CVS vs. UNH: CVS Health vs. UnitedHealth Group Stock Comparison

August 16, 2026

How do CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (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

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

Company profile comparison for CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Profile Item	CVS	UNH
Name	CVS Health Corporation	UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
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	124.26 billion USD	360.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CVS

UNH

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) vs. UnitedHealth Group (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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Metric	CVS	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	50.22%	51.94%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	13.59%	-5.82%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	6.33%	1.37%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CVS

UNH

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) vs. UnitedHealth Group (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

Loading price history…

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Metric	CVS	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	30.97%	37.43%
Beta (5Y)	0.58	0.61
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-56.79%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.19M	6.03M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CVS 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 CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Metric	CVS	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.49	1.28
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.08	1.87

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 6.21% and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 14.15% 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

6.21%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 14.60%
CVS: 6.21%
Median: 4.59%
Q1: -14.37%
Min: -56.60%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.15%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 14.60%
UNH: 14.15%
Median: 4.59%
Q1: -14.37%
Min: -56.60%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 1.19% and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 3.14% 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

1.19%

Max: 28.45%
Q3: 9.22%
Median: 1.85%
CVS: 1.19%
Q1: -7.13%
Min: -30.69%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.14%

Max: 28.45%
Q3: 9.22%
UNH: 3.14%
Median: 1.85%
Q1: -7.13%
Min: -30.69%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 3.86% and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 7.13% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.86%

Max: 38.55%
Q3: 14.43%
Median: 7.25%
CVS: 3.86%
Q1: -2.09%
Min: -24.66%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

7.13%

Max: 38.55%
Q3: 14.43%
Median: 7.25%
UNH: 7.13%
Q1: -2.09%
Min: -24.66%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Metric	CVS	UNH
ROE (TTM)	6.21%	14.15%
ROA (TTM)	2.97%	4.87%
Net Margin (TTM)	1.19%	3.14%
Operating Margin (TTM)	3.86%	7.13%
Gross Margin (TTM)	13.65%	19.72%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 7.85% and UnitedHealth Group (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.

CVS Health (CVS) vs. UnitedHealth Group (UNH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at -14.70% 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. UnitedHealth Group (UNH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Metric	CVS	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.85%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.63%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-62.02%	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-24.73%	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 0.87 and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 0.78 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.87

Max: 8.18
Q3: 4.20
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.34
CVS: 0.87
Min: 0.15

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.78

Max: 8.18
Q3: 4.20
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.34
UNH: 0.78
Min: 0.15

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 0.96 and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 0.69 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.96

Max: 2.02
Q3: 1.01
CVS: 0.96
Median: 0.63
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.69

Max: 2.02
Q3: 1.01
UNH: 0.69
Median: 0.63
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

CVS Health (CVS) vs. UnitedHealth Group (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 CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Metric	CVS	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.87	0.78
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.96	0.69
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.74	1.57

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 2.80% and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 2.24% 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

2.80%

CVS: 2.80%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.24%

UNH: 2.24%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 70.18% and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 57.52% 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

70.18%

CVS: 70.18%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

57.52%

UNH: 57.52%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Metric	CVS	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.80%	2.24%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	70.18%	57.52%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 25.64 and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 25.83 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.64

Max: 76.75
Q3: 44.61
Median: 28.57
CVS: 25.64
Q1: 20.73
Min: 1.62

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.83

Max: 76.75
Q3: 44.61
Median: 28.57
UNH: 25.83
Q1: 20.73
Min: 1.62

CVS Health (CVS) vs. UnitedHealth Group (UNH): 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 0.30 and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 0.80 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

0.30

Max: 9.63
Q3: 4.61
Median: 2.28
Q1: 1.15
CVS: 0.30
Min: 0.04

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.80

Max: 9.63
Q3: 4.61
Median: 2.28
Q1: 1.15
UNH: 0.80
Min: 0.04

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

CVS Health (CVS) at 1.56 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at 3.48 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

1.56

Max: 12.92
Q3: 6.30
Median: 3.18
Q1: 1.75
CVS: 1.56
Min: -2.19

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.48

Max: 12.92
Q3: 6.30
UNH: 3.48
Median: 3.18
Q1: 1.75
Min: -2.19

CVS Health (CVS) vs. UnitedHealth Group (UNH): 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 UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Metric	CVS	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	25.64	25.83
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.30	0.80
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.56	3.48
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	6.50%	6.73%