UNH
ACCE-researchedOverview
ACCE thesis
UnitedHealth operates the largest private health insurer in America with 53 million members while running Optum, a $226 billion healthcare services behemoth spanning pharmacy benefits, medical care delivery, and health tech. The company controls critical healthcare infrastructure from insurance payments to prescription drug distribution, creating switching costs that competitors struggle to replicate. Management expects 13-16% earnings growth through 2027 driven by Medicare Advantage membership expansion and Optum's margin improvement as it integrates recent acquisitions. Trading at 16x forward earnings despite generating $24 billion in annual free cash flow, UNH offers defensive growth in a sector where scale advantages compound over decades. The stock has pulled back 8% since October highs while fundamentals accelerate into 2025.
- highSevere margin compressionNet margin only 2.7% and operating margin 8.1%; for a $385B healthcare insurer these are dangerously thin, signalling rising medical costs.
- highEarnings growth near stallEPS growth +0.7% YoY and revenue +2.0% YoY vs 5y CAGR of 23.4% - dramatic deceleration raising sustainability concerns.
- moderateStock above fair valueCurrent price $429.25 exceeds ACCE fair value $380 (range top $410.40), implying ~13% downside to model estimate.
- moderateTrailing vs forward P/E gapP/E 32x vs forward P/E 23.3x implies consensus expects sharp earnings recovery; failure to deliver would reprice stock significantly.
Walk me through this stock
Plain-English pros, cons, and what to watch. Pro feature.
Price
Valuation
INVESTORSix independent models converge on one confidence-weighted fair value, with full methodology and editable assumptions.
- +All six models: DCF, P/E and EV/EBITDA comps, Graham, dividend discount, residual income
- +Scenario bands, sensitivity tornado, and the 5-year historical valuation range
- +Editable DCF workbench with saved scenarios
Quality
INVESTORThe full quality picture: conviction breakdown, earnings quality, score history, and backtested returns.
- +Conviction score breakdown and earnings-quality grade
- +Growth / value / quality / momentum component scores
- +90-day score history and score-threshold backtests
Analysts
Wall Street consensus
The full analyst picture: the price-target distribution against the current price, forward consensus estimates, and how ACCE's own models compare.
- +Price-target low / average / high vs the current price, with implied upside
- +Forward revenue and EPS consensus by fiscal year
- +ACCE fair-value models lined up against the Street
Smart Money
PROFollow the institutions: 13F position changes, insider trades, and active 13D activist filings.
- +Quarter-over-quarter institutional position changes
- +Recent open-market insider transactions
- +Active 13D activist filings and top holders
Compare
Where it sits vs peers
Algorithmic peers (6)
| Ticker | Company | Mcap | P/E | ROE | D/E | Yield | Quality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVS | CVS Health Corporation Common Stock | $112.0B | 23.1 | 6.2% | 0.86 | 3.0% | - | Compare |
| ELV | Elevance Health Inc. Common Stock | $88.8B | 18.1 | 11.1% | 0.73 | 1.7% | - | Compare |
| CI | The Cigna Group Common Stock | $72.5B | 11.4 | 16.8% | 0.75 | 2.2% | - | Compare |
| HUM | Humana Inc. Common Stock | $45.5B | 35.8 | 6.9% | 0.70 | 0.9% | - | Compare |
| CNC | Centene Corporation Common Stock | $32.1B | - | -20.4% | 0.87 | 0.0% | - | Compare |
| MOH | Molina Healthcare Inc Common Stock | $10.3B | 1236.3 | -0.2% | 0.93 | 0.0% | - | Compare |
Sector report card
Where UNH ranks against its sector peers on each metric.
News and Record
Press releases mentioning this company
- PR Newswire•Sep 18, 2026San Juan Regional Medical Center Teams with Oracle Health to Streamline Patient Flow
- Business Wire•Sep 15, 2026UnitedHealth Group Announces Earnings Release Date
- PR Newswire•Sep 15, 2026Point32Health Appoints Todd Walthall to Board of Directors
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Ask questions about this stock in plain language. Answered from company fundamentals + recent valuations.
Recent performance
SEC filings
Recent ACCE blog coverage
- $UNH Posts 56.4% EPS Jump in Most Recent QuarterUnitedHealth Group reported EPS of $6.38 vs $4.08 a year ago, a 56.4% jump. Revenue grew 2.0% YoY. ACCE score sits at 60. Here's what the numbers show.2026-07-17