STE
STERIS plc
STE has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
STE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
STE'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.
STE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 22x | $253 | — |
| Current | 30x | $253 | — |
| Cheap | 33x | $279 | +9.9% |
| Fair | 40x | $336 | +33% |
| Expensive | 80x | $677 | +167% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
STE 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.
STE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
STE 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.
STE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.78 | +40% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.43 | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.18 | +25% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.93 | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.17 | +52% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.96 | +59% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.53 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.20 | +62% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.71 | -18% |
STE 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.
STE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.6B | +8.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.5B | +7.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +7.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.5B | +9.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B | +9.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.4B | +8.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +4.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | -1.8% |
STE's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $1.6B last quarter, up 8.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 19% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +1.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | +5.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +0.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 15% | -2.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 18% | +2.4 points |
STE 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 has the edge over STE on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| 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.
STE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $212.9M | +5.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $279.6M | -14% |
| Q1 2026 | $245.2M | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $199.5M | -18% |
| Q3 2025 | $201.3M | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $326.4M | +67% |
| Q1 2025 | $189.9M | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $243.6M | +41% |
STE 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.
STE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -300K shares |
| 1 year | -1.2% | -1.2M shares |
| 3 years | -1.8% | -1.8M shares |
| 5 years | -3.1% | -3.1M shares |
| Available history | +14% | +12M shares |
STE has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $100.4M |
| Q2 2026 | $115.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $74.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $50.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $100.5M |
| Q2 2025 | $10.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $263,000 |
| Q4 2024 | $100.4M |
STE spent $340M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 61% 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.
STE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.5x | Healthy |
STE 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.
STE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 79.9 | Neutral |
STE's weekly RSI is 65 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 80 (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).
STE PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | STE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 30x | 26x | 16% above |
| PE % | 10 | 29 | 19 pts below |
STE is trading at 30x earnings, a 16% 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 STE on valuation relative to its sector.
STE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $227.4 | 11% above |
| 20 week MA | $224.8 | 13% above |
| 50 week MA | $230.0 | 10% above |
| 100 week MA | $231.6 | 9.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $224.2 | 13% above |
STE 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.
STE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $151.8 | $186.2 | +23% |
| 2021 | $186.2 | $241.1 | +29% |
| 2022 | $241.1 | $182.1 | -24% |
| 2023 | $182.1 | $219.9 | +21% |
| 2024 | $219.9 | $208.0 | -5.4% |
| 2025 | $208.0 | $255.4 | +23% |
| 2026 YTD | $255.4 | $253.4 | -0.8% |
STE has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's down 0.8% 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 STE on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.