GEHC vs. UNH: GE HealthCare vs. UnitedHealth Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do GE HealthCare (GEHC) 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

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

UnitedHealth (UNH) has more than two decades of public-market history since October 17, 1984, whereas GE HealthCare (GEHC) listed on December 15, 2022 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Company profile comparison for GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Profile Item	GEHC	UNH
Name	GE HealthCare Technologies 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 Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Equipment	Managed Health Care
Market Capitalization	37.25 billion USD	353.17 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	December 15, 2022	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GEHC

UNH

GSPC

GE HealthCare (GEHC) 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GEHC	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	14.21%	26.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	7.01%	-7.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	--	-1.26%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GEHC

UNH

GSPC

GE HealthCare (GEHC) 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

Loading price history…

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GEHC	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	35.93%	34.76%
Beta (5Y)	0.69	0.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.35%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.56M	5.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GEHC 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 GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GEHC	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.28	0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.41	0.86

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 20.01% 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.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

20.01%

Max: 47.61%
GEHC: 20.01%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 9.95% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.53%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.95%

Max: 29.35%
GEHC: 9.95%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 15.33% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of UnitedHealth (UNH) at 5.82%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.33%

Max: 35.43%
GEHC: 15.33%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GEHC	UNH
ROE (TTM)	20.01%	15.77%
ROA (TTM)	4.99%	5.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	9.95%	3.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)	15.33%	5.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	39.29%	20.05%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 4.84% 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.

GE HealthCare (GEHC) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 4.84% 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.

GE HealthCare (GEHC) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GEHC	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	4.84%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.99%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	4.84%	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-0.58%	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 1.30 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.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.30

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
GEHC: 1.30
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 0.88 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.70 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.88

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
GEHC: 0.88
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

GE HealthCare (GEHC) 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 GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GEHC	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.30	0.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.88	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.11	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 0.17% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 2.29% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.17%

GEHC: 0.17%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 2.96% 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.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.96%

GEHC: 2.96%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GEHC	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.17%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	2.96%	51.71%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 17.42 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 GEHC, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.42

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
GEHC: 17.42
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

GE HealthCare (GEHC) 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 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 1.72 prices around its industry’s middle — UNH costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.72

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
GEHC: 1.72
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

GE HealthCare (GEHC) 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 GE HealthCare (GEHC) at 3.21 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.60 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

GEHC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.21

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
GEHC: 3.21
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for GE HealthCare (GEHC) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GEHC	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	17.42	22.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.72	0.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.21	3.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.92%	7.50%