ALGN
Align Technology, Inc.
ALGN has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
ALGN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
ALGN's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
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.
ALGN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $167 | — |
| Current | 24x | $167 | — |
| Cheap | 25x | $173 | +3.5% |
| Fair | 35x | $242 | +45% |
| Expensive | 69x | $470 | +182% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ALGN's PE is in its cheap range at 24x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
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 has the edge over ALGN in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ALGN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect ALGN's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
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.
ALGN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.89 | +73% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.86 | +33% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.74 | -3.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.95 | +8.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.65 | +0.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.17 | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.94 | +1% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.50 | -9.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.62 | -3.3% |
ALGN has the edge over UNH on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $17.55 over the past year, against $23.89 in early 2025.
ALGN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B | +1.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | +4.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $1B | +6.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | +5.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $995.7M | +1.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | -1.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $979.3M | -1.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $995.2M | +4% |
ALGN's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $1B last quarter, up 1.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | +7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | -1.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 14% | +0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | +0.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.7% | -6.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 16% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | -2.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 14% | -3.4 points |
ALGN 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 ALGN on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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.
ALGN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $137.9M | -18% |
| Q2 2026 | $157.1M | +47% |
| Q1 2026 | $120.3M | +339% |
| Q4 2025 | $187.3M | -29% |
| Q3 2025 | $169M | -28% |
| Q2 2025 | $107.2M | +0.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.4M | +42% |
| Q4 2024 | $263.1M | +1851% |
ALGN still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2020 peak: $603M over the past year.
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 still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $22.8B over the past year.
ALGN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -505K shares |
| 1 year | -1.9% | -1.4M shares |
| 3 years | -7.6% | -5.8M shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -8.5M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -9.1M shares |
ALGN has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $103.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $66.9M |
| Q1 2026 | $31.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $97.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $71.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $96M |
| Q1 2025 | $201.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $202.9M |
ALGN spent $298M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 48% from the year before.
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 902M diluted shares, down 0.7% from a year ago, with $5B in buybacks over the past year.
| 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.
ALGN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
ALGN has the edge over UNH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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.
ALGN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 50.8 | Neutral |
ALGN's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 51 (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).
ALGN PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | ALGN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 26x | 5.8% below |
| PE % | 16 | 29 | 13 pts below |
ALGN is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
UNH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | UNH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 11% below |
| PE % | 47 | 29 | 18 pts above |
UNH has the edge over ALGN on valuation relative to its sector.
ALGN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $152.2 | 9.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $161.4 | 3.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $168.0 | 0.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $169.4 | 1.4% below |
| 200 week MA | $225.1 | 26% below |
ALGN has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 26% 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 the edge over ALGN on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ALGN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $277.6 | $528.0 | +90% |
| 2021 | $528.0 | $654.0 | +24% |
| 2022 | $654.0 | $203.7 | -69% |
| 2023 | $203.7 | $274.0 | +35% |
| 2024 | $274.0 | $211.4 | -23% |
| 2025 | $211.4 | $158.4 | -25% |
| 2026 YTD | $158.4 | $167.0 | +5.4% |
ALGN has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 5.4% so far in 2026.
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 the edge over ALGN on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.