Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ALHC scored 69.7, UNH scored 65.9 — ALHC leads.
Compare another set
ALHC
Alignment Healthcare, Inc.
Healthcare Plans · Quality-Growth
69.7
$7.54 · $1.6B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
3.8
ALHC leads
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
Healthcare Plans · Quality-Growth
65.9
$379.30 · $340.5B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestUNH23.9x
Fastest growthALHC+46.1%
Strongest balance sheetUNH0.69
Highest qualityUNH62 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueALHC-58%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ALHC
stronger →← stronger
UNH
46
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
62
98
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
84
76
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
55
ALHC is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ALHC
UNH
$178mC
FCF
$23.6bA
+46.1%A
Rev
+11.8%B
1.25C
D/E
0.69C+
47.2xC
P/E
23.9xB+
0.75A-
PEG
1.01B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ALHC
UNH
58% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
43% below
~-6%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-5%/yr
+83%
1-yr DCF upside
+59%
+137%
5-yr DCF upside
+77%
+246%
10-yr DCF upside
+107%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ALHC
Why this score
Diluting shareholders
UNH
Why this score
Raising its dividend
The companies
ALHCAlignment Healthcare, Inc.
Healthcare Plans · $7.54 · beta 1.14
Why now
Healthcare Plans · market cap $1.6b. Down 70% from 52-week high of $25.12 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +46% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.75 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 13 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $17.15 (implying +127% upside).
Moat
ROE 20% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income.
Risk
Down 70% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Trailing P/E 47x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. Net margin 0.9% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
UNHUnitedHealth Group Incorporated
Healthcare Plans · $379.30 · beta 0.61
Why now
Healthcare Plans · market cap $340.5b. 18% off the 52-week high of $461.62. Revenue growing +12%, comfortably above the S&P median. 25 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $481.72 (implying +27% upside).
Moat
ROE 14% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. FCF converts 167% of net income, helped by cash released from working capital ($7.3b) that doesn't repeat every year. $340.5b market cap places it among the largest companies in the sector — distribution, R&D, and customer-acquisition costs amortize across a base peers can't replicate.
Risk
Net margin 3.1% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ALHC and UNH diverge
On the headline score the gap is 3.8 points in favor of ALHC. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueALHC 75.9 · UNH 54.6ALHC +21.3
QualityALHC 45.6 · UNH 62.4UNH +16.8
GrowthALHC 97.7 · UNH 83.9ALHC +13.8
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is ALHC or UNH the better stock?
ALHC scores higher: ALHC 69.7, UNH 65.9 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do ALHC and UNH differ most?
The widest gap is value, where ALHC leads by 21 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are ALHC and UNH scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.