LH vs. UNH: Labcorp vs. UnitedHealth Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Labcorp (LH) 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

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

Company profile comparison for Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Profile Item	LH	UNH
Name	Labcorp Holdings 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	Health Care Services	Managed Health Care
Market Capitalization	29.77 billion USD	353.17 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 29, 1990	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

UNH

GSPC

Labcorp (LH) 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 Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	LH	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	48.62%	26.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	23.39%	-7.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	10.54%	-1.26%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

UNH

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	LH	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.36%	34.76%
Beta (5Y)	0.85	0.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.61%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	721.05K	5.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

LH 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 Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	LH	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.82	0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.99	0.86

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

UnitedHealth (UNH) at 15.77% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Labcorp (LH) at 11.44% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for UNH.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.44%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
LH: 11.44%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Labcorp (LH) at 6.88% 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.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.88%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
LH: 6.88%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Labcorp (LH) at 10.91% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 5.82% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

10.91%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
LH: 10.91%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	LH	UNH
ROE (TTM)	11.44%	15.77%
ROA (TTM)	5.48%	5.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	6.88%	3.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.91%	5.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	28.96%	20.05%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Labcorp (LH) at 7.25% 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.

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

EPS Growth

Both Labcorp (LH) at 18.33% 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.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	LH	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.25%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.55%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	18.33%	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-9.19%	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Labcorp (LH) at 1.41 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.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.41

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
LH: 1.41
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Labcorp (LH) at 0.77 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.70 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.77

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
LH: 0.77
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

Labcorp (LH) 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 Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	LH	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.41	0.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.77	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.81	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Labcorp (LH) at 0.79% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 2.29% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.79%

LH: 0.79%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Labcorp (LH) at 23.61% 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.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

23.61%

LH: 23.61%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	LH	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.79%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	23.61%	51.71%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Labcorp (LH) at 30.05 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 22.50 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

30.05

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
LH: 30.05
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

Labcorp (LH) 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 Labcorp (LH) at 2.04 prices around its industry’s middle — UNH costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.04

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
LH: 2.04
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

Labcorp (LH) 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 Labcorp (LH) at 3.36 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.60 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

LH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.36

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
LH: 3.36
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Labcorp (LH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	LH	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	30.05	22.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.04	0.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.36	3.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.55%	7.50%