CNC
Centene Corporation
CNC offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over CNC overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 has the edge over UNH on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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.
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's revenue has held roughly level: $113B last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| 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 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.
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.
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.
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 CNC 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.
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 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.
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).
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).
CNC PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | CNC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 9.7% below |
| PE % | 64 | 29 | 35 pts above |
CNC is trading at 23x 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 CNC on valuation relative to its sector.
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 the edge over UNH on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
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 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.