UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over WAT overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
WAT
Waters Corporation
WAT trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
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.
WAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Unavailable | |
| Under pressure |
WAT's revenue is currently strong, and its profitability is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its cash flow.
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 WAT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
WAT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 25x | $59.10 | -87% |
| Forward | 29x | $462 | — |
| Fair | 30x | $69.21 | -85% |
| Expensive | 36x | $83.13 | -82% |
| Current | 198x | $462 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
WAT's PE is in its expensive range at 198x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 29x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
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.
WAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for WAT, but weaker profitability.
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.
WAT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $15.99 | +586% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.33 | -79% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.01 | -64% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.87 | -29% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.77 | +0.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.88 | +3.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.09 | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.02 | +8.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.71 | -1.3% |
WAT has the edge over UNH on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
WAT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.8B | +121% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +113% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.3B | +91% |
| Q4 2025 | $932.4M | +6.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $799.9M | +8% |
| Q2 2025 | $771.3M | +8.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $661.7M | +3.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $872.7M | +6.5% |
WAT has the edge over UNH on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.2% | -17 points |
| Q2 2026 | -5.2% | -30 points |
| Q1 2026 | -3.7% | -27 points |
| Q4 2025 | 29% | -4.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | -4.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -2.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 23% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 33% | +1.3 points |
WAT 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 stronger cash trend. Its trailing FCF is up 5.2% versus its history, compared with WAT at down 48%.
WAT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $54M | -71% |
| Q2 2026 | $153M | +272% |
| Q1 2026 | -$42M | -116% |
| Q3 2025 | $187.3M | -8.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $41.1M | -25% |
| Q1 2025 | $259.6M | -1.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $240.1M | +4.4% |
| Q3 2024 | $204.6M | +30% |
WAT still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2020 peak: $352M 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 WAT 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.
WAT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +66% | +39.2M shares |
| 1 year | +66% | +39.3M shares |
| 3 years | +67% | +39.7M shares |
| 5 years | +58% | +36.4M shares |
| Available history | +54% | +34.7M shares |
WAT has 99M diluted shares, up 66% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1M |
| Q2 2026 | $2M |
| Q1 2026 | $12M |
| Q4 2025 | $144,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $214,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $375,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $13.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $66,000 |
WAT has spent almost nothing on buybacks in the past year.
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 WAT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
WAT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 4.6x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 4.5x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
WAT's net debt is about 3.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than a year 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).
WAT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 71.2 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 79.0 | Neutral |
WAT's weekly RSI is 71 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 79 (neutral).
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 WAT on valuation relative to its sector.
WAT PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | WAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 198x | 26x | 667% above |
| PE % | 100 | 29 | 71 pts above |
WAT is trading at 198x earnings, a 667% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
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.
WAT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $445.7 | 3.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $416.3 | 11% above |
| 50 week MA | $375.3 | 23% above |
| 100 week MA | $361.7 | 28% above |
| 200 week MA | $336.3 | 37% above |
WAT 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 WAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
WAT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $233.8 | $247.1 | +5.7% |
| 2021 | $247.1 | $361.7 | +46% |
| 2022 | $361.7 | $346.7 | -4.2% |
| 2023 | $346.7 | $329.2 | -5% |
| 2024 | $329.2 | $374.6 | +14% |
| 2025 | $374.6 | $386.1 | +3.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $386.1 | $462.2 | +20% |
WAT has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 20% so far in 2026.