UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

Updated on September 23, 2026 · accounts published on July 16, 2026

Reading of September 23, 2026: A cash-generating health giant going through the weakest margins of its decade

UnitedHealth trades at a P/E of 24.0 over the last 12 months, 26 % above its ten-year average but 14 % below its sector median.

• Is UnitedHealth expensive or cheap? It has traded cheaper than today in 90 % of the quarters of the past decade, yet still sits 14 % below its sector's median P/E.
• How is the business doing? Revenue rose 11.8 % over the last 12 months while EPS fell 14.7 %, and fiscal 2025 operating margin of 4.2 % was its worst in twelve years.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt of $59.64 per share equals 15.9 % of the price, and the dividend has risen for eleven straight years on a 66 % payout.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Results land on October 13, 2026 with consensus at $4.12 per share, after a 29.1 % beat in July.
• Does it invest enough in R&D and turn profit into cash? R&D is 0.0 % of revenue in fiscal 2025, but free cash flow covered 133 % of net income, above the 90 % the sector calls healthy.

Is UnitedHealth expensive or cheap?

At 24.0× earnings over the last 12 months, UnitedHealth is 26 % above its own ten-year average of 19.0× and much closer to the decade's peak of 27.2× than to its low of 10.9×. Against the health sector the picture flips: the median of 227 companies is 27.8×, so the stock is 14 % cheaper than its peers. A free cash flow yield of 7.4 % over the last 12 months is the strongest argument for the buyers, and the price sits 15 % below the 52-week high of $436.35. At 3.4× book and 14.9× EV/EBITDA, any discount here is measured against peers rather than against its own history.

How is the business doing?

The gap between the top and the bottom line is the whole story. Revenue climbed 11.8 % over the last 12 months, yet earnings per share dropped 14.7 %, and the operating margin now stands at 4.8 % against an average of 7.7 % across fiscal years 2014 to 2025. Fiscal 2025 closed at 4.2 %, the weakest of those twelve years. Returns still beat the sector: ROIC of 9.2 % over the last 12 months is 3.7 points above the median of 368 peers, and ROE holds at 14.6 %, though ROIC cleared 10 % in eight of the last ten fiscal years and no longer does.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Debt to equity of 0.74 over the last 12 months is manageable, and net debt of 2.3× EBITDA in fiscal 2025 sits just under the 2.5× the sector treats as healthy, close enough to the line to matter. The softer spot is liquidity: a current ratio of 0.78 and an Altman Z of 2.9 leave it in the grey zone, with a Piotroski score of 6 out of 9. For income investors the dividend yields 2.4 % over the last 12 months, supported by eleven consecutive years of increases and a 66 % payout in fiscal 2025.

What to expect from the next earnings?

The next report is due on October 13, 2026, and analysts expect earnings per share of $4.12. Recent history favors the company: it has beaten estimates in six of the last eight quarters, and the July 16, 2026 release delivered $6.38 against $4.94 expected, a 29.1 % surprise and the largest in absolute terms of those eight quarters. Consensus has barely moved over the last eight days, with 2026 EPS going from $19.76 to $19.81 across 18 analysts. Of the 52 analysts covering the stock, 43 recommend buying and only 2 recommend selling.

Does it invest enough in R&D and turn profit into cash?

In healthcare the research pipeline is the invisible asset, because expiring patents erase revenue that no margin can replace, so the sector is judged on innovation and cash rather than on sales alone. UnitedHealth reports R&D at 0.0 % of revenue in fiscal 2025, far from the 15 % considered healthy, and a gross margin of 18.5 %, nowhere near the 70 % expected from branded pharma. Those two thresholds are calibrated for drug developers. Where the company does deliver is conversion: free cash flow reached 133.3 % of net income in fiscal 2025, even as EPS shrank 4.0 % a year between 2020 and 2025.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.