EW
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
EW offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over EW overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
EW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
EW's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
EW PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 28x | $48.93 | -54% |
| Forward | 33x | $106 | — |
| Fair | 39x | $69.87 | -34% |
| Expensive | 57x | $102 | -3.9% |
| Current | 60x | $106 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
EW's PE is in its expensive range at 60x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 33x 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 EW in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
EW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
EW 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.
EW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.25 | +84% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.77 | -24% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.74 | -75% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.88 | -73% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.83 | -74% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.32 | -67% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.95 | +186% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.00 | +202% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.97 | +203% |
EW's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.77 over the past year, against $7.00 in early 2025.
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 EW on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
EW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.7B | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.7B | +14% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6B | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.6B | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.4B | -12% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | -9.7% |
EW's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $1.7B last quarter, up 10% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | -2.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 29% | +2.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 29% | +1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.6% | -13 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | -6.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 27% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +3.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 23% | -3.5 points |
EW 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'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's operating margin was 5.8% last quarter, up 2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
EW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $506.7M | -1.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $585M | +143% |
| Q1 2026 | -$21.1M | -109% |
| Q4 2025 | $353.5M | +$530.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $516.2M | +72% |
| Q2 2025 | $240.9M | -16% |
| Q1 2025 | $224.4M | +$343.2M |
| Q4 2024 | -$177.3M | -467% |
EW generated $1.4B in free cash flow over the past year, up 77% 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 has the edge over EW on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
EW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | -1.4% | -8.1M shares |
| 3 years | -5.2% | -31.9M shares |
| 5 years | -8.6% | -54.1M shares |
| Available history | -9.3% | -59M shares |
EW has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $138.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $153.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $421.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $40.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $588.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $5.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $258.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $100.1M |
EW spent $755M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 21% 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 902M diluted shares, down 0.7% from a year ago, with $5B in buybacks over the past year.
| 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.
EW Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
EW 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.
EW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 71.7 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 87.7 | Overbought |
EW's weekly RSI is 72 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 88 (overbought).
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).
EW PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | EW | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 60x | 26x | 131% above |
| PE % | 84 | 29 | 55 pts above |
EW is trading at 60x earnings, a 131% premium to 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 EW on valuation relative to its sector.
EW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $91.5 | 16% above |
| 20 week MA | $89.9 | 18% above |
| 50 week MA | $85.9 | 23% above |
| 100 week MA | $80.9 | 31% above |
| 200 week MA | $80.0 | 32% above |
EW 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.
EW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $78.2 | $88.6 | +13% |
| 2021 | $88.6 | $128.6 | +45% |
| 2022 | $128.6 | $74.2 | -42% |
| 2023 | $74.2 | $76.3 | +2.8% |
| 2024 | $76.3 | $75.7 | -0.8% |
| 2025 | $75.7 | $86.9 | +15% |
| 2026 YTD | $86.9 | $105.8 | +22% |
EW has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 22% 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 EW on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.