EW vs. UNH: Edwards Lifesciences vs. UnitedHealth Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 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

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

Company profile comparison for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Profile Item	EW	UNH
Name	Edwards Lifesciences Corporation	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 Equipment	Managed Health Care
Market Capitalization	58.73 billion USD	353.17 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 27, 2000	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

UNH

GSPC

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 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 Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	EW	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	25.08%	26.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	17.28%	-7.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-2.77%	-1.26%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

UNH

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	EW	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.58%	34.76%
Beta (5Y)	0.78	0.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-54.32%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.69M	5.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

EW 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 Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	EW	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.81	0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.23	0.86

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 15.77% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 9.33% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for UNH.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.33%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
EW: 9.33%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 15.30% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.53%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.30%

Max: 29.35%
EW: 15.30%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 30.15% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of UnitedHealth (UNH) at 5.82%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

30.15%

Max: 35.43%
EW: 30.15%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	EW	UNH
ROE (TTM)	9.33%	15.77%
ROA (TTM)	8.77%	5.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.30%	3.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)	30.15%	5.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	78.02%	20.05%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 11.55% 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.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

UnitedHealth (UNH) at -14.70% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at -73.74% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	EW	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	11.55%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.77%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-73.74%	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-9.14%	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 4.60 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.74 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.60

Max: 7.59
EW: 4.60
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 0.06 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.70 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.06

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
EW: 0.06
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

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 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 Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	EW	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	4.60	0.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.06	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.88	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 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.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

EW: 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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 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.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

EW: 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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	EW	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	51.71%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 22.50 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 59.38 sits in the richer quartile — EW needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

59.38

Max: 80.41
EW: 59.38
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
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

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 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 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 8.80 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

8.80

EW: 8.80
Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
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

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 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 Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 5.41 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.60 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.41

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
EW: 5.41
Median: 3.00
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	EW	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	59.38	22.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	8.80	0.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	5.41	3.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.95%	7.50%