CI vs. UNH: Cigna vs. UnitedHealth Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Cigna (CI) 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

Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH) both belong to the Health Care Providers & Services industry, though CI is classified under Health Care Services while UNH falls under Managed Health Care.

Company profile comparison for Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Profile Item	CI	UNH
Name	The Cigna Group	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 Providers & Services	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Services	Managed Health Care
Market Capitalization	77.36 billion USD	353.17 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 31, 1982	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

UNH

GSPC

Cigna (CI) 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 Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CI	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	13.95%	26.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	2.65%	-7.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	8.40%	-1.26%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

UNH

GSPC

Cigna (CI) 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 Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CI	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	26.82%	34.76%
Beta (5Y)	0.24	0.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.10%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.55M	5.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CI 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 Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CI	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.36	0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.54	0.86

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Cigna (CI) at 15.65% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 15.77% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.65%

Max: 47.61%
CI: 15.65%
Q3: 14.36%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Cigna (CI) at 2.09% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.53% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.09%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
CI: 2.09%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Cigna (CI) at 3.48% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 5.82% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.48%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CI: 3.48%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CI	UNH
ROE (TTM)	15.65%	15.77%
ROA (TTM)	4.29%	5.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	2.09%	3.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)	3.48%	5.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	9.09%	20.05%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Cigna (CI) at 11.26% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 11.81% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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

EPS Growth

Cigna (CI) at 83.00% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while UnitedHealth (UNH) at -14.70% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for CI.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CI	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	11.26%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	15.15%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	83.00%	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	1.36%	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Cigna (CI) at 0.84 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.74 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.84

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CI: 0.84
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Cigna (CI) at 0.71 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.70 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.71

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
CI: 0.71
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
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

Cigna (CI) 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 Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CI	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.84	0.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.71	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.87	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Cigna (CI) at 2.05% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 2.29% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.05%

CI: 2.05%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Cigna (CI) at 27.29% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 51.71% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

27.29%

CI: 27.29%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CI	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.05%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	27.29%	51.71%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Cigna (CI) at 12.94 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while UnitedHealth (UNH) at 22.50 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for CI, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

12.94

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
CI: 12.94
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Cigna (CI) at 0.27 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.78 fetch a relatively low price per dollar of sales, landing in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.27

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CI: 0.27
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

Cigna (CI) 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 Cigna (CI) at 1.79 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.60 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.79

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
CI: 1.79
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Cigna (CI) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CI	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	12.94	22.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.27	0.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.79	3.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	10.59%	7.50%