CVS vs. ELV: CVS Health vs. Elevance Health Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV) 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

CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV) both belong to the Health Care Providers & Services industry, though CVS is classified under Health Care Services while ELV falls under Managed Health Care.

Company profile comparison for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Profile Item	CVS	ELV
Name	CVS Health Corporation Common Stock	Elevance Health, 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	107.28 billion USD	91.96 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	October 30, 2001
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CVS

ELV

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV), 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 CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Metric	CVS	ELV
Total Return (1Y)	11.41%	35.51%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	12.73%	-0.68%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.70%	1.10%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CVS

ELV

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV), 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 CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Metric	CVS	ELV
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	34.14%	35.05%
Beta (5Y)	0.60	0.61
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-56.79%	-50.38%
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.60M	1.19M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CVS and ELV 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 CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Metric	CVS	ELV
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.21	0.89
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.28	1.25

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 14.36% and Elevance Health (ELV) at 11.48% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.36%

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

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.48%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
ELV: 11.48%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 2.64% and Elevance Health (ELV) at 2.55% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.64%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
CVS: 2.64%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.55%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
ELV: 2.55%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 2.72% and Elevance Health (ELV) at 4.22% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.72%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CVS: 2.72%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.22%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
ELV: 4.22%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Metric	CVS	ELV
ROE (TTM)	14.36%	11.48%
ROA (TTM)	3.11%	4.01%
Net Margin (TTM)	2.64%	2.55%
Operating Margin (TTM)	2.72%	4.22%
Gross Margin (TTM)	13.72%	26.43%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 7.85% and Elevance Health (ELV) at 12.62% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Elevance Health (ELV) at -1.83% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while CVS Health (CVS) at -62.02% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Metric	CVS	ELV
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.85%	12.62%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.63%	8.34%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-62.02%	-1.83%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-24.73%	0.53%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Elevance Health (ELV) at 1.47 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while CVS Health (CVS) at 0.85 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for CVS.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.85

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CVS: 0.85
Min: 0.30

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.47

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
ELV: 1.47
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Elevance Health (ELV) at 0.69 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while CVS Health (CVS) at 0.93 uses more debt funding than most peers.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.93

Max: 1.88
CVS: 0.93
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.69

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
ELV: 0.69
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Metric	CVS	ELV
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.85	1.47
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.93	0.69
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.49	-0.81

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 3.27% and Elevance Health (ELV) at 1.59% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.27%

CVS: 3.27%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.59%

ELV: 1.59%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 30.89% and Elevance Health (ELV) at 29.17% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

30.89%

CVS: 30.89%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

29.17%

ELV: 29.17%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Metric	CVS	ELV
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.27%	1.59%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	30.89%	29.17%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 9.74 and Elevance Health (ELV) at 18.07 sit in the cheaper earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, with the market paying less for a dollar of trailing earnings than it pays for typical peers.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.74

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
CVS: 9.74
Min: 4.21

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

18.07

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
ELV: 18.07
Min: 4.21

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 0.26 and Elevance Health (ELV) at 0.46 fetch a relatively low price per dollar of sales, landing in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.26

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CVS: 0.26
Min: 0.03

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.46

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
ELV: 0.46
Min: 0.03

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

CVS Health (CVS) at 1.33 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while Elevance Health (ELV) at 2.06 is valued near its industry’s middle — CVS is cheaper on assets, though weigh it against ROE and asset quality.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.33

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
CVS: 1.33
Min: -1.31

ELV

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.06

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
ELV: 2.06
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Elevance Health (ELV): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV)
Metric	CVS	ELV
P/E Ratio (TTM)	9.74	18.07
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.26	0.46
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.33	2.06
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	11.02%	8.69%