ELAN
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated
ELAN offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has a slight edge over ELAN overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
ELAN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
ELAN's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, but its profitability and balance sheet are under pressure.
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.
ELAN PE Valuation
ELAN 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.
ELAN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
ELAN 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.
ELAN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.24 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.29 | -514% |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.40 | -146% |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.49 | -165% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.47 | -169% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.07 | -83% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.87 | +$3.42 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.75 | +$3.40 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.68 | +$3.18 |
ELAN has swung to a loss: it lost $0.29 per share over the past year, after a profit 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 ELAN on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
ELAN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.4B | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.4B | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | +4.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | -1% |
| Q4 2024 | $1B | -1.4% |
ELAN's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $1.3B last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.9% | +6.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.1% | +2.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 6.3% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | -23% | -18 points |
| Q3 2025 | -4.4% | -59 points |
| Q2 2025 | 2% | +4.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5% | +4 points |
| Q4 2024 | -5% | +7.3 points |
ELAN's operating margin was 1.9% last quarter, up 6.3 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 ELAN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ELAN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $156M | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $244M | +36% |
| Q1 2026 | -$38M | +$31M |
| Q4 2025 | $46M | -65% |
| Q3 2025 | $127M | +5.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $180M | +8.4% |
| Q1 2025 | -$69M | -$47M |
| Q3 2024 | $120M | -39% |
ELAN has the edge over UNH on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
ELAN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +600K shares |
| 1 year | +2% | +9.7M shares |
| 3 years | +2.8% | +13.8M shares |
| 5 years | +3.9% | +19.2M shares |
| Available history | +37% | +136M shares |
ELAN has 507M diluted shares, up 2% from a year ago.
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 ELAN 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.
ELAN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.4x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 6.4x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 7.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 7.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 5.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.4x | Elevated |
ELAN's net debt is about 5.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as 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 ELAN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ELAN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 59.7 | Neutral |
ELAN's weekly RSI is 61 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 60 (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).
ELAN PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | ELAN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 26x | — |
ELAN 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.
ELAN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $23.6 | 12% above |
| 20 week MA | $24.0 | 11% above |
| 50 week MA | $23.7 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $19.2 | 38% above |
| 200 week MA | $16.0 | 65% above |
ELAN 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.
ELAN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $29.3 | $30.5 | +4.1% |
| 2021 | $30.5 | $28.9 | -5.4% |
| 2022 | $28.9 | $11.7 | -59% |
| 2023 | $11.7 | $14.9 | +27% |
| 2024 | $14.9 | $12.1 | -19% |
| 2025 | $12.1 | $22.6 | +87% |
| 2026 YTD | $22.6 | $26.5 | +17% |
ELAN has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 17% 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 ELAN on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.