HSTM
HealthStream, Inc.
HSTM has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
HSTM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
HSTM'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.
HSTM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 38x | $28.29 | — |
| Cheap | 40x | $27.80 | -1.7% |
| Current | 40x | $28.29 | — |
| Fair | 50x | $35.27 | +25% |
| Expensive | 97x | $67.62 | +139% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HSTM 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.
HSTM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
HSTM 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.
HSTM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.74 | +6.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.70 | +2.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.72 | +7.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.67 | +6.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.61 | -7.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.68 | +4.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.67 | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.63 | +8.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.66 | +32% |
HSTM 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.
HSTM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $83.3M | +8.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $83.7M | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $81.2M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $79.7M | +7.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $76.5M | +4.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $74.4M | +4% |
| Q1 2025 | $73.5M | +1% |
| Q4 2024 | $74.2M | +5.2% |
HSTM's revenue has grown year over year for 23 quarters in a row: $83M last quarter, up 8.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.9% | -2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 9.9% | +2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 9.3% | +3.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3% | -3.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.9% | +1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.9% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 6% | -1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6.3% | +0.3 points |
HSTM 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.
HSTM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $17.1M | -4.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.5M | +363% |
| Q1 2026 | $26.4M | +1.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $13M | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $17.9M | -4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.7M | -57% |
| Q1 2025 | $26M | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $11M | -19% |
HSTM's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $69M over the past year, up 20% 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 HSTM on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
HSTM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +342K shares |
| 1 year | -0.5% | -155K shares |
| 3 years | -3.6% | -1.1M shares |
| 5 years | -6.4% | -2M shares |
| Available history | -8.5% | -2.8M shares |
HSTM has 30M diluted shares, down 0.5% from a year ago, with $14M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $2.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $6.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $5M |
| Q3 2025 | $6.9M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | $7.3M |
| Q3 2023 | $1.6M |
HSTM spent $14M buying back its own shares over the past year.
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 HSTM 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.
HSTM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
HSTM 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.
HSTM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 34.3 | Neutral |
HSTM's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (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).
HSTM PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | HSTM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 40x | 26x | 56% above |
| PE % | 19 | 29 | 10 pts below |
HSTM is trading at 40x earnings, a 56% 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 HSTM on valuation relative to its sector.
HSTM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $31.5 | 10% below |
| 20 week MA | $29.8 | 5% below |
| 50 week MA | $25.4 | 11% above |
| 100 week MA | $27.3 | 3.7% above |
| 200 week MA | $26.7 | 5.9% above |
HSTM has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 5.9% 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 the edge over HSTM on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
HSTM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $27.6 | $21.7 | -21% |
| 2021 | $21.7 | $26.1 | +20% |
| 2022 | $26.1 | $24.6 | -5.9% |
| 2023 | $24.6 | $27.0 | +9.9% |
| 2024 | $27.0 | $31.8 | +17% |
| 2025 | $31.8 | $23.6 | -26% |
| 2026 YTD | $23.6 | $28.3 | +20% |
HSTM has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 20% 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 HSTM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.