GKOS vs. UNH: Glaukos vs. UnitedHealth Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Glaukos (GKOS) 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

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

Company profile comparison for Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Profile Item	GKOS	UNH
Name	Glaukos Corp.	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	13.28 billion USD	353.17 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 25, 2015	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GKOS

UNH

GSPC

Glaukos (GKOS) 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 Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GKOS	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	179.91%	26.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	55.51%	-7.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	35.14%	-1.26%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GKOS

UNH

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GKOS	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	61.24%	34.76%
Beta (5Y)	0.68	0.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-53.68%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.15M	5.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GKOS 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 Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GKOS	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	2.87	0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	5.93	0.86

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Glaukos (GKOS) reports a negative ROE of -22.84%; negative ROE can reflect losses or negative shareholders’ equity, so it is harder to read as capital efficiency. Meanwhile UnitedHealth (UNH) reports 15.77%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-22.84%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
GKOS: -22.84%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Glaukos (GKOS) reports a negative net margin of -24.60%, usually indicating a net loss over the period. Meanwhile UnitedHealth (UNH) reports 3.53%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-24.60%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
GKOS: -24.60%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Glaukos (GKOS) at 0.39% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 5.82% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.39%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
GKOS: 0.39%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GKOS	UNH
ROE (TTM)	-22.84%	15.77%
ROA (TTM)	-3.90%	5.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	-24.60%	3.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)	0.39%	5.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	81.13%	20.05%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Glaukos (GKOS) at 32.33% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while UnitedHealth (UNH) at 11.81% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for GKOS.

Glaukos (GKOS) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: UnitedHealth (UNH) reports EPS growth of -14.70%, ranked against its industry; Glaukos (GKOS) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Glaukos (GKOS) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GKOS	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	32.33%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	21.51%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Glaukos (GKOS) at 4.57 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.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.57

Max: 7.59
GKOS: 4.57
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Glaukos (GKOS) at 0.15 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.70 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.15

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
GKOS: 0.15
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

Glaukos (GKOS) 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 Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GKOS	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	4.57	0.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.15	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Glaukos (GKOS) 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.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

GKOS: 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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Glaukos (GKOS) 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.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

GKOS: 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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GKOS	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	51.71%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

An earnings multiple is available for just one side: UnitedHealth (UNH) trades at 22.50 times trailing earnings, ranked against its peers, while Glaukos (GKOS) has no P/E ratio this period.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21
GKOS: --

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

Glaukos (GKOS) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): GKOS does not report P/E ratio, so it has no value marker; UNH is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.78 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Glaukos (GKOS) at 19.24 prices above its industry range — a wide gap in sales valuation between them.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

19.24

GKOS: 19.24
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.60 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Glaukos (GKOS) at 18.51 prices above its benchmark range — GKOS looks rich relative to book.

GKOS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

18.51

GKOS: 18.51
Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Glaukos (GKOS) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	GKOS	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	--	22.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	19.24	0.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	18.51	3.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.40%	7.50%