ELV vs. UNH: Elevance Health vs. UnitedHealth Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Elevance Health (ELV) 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

Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH) are both classified in the Managed Health Care sub-industry within the broader Health Care Providers & Services industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Profile Item	ELV	UNH
Name	Elevance Health, 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 Providers & Services	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Managed Health Care	Managed Health Care
Market Capitalization	91.96 billion USD	353.17 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	October 30, 2001	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ELV

UNH

GSPC

Elevance Health (ELV) 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 Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ELV	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	35.51%	26.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-0.68%	-7.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.10%	-1.26%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ELV

UNH

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ELV	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	35.05%	34.76%
Beta (5Y)	0.61	0.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-50.38%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	5.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ELV 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 Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ELV	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.89	0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.25	0.86

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 15.77% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Elevance Health (ELV) at 11.48% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for UNH.

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%

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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Elevance Health (ELV) at 2.55% 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.

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%

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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Elevance Health (ELV) at 4.22% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 5.82% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ELV	UNH
ROE (TTM)	11.48%	15.77%
ROA (TTM)	4.01%	5.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	2.55%	3.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)	4.22%	5.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	26.43%	20.05%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Elevance Health (ELV) at 12.62% 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.

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

EPS Growth

Both Elevance Health (ELV) at -1.83% 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.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ELV	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	12.62%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.34%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-1.83%	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	0.53%	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Elevance Health (ELV) at 1.47 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.

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

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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Elevance Health (ELV) at 0.69 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.70 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

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

Elevance Health (ELV) 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 Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ELV	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.47	0.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.69	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	-0.81	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Elevance Health (ELV) at 1.59% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 2.29% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

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%

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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Elevance Health (ELV) at 29.17% 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.

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%

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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ELV	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.59%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	29.17%	51.71%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Elevance Health (ELV) at 18.07 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 ELV, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

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

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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Elevance Health (ELV) at 0.46 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.

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

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

Elevance Health (ELV) 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 Elevance Health (ELV) at 2.06 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.60 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

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

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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	ELV	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	18.07	22.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.46	0.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.06	3.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.69%	7.50%