BAX
Baxter International Inc.
BAX's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over BAX overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
BAX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Unavailable | |
| Strong |
BAX's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability is under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its cash flow.
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.
BAX PE Valuation
BAX 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.
BAX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
BAX 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.
BAX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.06 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$1.43 | -$0.77 |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.09 | -$1.79 |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.15 | -$1.05 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.87 | -$0.59 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.66 | -430% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.30 | -106% |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.10 | -121% |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.28 | -125% |
BAX is still losing money, but far less than before: $1.43 per share over the past year, against $5.66 at its worst in mid-2023.
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 BAX on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
BAX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3B | +5% |
| Q2 2026 | $3B | +5.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.7B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $3B | +8% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.8B | +5% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.8B | -26% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.6B | -27% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.8B | -29% |
BAX's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $3B last quarter, up 5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.6% | +1.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3% | +0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 2.4% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | -25% | -8.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.1% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 6.8% | +12 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.2% | -3 points |
| Q4 2024 | -16% | -24 points |
BAX 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 BAX 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.
BAX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $558M | +135% |
| Q2 2026 | $285M | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $213M | +$406M |
| Q3 2025 | $237M | -6.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $217M | +89% |
| Q1 2025 | -$193M | -218% |
| Q3 2024 | $253M | +32% |
| Q2 2024 | $115M | -41% |
BAX has the stronger cash trend. Its trailing FCF is up 38% versus its history, compared with UNH at up 5.2%.
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.
BAX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +2M shares |
| 1 year | +1.2% | +6M shares |
| 3 years | +2.2% | +11M shares |
| 5 years | +2.8% | +14M shares |
| Available history | +0.2% | +1M shares |
BAX has 520M diluted shares, up 1.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | $32M |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | $35M |
| Q2 2021 | $312M |
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 BAX 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.
BAX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 11.2x | High |
| Q3 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -3.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 16.0x | High |
BAX 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.
BAX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 58.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.5 | Neutral |
BAX's weekly RSI is 59 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 40 (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).
BAX PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | BAX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 26x | — |
BAX 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.
BAX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $24.5 | 4.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $24.6 | 4.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $21.3 | 21% above |
| 100 week MA | $24.5 | 5.1% above |
| 200 week MA | $31.7 | 19% below |
BAX has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 19% 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.
BAX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $84.1 | $79.6 | -5.3% |
| 2021 | $79.6 | $85.6 | +7.5% |
| 2022 | $85.6 | $50.2 | -41% |
| 2023 | $50.2 | $38.7 | -23% |
| 2024 | $38.7 | $29.2 | -24% |
| 2025 | $29.2 | $19.4 | -34% |
| 2026 YTD | $19.4 | $25.7 | +33% |
BAX 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.