MDLN
Medline Inc.
MDLN offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over MDLN overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
MDLN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Unavailable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
MDLN's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak. There isn't enough data to rate its revenue.
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.
MDLN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 33x | $22.09 | -45% |
| Fair | 40x | $27.00 | -32% |
| Expensive | 42x | $28.23 | -29% |
| Current | 60x | $39.98 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MDLN 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.
MDLN Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for MDLN to show an outlook.
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.
MDLN Earnings Per Share
MDLN and UNH do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
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.
MDLN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $7.9B | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.7B | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.4B | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.1B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.9B | +11% |
MDLN has the edge over UNH in the latest year-over-year revenue comparison.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.4% | -1.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.1% | -4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 5.7% | -3.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 5.5% | N/A |
| Q3 2025 | 8.1% | -0.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.1% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.9% | N/A |
| Q3 2024 | 9% | N/A |
MDLN 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.
MDLN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $884M | +65% |
| Q2 2026 | $604M | +486% |
| Q1 2026 | $316M | -41% |
| Q3 2025 | $535M | -13% |
MDLN has the edge over UNH in the latest year-over-year cash flow comparison.
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.
MDLN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +53% | +455M shares |
| 1 year | +67% | +529M shares |
MDLN has 1.3B diluted shares, up 67% from a year ago, despite $2B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $2B |
| Q3 2025 | $18M |
| Q2 2025 | $3M |
| Q1 2025 | $18M |
| Q3 2024 | $3M |
MDLN spent $2B 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 MDLN 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.
MDLN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.0x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.7x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.6x | Elevated |
MDLN's net debt is about 4.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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 MDLN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MDLN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 53.6 | Neutral |
MDLN's weekly RSI is 57 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 54 (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).
MDLN PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | MDLN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 60x | 26x | 131% above |
MDLN is trading at 60x earnings, a 131% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x, though its earnings don't support one.
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 MDLN on valuation relative to its sector.
MDLN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $36.1 | 11% above |
| 20 week MA | $36.6 | 9.3% above |
MDLN has stronger trend alignment. MDLN is above 2 of 2 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.
MDLN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $41.7 | $44.1 | +6% |
| 2026 YTD | $44.1 | $40.0 | -9.4% |
MDLN has finished every year since 2025 higher, and it's down 9.4% 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 MDLN on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.