CVS
CVS Health Corporation
CVS has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
CVS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
CVS's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue and balance sheet 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.
CVS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 10x | $89.79 | — |
| Cheap | 11x | $97.03 | +8.1% |
| Forward | 11x | $89.79 | — |
| Fair | 16x | $137 | +53% |
| Expensive | 29x | $254 | +182% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CVS has the edge over UNH in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
CVS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CVS, with profitability 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.
CVS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.46 | -1.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.60 | +2163% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.79 | +5.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.28 | -46% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.39 | -62% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.38 | -90% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.58 | -36% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.19 | -26% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.66 | -43% |
CVS's earnings per share have jumped to their highest in seven years: $8.60 over the past year, up from $0.38 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 CVS on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CVS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $108.4B | +5.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $106.1B | +7.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $100.4B | +6.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $105.7B | +8.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $102.9B | +7.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $98.9B | +8.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $94.6B | +7% |
| Q4 2024 | $97.7B | +4.2% |
CVS's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $108B last quarter, up 5.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3% | +6.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.4% | +2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.7% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2% | -0.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | -3.1% | -4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 2.4% | -0.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.6% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.4% | -1.2 points |
CVS's operating margin was 3.3% last quarter, up 6.4 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 CVS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CVS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.9B | +3887% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.7B | +338% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.4B | -11% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.6B | +139% |
| Q3 2025 | $98M | +$1.5B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B | -47% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.8B | -9.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B | +$4.6B |
CVS generated $15.6B in free cash flow over the past year, up 147% from 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 still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $22.8B over the past year.
CVS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +4M shares |
| 1 year | +1.7% | +22M shares |
| 3 years | +0.1% | +1M shares |
| 5 years | -2.9% | -38M shares |
| Available history | -1.1% | -14M shares |
CVS has 1.3B diluted shares, up 1.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | $1M |
| Q2 2024 | $3M |
| Q1 2024 | $3B |
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 CVS 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.
CVS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 5.1x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 6.1x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 6.1x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 4.0x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 4.6x | High |
CVS's net debt is about 2.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 6.1 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 has the edge over CVS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CVS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 35.1 | Neutral |
CVS's weekly RSI is 49 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 35 (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).
CVS PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | CVS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 10x | 26x | 60% below |
| PE % | 9 | 29 | 20 pts below |
CVS has the edge over UNH on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
CVS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $88.9 | 1% above |
| 20 week MA | $95.0 | 5.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $87.6 | 2.5% above |
| 100 week MA | $77.0 | 17% above |
| 200 week MA | $72.9 | 23% above |
CVS's trend is mixed: it's above four of its five weekly moving averages, and 23% above 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.
CVS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $74.4 | $68.0 | -8.6% |
| 2021 | $68.0 | $101.3 | +49% |
| 2022 | $101.3 | $93.6 | -7.6% |
| 2023 | $93.6 | $79.0 | -16% |
| 2024 | $79.0 | $44.5 | -44% |
| 2025 | $44.5 | $79.6 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $79.6 | $89.8 | +13% |
CVS has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 13% 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 CVS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.