LH
Labcorp Holdings Inc.
LH offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over LH overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
LH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Stable |
LH's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are 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.
LH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $136 | -63% |
| Forward | 19x | $372 | — |
| Fair | 24x | $296 | -20% |
| Current | 31x | $372 | — |
| Expensive | 41x | $500 | +34% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LH's PE is in its expensive range at 31x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings, in its fair 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 LH in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
LH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for LH, with profitability holding steady.
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.
LH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $19.25 | +58% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.19 | +20% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.09 | +33% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.29 | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.46 | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.20 | +94% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.08 | +69% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.67 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.84 | +85% |
LH 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.
LH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.8B | +6.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.7B | +5.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.5B | +5.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.5B | +5.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.6B | +8.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.5B | +9.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.3B | +5.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.3B | +9.8% |
LH's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $3.8B last quarter, up 6.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | -0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +0.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | +1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.6% | +1.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 11% | +3.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | +2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 9.8% | -0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6.5% | +11 points |
LH 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.
LH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $412.2M | +47% |
| Q2 2026 | $313.9M | -42% |
| Q1 2026 | $70.5M | +$178M |
| Q4 2025 | $490.3M | -26% |
| Q3 2025 | $280.5M | +74% |
| Q2 2025 | $542.7M | +25% |
| Q1 2025 | -$107.5M | +$56.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $665.1M | +61% |
LH 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.
LH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -400K shares |
| 1 year | -2.5% | -2.1M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -5.4M shares |
| 5 years | -16% | -15.5M shares |
| Available history | -17% | -17M shares |
LH has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $353.8M |
| Q1 2026 | $98M |
| Q4 2025 | $225M |
| Q3 2025 | $25M |
| Q4 2024 | $75.1M |
| Q3 2024 | $75M |
| Q4 2023 | $9M |
LH spent $677M 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 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.
LH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.8x | Moderate |
LH's net debt is about 2.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.2 years 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 LH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 74.6 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 91.4 | Overbought |
LH's weekly RSI is 75 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 91 (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).
LH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | LH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 31x | 26x | 18% above |
| PE % | 77 | 29 | 48 pts above |
LH is trading at 31x earnings, a 18% 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 LH on valuation relative to its sector.
LH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $334.7 | 11% above |
| 20 week MA | $319.9 | 16% above |
| 50 week MA | $286.8 | 30% above |
| 100 week MA | $270.3 | 38% above |
| 200 week MA | $240.9 | 55% above |
LH 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.
LH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $145.5 | $175.1 | +20% |
| 2021 | $175.1 | $259.4 | +48% |
| 2022 | $259.4 | $199.0 | -23% |
| 2023 | $199.0 | $227.3 | +14% |
| 2024 | $227.3 | $230.4 | +1.4% |
| 2025 | $230.4 | $253.9 | +10% |
| 2026 YTD | $253.9 | $372.3 | +47% |
LH 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.