Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CNC scored 41.0, UNH scored 65.9 — UNH leads.
Compare another set
CNC
Centene Corporation
Healthcare Plans · Quality-Growth
41
$65.36 · $32.3B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
24.9
UNH 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
Fastest growthCNC+19.4%
Strongest balance sheetUNH0.69
Highest qualityUNH62 / 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)
CNC
stronger →← stronger
UNH
27
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
62
86
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
84
30
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
55
UNH is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
CNC
UNH
$9.0bB+
FCF
$23.6bA
+19.4%B+
Rev
+11.8%B
0.71C+
D/E
0.69C+
0.2xA
P/S
—
0.78A-
PEG
1.01B+
—
P/E
23.9xB+
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
CNC
UNH
78% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
43% below
decline
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-5%/yr
+302%
1-yr DCF upside
+59%
+345%
5-yr DCF upside
+77%
+415%
10-yr DCF upside
+107%
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.
Model signals
CNC
No notable signals flagged.
UNH
Why this score
Raising its dividend
The companies
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.
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 CNC and UNH diverge
On the headline score the gap is 24.9 points in favor of UNH. The widest single difference is Quality, where UNH leads by 35.6 points.
QualityCNC 26.8 · UNH 62.4UNH +35.6
ValueCNC 29.9 · UNH 54.6UNH +24.7
GrowthCNC 86.0 · UNH 83.9level
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 UNH or CNC the better stock?
UNH scores higher: UNH 65.9, 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 UNH and CNC differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where UNH leads by 36 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. UNH also leads value, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are UNH 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.