IDXX
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
IDXX has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
IDXX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
IDXX's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, 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.
IDXX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 43x | $634 | -9.1% |
| Forward | 43x | $698 | — |
| Current | 47x | $698 | — |
| Fair | 53x | $793 | +14% |
| Expensive | 72x | $1,066 | +53% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IDXX 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.
IDXX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
IDXX 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.
IDXX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $16.28 | +9.7% |
| Q3 2026 | $14.84 | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $14.23 | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.59 | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.08 | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $12.61 | +22% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.01 | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $10.82 | +4.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.67 | +6.1% |
IDXX 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.
IDXX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | +9.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +9.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.1B | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $998.4M | +3.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $954.3M | +5.8% |
IDXX has the edge over UNH on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 33% | +1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 35% | +1.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 32% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 29% | +1.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 34% | +7.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 32% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 27% | +0.2 points |
IDXX 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.
IDXX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $420.8M | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $322.5M | +113% |
| Q1 2026 | $234.3M | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $326.3M | +40% |
| Q3 2025 | $371.2M | +93% |
| Q2 2025 | $151.6M | -29% |
| Q1 2025 | $207.9M | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $232.8M | +7.1% |
IDXX 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.
IDXX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -263K shares |
| 1 year | -2% | -1.6M shares |
| 3 years | -5.9% | -4.9M shares |
| 5 years | -8.6% | -7.5M shares |
| Available history | -9.7% | -8.5M shares |
IDXX has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $112.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $346.8M |
| Q1 2026 | $351M |
| Q4 2025 | $237.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $240.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $338.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $400.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $246M |
IDXX spent $1B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 14% 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.
IDXX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.3x | Very low |
IDXX 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.
IDXX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 72.3 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 72.0 | Neutral |
IDXX's weekly RSI is 72 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 72 (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).
IDXX PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | IDXX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 47x | 26x | 82% above |
| PE % | 28 | 29 | 1 pt below |
IDXX is trading at 47x earnings, a 82% 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 IDXX on valuation relative to its sector.
IDXX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $575.2 | 21% above |
| 20 week MA | $559.8 | 25% above |
| 50 week MA | $593.1 | 18% above |
| 100 week MA | $562.0 | 24% above |
| 200 week MA | $525.7 | 33% above |
IDXX 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.
IDXX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $264.0 | $497.1 | +88% |
| 2021 | $497.1 | $645.0 | +30% |
| 2022 | $645.0 | $410.6 | -36% |
| 2023 | $410.6 | $555.1 | +35% |
| 2024 | $555.1 | $414.9 | -25% |
| 2025 | $414.9 | $688.5 | +66% |
| 2026 YTD | $688.5 | $698.0 | +1.4% |
IDXX has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's up 1.4% 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 IDXX on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.