Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CI scored 71.9, CNC scored 41.0 — CI leads.
Compare another set
CI
The Cigna Group
Healthcare Plans · Quality-Growth
71.9
$282.43 · $74.6B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
30.9
CI leads
CNC
Centene Corporation
Healthcare Plans · Quality-Growth
41
$65.36 · $32.3B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthCNC+19.4%
Strongest balance sheetCNC0.71
Highest qualityCI60 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueCNC-78%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
CI
stronger →← stronger
CNC
60
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
27
72
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
86
86
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
30
CI is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
CI
CNC
$9.1bB+
FCF
$9.0bB+
+11.3%B
Rev
+19.4%B+
0.74C+
D/E
0.71C+
11.7xA
P/E
—
0.77A-
PEG
0.78A-
—
P/S
0.2xA
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
CI
CNC
53% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
78% below
~-10%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
decline
+94%
1-yr DCF upside
+302%
+114%
5-yr DCF upside
+345%
+145%
10-yr DCF upside
+415%
These two disagree on this pair: the Value pillar ranks cheapness against sector peers, while price-vs-fair-value is an absolute read. A name can be the better value in its sector and still the dearer one on cash flows.
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
The companies
CIThe Cigna Group
Healthcare Plans · $282.43 · beta 0.30
Why now
Healthcare Plans · market cap $74.6b. 9% off the 52-week high of $311.34. Revenue growing +11%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.77 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 24 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $342.29 (implying +21% upside).
Moat
ROE 17% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 142% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $74.6b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Net margin 2.3% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
CNCCentene Corporation
Healthcare Plans · $65.36 · beta 1.13
Why now
Healthcare Plans · market cap $32.3b. 6% off the 52-week high of $69.63. Revenue growing +19%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.78 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 18 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $71.78 (implying +10% upside).
Moat
Turnaround / out-of-favor name — GAAP-unprofitable for now, so the durability case is forward-looking: it rests on a recovery (margin normalization, a cyclical upturn or restructuring) or an un-monetized asset (IP / network effects / first-mover position) rather than on current reported results.
Risk
Currently unprofitable (margin -2.8%) — path to GAAP profitability is the core thesis risk. ROE -20% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
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 CI and CNC diverge
On the headline score the gap is 30.9 points in favor of CI. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueCI 85.5 · CNC 29.9CI +55.6
QualityCI 60.1 · CNC 26.8CI +33.3
GrowthCI 72.2 · CNC 86.0CNC +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 CI or CNC the better stock?
CI scores higher: CI 71.9, CNC 41.0 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 CI and CNC differ most?
The widest gap is value, where CI leads by 56 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 CI and CNC 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.