GRDN
Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc.
GRDN has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger fundamentals.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
GRDN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
GRDN's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is 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.
GRDN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 34x | $49.38 | — |
| Current | 42x | $49.38 | — |
| Cheap | 44x | $51.74 | +4.8% |
| Fair | 48x | $56.09 | +14% |
| Expensive | 51x | $59.75 | +21% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
GRDN 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.
GRDN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
GRDN 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.
GRDN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.47 | +25% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.17 | +83% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.03 | +$2.54 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.83 | +$2.31 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.77 | +$2.54 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.64 | +$2.23 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.51 | -786% |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.48 | -470% |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.77 | -411% |
GRDN has the edge over UNH on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
GRDN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $371.1M | -1.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $351.8M | +2.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $336.6M | +2.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $397.6M | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $377.4M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $344.3M | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $329.3M | +20% |
| Q4 2024 | $338.6M | +20% |
GRDN has the edge over UNH on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.8% | +2.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.9% | +2.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 5.3% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.2% | +4.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4.5% | +38 points |
| Q2 2025 | 3.6% | -2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 5% | -0.6 points |
GRDN 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.
GRDN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $43.4M | +89% |
| Q2 2026 | $25.4M | +63% |
| Q1 2026 | $1M | -91% |
| Q4 2025 | $30.4M | +70% |
| Q3 2025 | $23M | +$30.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $15.6M | -40% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.7M | +137% |
| Q4 2024 | $17.8M | +51% |
GRDN 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.
GRDN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +80K shares |
| 1 year | +0.8% | +484K shares |
| 3 years | +5% | +3.1M shares |
| 5 years | +5% | +3.1M shares |
| Available history | +5% | +3.1M shares |
GRDN has 64M diluted shares, up 0.8% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $30.3M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $29M |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
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 GRDN 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.
GRDN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2023 | 1.2x | Healthy |
GRDN 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.
GRDN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 67.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.9 | Neutral |
GRDN's weekly RSI is 67 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 61 (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).
GRDN PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | GRDN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 42x | 26x | 63% above |
| PE % | 8 | 59 | 51 pts below |
GRDN is trading at 42x earnings, a 63% 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 GRDN on valuation relative to its sector.
GRDN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $42.0 | 17% above |
| 20 week MA | $41.3 | 20% above |
| 50 week MA | $37.5 | 32% above |
| 100 week MA | $30.3 | 63% above |
GRDN has stronger trend alignment. GRDN is above 4 of 4 weekly averages versus UNH above 4 of 5.
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.
GRDN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $17.8 | $21.2 | +19% |
| 2025 | $21.2 | $30.7 | +45% |
| 2026 YTD | $30.7 | $49.4 | +61% |
GRDN 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.