ALGN vs. UNH: Align vs. UnitedHealth Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but ALGN is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies while UNH is classified in Health Care Providers & Services.

Company profile comparison for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Profile Item	ALGN	UNH
Name	Align Technology Inc.	UnitedHealth Group Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Supplies	Managed Health Care
Market Capitalization	11.70 billion USD	353.17 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	January 30, 2001	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ALGN

UNH

GSPC

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ALGN	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	27.43%	26.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-2.84%	-7.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-24.73%	-1.26%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ALGN

UNH

GSPC

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Align (ALGN) has an aggressive beta of 1.67, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while UnitedHealth (UNH) is defensive at 0.52 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ALGN	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	40.49%	34.76%
Beta (5Y)	1.67	0.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-82.44%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	942.14K	5.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ALGN and UNH are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ALGN	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.57	0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.89	0.86

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 15.77% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Align (ALGN) at 11.91% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for UNH.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.91%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
ALGN: 11.91%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.77%

Max: 47.61%
UNH: 15.77%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Align (ALGN) at 11.83% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.53%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.83%

Max: 29.35%
ALGN: 11.83%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.53%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
UNH: 3.53%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Align (ALGN) at 20.13% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of UnitedHealth (UNH) at 5.82%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

20.13%

Max: 35.43%
ALGN: 20.13%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.82%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
UNH: 5.82%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ALGN	UNH
ROE (TTM)	11.91%	15.77%
ROA (TTM)	8.01%	5.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	11.83%	3.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)	20.13%	5.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	71.53%	20.05%

Growth

Revenue Growth

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 11.81% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Align (ALGN) at 0.90% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Align (ALGN) at 0.53% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at -14.70% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ALGN	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	0.90%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	2.61%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	0.53%	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.02%	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Align (ALGN) at 1.43 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.74 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for UNH.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.43

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
ALGN: 1.43
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.74

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
UNH: 0.74
Min: 0.30

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Align (ALGN) at 0.03 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.70 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.03

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
ALGN: 0.03
Min: 0.00

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.70

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
UNH: 0.70
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ALGN	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	0.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.03	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.04	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Align (ALGN) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile UnitedHealth (UNH) reports a yield of 2.29%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

ALGN: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.29%

UNH: 2.29%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Align (ALGN) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile UnitedHealth (UNH) reports a payout of 51.71%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

ALGN: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

51.71%

UNH: 51.71%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ALGN	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	51.71%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Align (ALGN) at 24.20 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 22.50 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

24.20

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
ALGN: 24.20
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

22.50

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
UNH: 22.50
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.78 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Align (ALGN) at 2.81 prices around its industry’s middle — UNH costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.81

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
ALGN: 2.81
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.78

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
UNH: 0.78
Min: 0.03

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Align (ALGN) at 2.73 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.60 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

ALGN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.73

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
ALGN: 2.73
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.60

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
UNH: 3.60
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Align (ALGN) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Align (ALGN) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ALGN	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	24.20	22.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.81	0.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.73	3.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.90%	7.50%