ACHC
Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.
ACHC's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over ACHC overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
ACHC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Weak | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak |
ACHC's revenue is currently stable, but its profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are under pressure.
UNH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
UNH's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
ACHC PE Valuation
ACHC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
UNH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $405 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $325 | -20% |
| Fair | 23x | $410 | +1.2% |
| Current | 23x | $405 | — |
| Expensive | 30x | $526 | +30% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UNH's PE is in its fair range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
ACHC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
ACHC has the edge over UNH on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
UNH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect UNH's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
ACHC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.02 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$12.43 | -1153% |
| Q2 2026 | -$12.41 | -916% |
| Q1 2026 | -$12.20 | -698% |
| Q4 2025 | -$12.16 | -537% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.18 | -61% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.52 | +$1.59 |
| Q1 2025 | $2.04 | +$2.17 |
| Q4 2024 | $2.78 | +$3.02 |
ACHC has swung to a loss: it lost $12.43 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
UNH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $22.65 | +29% |
| Q3 2026 | $17.55 | -8.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.58 | -33% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.28 | -44% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.23 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.17 | +25% |
| Q2 2025 | $23.09 | +53% |
| Q1 2025 | $23.89 | +46% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.51 | -35% |
UNH has the edge over ACHC on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
ACHC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $895.3M | +5.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $865.8M | -0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $828.8M | +7.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $821.5M | +6.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $851.6M | +4.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $869.2M | +9.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $770.5M | +0.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $774.2M | +4.2% |
ACHC's revenue is growing: $895M last quarter, up 5.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.3% | +1.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 2.5% | -3.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.3% | -0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | -142% | -147 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4.7% | -7.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 5.8% | -7.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 1.8% | -11 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.9% | -5.9 points |
ACHC has the edge over UNH on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
UNH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $112.7B | -0.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $112B | +0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $111.7B | +2% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $111.6B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $109.6B | +9.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $100.8B | +6.8% |
UNH has the edge over ACHC on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.8% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.1% | +2.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.1% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3% | -7.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.8% | -4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.6% | -3.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.3% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.7% | -0.4 points |
UNH's operating margin was 5.8% last quarter, up 2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ACHC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $47.1M | +$110.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $123.5M | +$157.8M |
| Q1 2026 | -$15M | +$148.1M |
| Q4 2025 | -$179.5M | -$92.7M |
| Q3 2025 | -$63M | -$35.9M |
| Q2 2025 | -$34.2M | -303% |
| Q1 2025 | -$163.2M | +$300.5M |
| Q4 2024 | -$86.8M | -$64.4M |
ACHC has burned cash in six of the last eight quarters: −$24M over the past year, against −$347M the year before.
UNH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.3B | +63% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.1B | +79% |
| Q4 2025 | $160M | -89% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.1B | -61% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.3B | +6.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6B | +1037% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | +$7.6B |
UNH has the edge over ACHC on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
ACHC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +372K shares |
| 1 year | +1.3% | +1.2M shares |
| 3 years | +0.6% | +578K shares |
| 5 years | +0.9% | +857K shares |
| Available history | +4.5% | +3.9M shares |
ACHC has 92M diluted shares, up 1.3% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $3.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $46.9M |
UNH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -4M shares |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -6M shares |
| 3 years | -3.6% | -34M shares |
| 5 years | -5.5% | -53M shares |
| Available history | -6.6% | -64M shares |
UNH has the edge over ACHC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $3B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
UNH spent $5B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 52% from the year before.
ACHC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2025 | 6.8x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 5.7x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 5.1x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q3 2024 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q2 2024 | 12.7x | High |
| Q1 2024 | 14.2x | High |
| Q4 2023 | 11.9x | High |
ACHC's net debt is about 6.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 3.4 years a year ago.
UNH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
UNH's net debt is about 1.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
ACHC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.3 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 70.2 | Neutral |
ACHC's weekly RSI is 70 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 70 (neutral).
UNH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.0 | Neutral |
UNH's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 60 (neutral).
ACHC PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | ACHC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 26x | — |
ACHC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
UNH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | UNH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 11% below |
| PE % | 47 | 29 | 18 pts above |
UNH is trading at 23x earnings, a 11% discount to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
ACHC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $31.5 | 20% above |
| 20 week MA | $30.9 | 23% above |
| 50 week MA | $24.8 | 52% above |
| 100 week MA | $25.9 | 46% above |
| 200 week MA | $48.6 | 22% below |
ACHC has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 22% below its 200-week average.
UNH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $394.2 | 2.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $400.5 | 1.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $361.2 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $376.0 | 7.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $446.6 | 9.3% below |
UNH has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 9.3% below its 200-week average.
ACHC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $33.0 | $49.3 | +49% |
| 2021 | $49.3 | $59.1 | +20% |
| 2022 | $59.1 | $83.0 | +40% |
| 2023 | $83.0 | $77.8 | -6.3% |
| 2024 | $77.8 | $38.0 | -51% |
| 2025 | $38.0 | $14.7 | -61% |
| 2026 YTD | $14.7 | $37.8 | +157% |
ACHC has the edge over UNH on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
UNH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $296.0 | $340.8 | +15% |
| 2021 | $340.8 | $495.4 | +45% |
| 2022 | $495.4 | $531.3 | +7.3% |
| 2023 | $531.3 | $526.5 | -0.9% |
| 2024 | $526.5 | $510.0 | -3.1% |
| 2025 | $510.0 | $331.8 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $331.8 | $405.1 | +22% |
UNH has finished three years in a row lower, and it's up 22% so far in 2026.