CNC
Centene Corporation
CNC's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
LLY
Eli Lilly and Company
LLY has the edge over CNC overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
CNC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
CNC's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable.
LLY Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
LLY's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
CNC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $34.05 | -52% |
| Forward | 13x | $70.27 | — |
| Fair | 19x | $57.25 | -19% |
| Current | 23x | $70.27 | — |
| Expensive | 33x | $100 | +43% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CNC's PE is in its fair range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 13x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
LLY PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 27x | $845 | -41% |
| Forward | 30x | $1,427 | — |
| Current | 46x | $1,427 | — |
| Fair | 48x | $1,466 | +2.7% |
| Expensive | 85x | $2,612 | +83% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LLY has the edge over CNC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CNC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect CNC's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
LLY Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
LLY has the edge over CNC on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
CNC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.24 | +74% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.01 | +$13.76 |
| Q2 2026 | -$10.35 | -352% |
| Q1 2026 | -$13.05 | -292% |
| Q4 2025 | -$13.53 | -314% |
| Q3 2025 | -$10.75 | -285% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.11 | -23% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.78 | +34% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.31 | +27% |
CNC has returned to profit: it earned $3.01 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
LLY Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $46.82 | +52% |
| Q3 2026 | $30.81 | +51% |
| Q2 2026 | $29.80 | +95% |
| Q1 2026 | $28.15 | +129% |
| Q4 2025 | $22.95 | +96% |
| Q3 2025 | $20.44 | +121% |
| Q2 2025 | $15.30 | +88% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.29 | +81% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.71 | +102% |
LLY has the edge over CNC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CNC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $50.6B | +1.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $53.6B | +9.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $49.9B | +7.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $49.7B | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $49.7B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $48.7B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $46.6B | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $40.8B | +3.4% |
CNC's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $50.6B last quarter, up 1.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.6% | +13 points |
| Q2 2026 | 2.2% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.7% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | -3.5% | -3.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | -14% | -16 points |
| Q2 2025 | -0.9% | -4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.3% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 0.4% | +0.9 points |
CNC's operating margin was −0.6% last quarter, up 13 points from the same quarter a year ago.
LLY Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $24.4B | +39% |
| Q2 2026 | $23B | +48% |
| Q1 2026 | $19.8B | +56% |
| Q4 2025 | $19.3B | +43% |
| Q3 2025 | $17.6B | +54% |
| Q2 2025 | $15.6B | +38% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.7B | +45% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.5B | +45% |
LLY has the edge over CNC on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 34% | -6.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 40% | -3.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 45% | +18 points |
| Q4 2025 | 43% | +5.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 41% | +27 points |
| Q2 2025 | 44% | +12 points |
| Q1 2025 | 27% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 37% | +10 points |
LLY has the edge over CNC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CNC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.9B | -437% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.4B | +117% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.2B | +203% |
| Q4 2025 | $224M | +$965M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +$2.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.6B | -21% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.4B | +$2B |
| Q4 2024 | -$741M | -$735M |
CNC usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$3.9B, but it generated $3.9B over the past year.
LLY Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $8.2B | +22% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.8B | +458% |
| Q1 2026 | $3B | +1826% |
| Q4 2025 | $677.9M | -31% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.7B | +186% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.4B | +476% |
| Q1 2025 | $156.1M | -13% |
| Q4 2024 | $977.8M | +$2.4B |
LLY has the edge over CNC on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CNC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -3.5M shares |
| 1 year | +0.6% | +3M shares |
| 3 years | -8.7% | -47.1M shares |
| 5 years | -16% | -96.6M shares |
| Available history | -10% | -57.9M shares |
CNC has 494M diluted shares, up 0.6% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $24M |
| Q2 2026 | $4M |
| Q1 2026 | $29M |
| Q4 2025 | $2M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $432M |
| Q1 2025 | $41M |
| Q4 2024 | $943M |
CNC spent $59M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 96% from the year before.
LLY Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -300K shares |
| 1 year | -0.6% | -5.4M shares |
| 3 years | -0.7% | -6.4M shares |
| 5 years | -1.9% | -17.4M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -42.3M shares |
LLY has the edge over CNC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $377M |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.4B |
| Q4 2025 | $1.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $708.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $692.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B |
| Q4 2024 | $2.1B |
LLY spent $5.8B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
CNC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q3 2024 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2024 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q4 2023 | 0.2x | Very low |
CNC has the edge over LLY on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LLY Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.1x | Moderate |
LLY's net debt is about 1.2 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
CNC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 62.6 | Neutral |
CNC's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 63 (neutral).
LLY Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 68.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 84.1 | Overbought |
LLY's weekly RSI is 68 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 84 (overbought).
CNC PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | CNC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 9.7% below |
| PE % | 64 | 29 | 35 pts above |
CNC has the edge over LLY on valuation relative to its sector.
LLY PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | LLY | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 46x | 26x | 79% above |
| PE % | 48 | 29 | 19 pts above |
LLY is trading at 46x earnings, a 79% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
CNC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $67.3 | 4.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $66.3 | 5.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $54.3 | 29% above |
| 100 week MA | $51.0 | 38% above |
| 200 week MA | $60.6 | 16% above |
CNC has climbed back above all five of its weekly moving averages, and it's now 16% above its 200-week average.
LLY Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $1,279.4 | 12% above |
| 20 week MA | $1,218.8 | 17% above |
| 50 week MA | $1,102.2 | 29% above |
| 100 week MA | $954.1 | 50% above |
| 200 week MA | $797.5 | 79% above |
LLY is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 79% above its 200-week average.
CNC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $63.7 | $58.0 | -8.8% |
| 2021 | $58.0 | $84.7 | +46% |
| 2022 | $84.7 | $81.6 | -3.6% |
| 2023 | $81.6 | $74.2 | -9.1% |
| 2024 | $74.2 | $60.6 | -18% |
| 2025 | $60.6 | $40.5 | -33% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $70.3 | +73% |
CNC has the edge over LLY on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
LLY Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $131.5 | $166.7 | +27% |
| 2021 | $166.7 | $273.1 | +64% |
| 2022 | $273.1 | $367.9 | +35% |
| 2023 | $367.9 | $582.9 | +58% |
| 2024 | $582.9 | $783.2 | +34% |
| 2025 | $783.2 | $1,077.8 | +38% |
| 2026 YTD | $1,077.8 | $1,427.3 | +32% |
LLY has finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 32% so far in 2026.