.13B
Div. yield
0.02%
Managed Care Healthcare
5 wins
ELV Elevance Health, Inc.
$439.75 +10.3% 1M +27.0% 1Y
Market cap
$93.25B
P/E
18.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$201.83B
Div. yield
–
Managed Care Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Elevance Health leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Elevance Health 6, Unitedhealth 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionUNHELVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $368.94B $93.25B UNH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.1x 18.1x ELV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.8x 15.6x ELV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +3.6% UNH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.1% 2.5% UNH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.3% -153.2% UNH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 0.0x ELV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.0% +27.0% ELV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.4%/yr +0.3%/yr ELV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.1% 36.0% ELV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 51/100 UNH

Percentile Scorecard

UNHELV

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

AxisUNHELV
Valuation 42 #15 of 25 50 #13 of 25
Growth 9 #22 of 24 30 #17 of 24
Profitability 91 #3 of 24 44 #14 of 24
Financial Health 48 #14 of 26 44 #15 of 26
Shareholder Returns 69 #6 of 17 88 #3 of 17
Overall 52 51
  • UNH ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • 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

PeriodUNHELVSPY
1 month +12.6%+10.3% -1.0%
3 months -0.6%+16.5% +2.9%
6 months +17.8%+27.6% +6.4%
Year to date +26.6%+25.4% +11.4%
1 year +16.0%+27.0% +13.1%
3 years -20.4%-2.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year -7.3%-1.0% +21.5%
5 years -6.9%+1.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year -1.4%+0.3% +10.9%
10 years +187.6%+256.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +11.1%+13.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureUNHELVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.1%36.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.3%39.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.330.29 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.440.75 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -62.0%-51.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.2%-1.3% -2.5%
52-week high $436.35$445.45 $779.14
52-week low $259.02$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.

MultipleUNHELV
P/E now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 24.5x 18.5xmedian 24.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 0.3x 0.5xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 14.4x -0.6xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.0xmedian 15.8x 14.6xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 2.5x 2.1xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median -2.33median 1.35 -7.93median 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 monthsUNHELV
Revenue $450.13B $201.83B
Gross profit $139.28B $53.35B
Operating income $21.68B -$142.23B
Net income $14.91B $5.13B
Free cash flow $23.62B $6.51B
EPS (diluted) $15.59 $23.62
Cash & equivalents $28.59B $10.35B
Total debt $309.77B $30.76B
Shares (diluted) 906.00M 217.60M
Enterprise value $247.51B -$49.33B

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
MetricUNHELV
P/E 26.7x 18.5x
P/FCF 16.0x 14.6x
P/Operating cash flow 14.0x 12.5x
P/S 0.8x 0.5x
P/B 3.6x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 4.5x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 16.2x -0.6x
EV/EBIT 19.4x -0.6x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 0.4x
EV/FCF 17.8x 13.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.6x 11.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.33 -7.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricUNHELV
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 6.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1.1% 4.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -29.5% -4.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -10.8% -7.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -32.5% -7.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -11.8% -5.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -33.4% -4.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -11.5% -2.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.7% 54.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -13.2% -7.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -6.5% 72.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.8% -7.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricUNHELV
Gross margin 30.9% 26.4%
EBITDA margin 5.8% -69.7%
Operating margin 4.8% -70.5%
Pretax margin 3.9% 3.1%
Net margin 3.1% 2.5%
FCF margin 5.2% 3.2%
Operating cash flow margin 6.0% 3.8%
Return on equity 14.3% 11.4%
Return on assets 4.8% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 10.3% -153.2%
Return on capital employed 10.9% -176.8%
Asset turnover 1.4x 1.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricUNHELV
Debt / assets 23.7% 24.1%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 0.0x
Debt / FCF 3.1x 4.7x
Liabilities / assets 66.3% 65.0%
Equity / assets 33.7% 35.0%
Interest coverage 5.6x -98.4x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 3.15 -0.79

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricUNHELV
Dividend yield 2.2% 1.6%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 2.1%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 54.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 34.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusUNHELV
Forward P/E 19.8xFY2026 15.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $21.16FY2026 $28.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +29.4%FY2026 -6.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.1% +8.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $420.88BFY2026 $208.75BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -6.0%FY2026 +5.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.2% -0.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersUNHELV
Held by institutions 86.6% 91.8%
Institutions holding 3,359 1,610
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +1.7%
Institutions buying 1,822 859
Institutions selling 1,247 540
Buyers to sellers 1.46 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.

UNHELV
UNH 1.00 0.67
ELV 0.67 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, UNH and ELV?

Unitedhealth (UNH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Unitedhealth (UNH) $368.94B, Elevance Health (ELV) $93.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, UNH and ELV?

Elevance Health (ELV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Unitedhealth (UNH) 26.1x, Elevance Health (ELV) 18.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Elevance Health (ELV) is cheapest (Unitedhealth (UNH) 19.8x, Elevance Health (ELV) 15.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Unitedhealth (UNH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Unitedhealth (UNH) +6.5%, Elevance Health (ELV) +3.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Unitedhealth (UNH) has the highest net margin (Unitedhealth (UNH) 3.1%, Elevance Health (ELV) 2.5%). On return on invested capital, Unitedhealth (UNH) leads (Unitedhealth (UNH) 10.3%, Elevance Health (ELV) -153.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Elevance Health (ELV) returned the most: Unitedhealth (UNH) +16.0%, Elevance Health (ELV) +27.0%. Over five years, Elevance Health (ELV) compounded fastest (Unitedhealth (UNH) -1.4%/yr, Elevance Health (ELV) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Unitedhealth (UNH) 0.02%, Elevance Health (ELV) 0.00%. Elevance Health (ELV) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Elevance Health (ELV) has been the steadiest (Unitedhealth (UNH) 36.1%, Elevance Health (ELV) 36.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do UNH and ELV move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.67, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, UNH 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, Elevance Health (ELV) leads on 6. 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.