UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has a slight edge over ZBH overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
ZBH
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.
ZBH 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.
ZBH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
ZBH's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
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.
ZBH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 12x | $105 | — |
| Cheap | 22x | $87.95 | -16% |
| Current | 26x | $105 | — |
| Fair | 31x | $123 | +18% |
| Expensive | 94x | $371 | +255% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ZBH has the edge over UNH in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
ZBH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect ZBH's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
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 has the edge over ZBH on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ZBH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.82 | +123% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.96 | -1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.12 | +0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.86 | -14% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.55 | -20% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.02 | -23% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.09 | -15% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.50 | -2.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.43 | -9.2% |
ZBH's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $3.96 over the past year, against $5.31 in late 2019.
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.
ZBH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.1B | +3.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.2B | +4.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.1B | +9.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.2B | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $2B | +9.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.1B | +7% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | +1.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $2B | +4.3% |
ZBH's revenue has grown year over year for 15 quarters in a row: $2.1B last quarter, up 3.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | -2.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | +0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | +2.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.9% | -12 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +2.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -3.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 15% | +1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +1 points |
ZBH 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 still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $22.8B over the past year.
ZBH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $484.2M | +33% |
| Q2 2026 | $393.6M | +20% |
| Q1 2026 | $323.1M | -4.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $442.6M | -2.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $363.7M | +3.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $328.1M | +3.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $338.2M | +96% |
| Q4 2024 | $454.8M | -13% |
ZBH generated $1.6B in free cash flow over the past year, up 11% 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.
ZBH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -1.4M shares |
| 1 year | -3.7% | -7.4M shares |
| 3 years | -8.9% | -18.6M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -25.5M shares |
| Available history | -10% | -21.5M shares |
ZBH has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $78.5M |
| Q2 2026 | $250.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $250.1M |
| Q4 2025 | $250M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $7.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $229.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $72.2M |
ZBH spent $829M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 168% from the year before.
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 ZBH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ZBH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.5x | Moderate |
ZBH's net debt is about 3.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 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).
ZBH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 62.8 | Neutral |
ZBH's weekly RSI is 61 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 63 (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 ZBH on valuation relative to its sector.
ZBH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | ZBH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 26x | 2.1% above |
| PE % | 45 | 29 | 16 pts above |
ZBH is trading at 26x earnings, in line with 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.
ZBH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $95.8 | 9.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $95.4 | 9.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $92.2 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $96.3 | 8.6% above |
| 200 week MA | $108.2 | 3.4% below |
ZBH has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 3.4% below its 200-week average.
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 ZBH on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
ZBH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $145.5 | $144.8 | -0.5% |
| 2021 | $144.8 | $123.2 | -15% |
| 2022 | $123.2 | $126.7 | +2.8% |
| 2023 | $126.7 | $121.7 | -3.9% |
| 2024 | $121.7 | $106.9 | -12% |
| 2025 | $106.9 | $90.8 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $90.8 | $104.6 | +15% |
ZBH has finished three years in a row lower, and it's up 15% so far in 2026.