STX
Seagate Technology Holdings plc
STX has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
STX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
STX's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
STX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.9x | $188 | -65% |
| Forward | 12x | $545 | — |
| Fair | 17x | $318 | -42% |
| Current | 29x | $545 | — |
| Expensive | 43x | $823 | +51% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
STX's PE is in its expensive range at 29x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x next year's earnings, in its cheap 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 STX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
STX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
STX 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.
STX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $46.99 | +147% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.06 | +145% |
| Q2 2026 | $13.90 | +105% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.54 | +51% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.84 | +60% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.79 | +101% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.77 | +328% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.96 | +$8.26 |
| Q4 2024 | $5.51 | +$9.02 |
STX 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.
STX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.2B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.6B | +48% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.1B | +44% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.8B | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.6B | +21% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.4B | +30% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.2B | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +50% |
STX has the edge over UNH on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 49% | +22 points |
| Q2 2026 | 43% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | 32% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 30% | +8.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | +7.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +6.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +11 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +13 points |
STX 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.
STX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.5B | +246% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | +163% |
| Q1 2026 | $953M | +341% |
| Q4 2025 | $607M | +305% |
| Q3 2025 | $427M | +1481% |
| Q2 2025 | $425M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $216M | +69% |
| Q4 2024 | $150M | +52% |
STX 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.
STX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.3% | +3M shares |
| 1 year | +2.7% | +6M shares |
| 3 years | +12% | +24M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +1M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -33M shares |
STX has 232M diluted shares, up 2.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $400M |
| Q2 2026 | $117M |
| Q1 2026 | $30M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $29M |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
STX spent $547M 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 STX 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.
STX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.8x | Moderate |
STX 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.
STX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 8.3 | Oversold |
STX's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
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).
STX PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | STX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 29x | 28x | 2.7% above |
| PE % | 75 | 35 | 40 pts above |
STX is trading at 29x earnings, in line with the Technology sector's median of 28x.
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 STX on valuation relative to its sector.
STX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $683.6 | 20% below |
| 20 week MA | $785.0 | 31% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.7 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $387.3 | 41% above |
| 200 week MA | $234.4 | 133% above |
STX has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 133% 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 STX on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
STX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $59.6 | $63.0 | +5.7% |
| 2021 | $63.0 | $111.4 | +77% |
| 2022 | $111.4 | $50.5 | -55% |
| 2023 | $50.5 | $85.4 | +69% |
| 2024 | $85.4 | $87.4 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | $87.4 | $286.2 | +228% |
| 2026 YTD | $286.2 | $545.1 | +90% |
STX 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.