UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over USPH overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
USPH
U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc.
USPH offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
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.
USPH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
USPH's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
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.
USPH PE Valuation
USPH has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
USPH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for USPH, with profitability holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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% |
USPH has the stronger earnings trend. Trailing diluted EPS is down 8.5% for UNH versus USPH up 38%.
USPH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.22 | +35% |
| Q3 2023 | $1.72 | -42% |
| Q2 2023 | $1.93 | -34% |
| Q1 2023 | $2.16 | -25% |
| Q4 2022 | $2.25 | -6.6% |
| Q3 2022 | $2.98 | +26% |
| Q2 2022 | $2.92 | +26% |
| Q1 2022 | $2.87 | +15% |
| Q4 2021 | $2.41 | -2.8% |
USPH earned $2.38 per share over the past year, up 38% from the year before.
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.
USPH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $222.6M | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $214.1M | +8.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $198.3M | +7.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $202.7M | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $197.1M | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $197.3M | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $183.8M | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $180.4M | +17% |
USPH has the edge over UNH on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | -1.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 10% | -2.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 6.3% | -4.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.3% | +0.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 13% | +4.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 13% | +0.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | +1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.1% | +8.6 points |
USPH has the edge over UNH on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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 has the edge over USPH on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
USPH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.7M | +32% |
| Q2 2026 | $29M | -8.2% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.6M | +$5.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $21M | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $15.6M | -20% |
| Q2 2025 | $31.6M | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | -$7.3M | -381% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.9M | -31% |
USPH generated $69M in free cash flow over the past year, up 21% 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.
USPH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -142K shares |
| 1 year | -1.8% | -276K shares |
| 3 years | -0.4% | -59K shares |
| 5 years | +16% | +2M shares |
| Available history | +17% | +2.2M shares |
USPH has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
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 USPH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
USPH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
USPH's net debt is about 2.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.2 years a year ago.
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).
USPH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 72.9 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 86.8 | Overbought |
USPH's weekly RSI is 73 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 87 (overbought).
UNH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | UNH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 11% below |
| PE % | 47 | 29 | 18 pts above |
UNH is trading at 23x earnings, a 11% discount to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
USPH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | USPH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 26x | — |
USPH has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
USPH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $88.9 | 11% above |
| 20 week MA | $82.1 | 20% above |
| 50 week MA | $78.1 | 26% above |
| 100 week MA | $79.1 | 25% above |
| 200 week MA | $88.4 | 12% above |
USPH has the edge over UNH on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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 USPH on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
USPH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $114.0 | $120.9 | +6% |
| 2021 | $120.9 | $95.7 | -21% |
| 2022 | $95.7 | $81.4 | -15% |
| 2023 | $81.4 | $93.1 | +14% |
| 2024 | $93.1 | $90.9 | -2.4% |
| 2025 | $90.9 | $81.0 | -11% |
| 2026 YTD | $81.0 | $98.6 | +22% |
USPH has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 22% so far in 2026.