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CVS vs UNH
Which Stock Would AI Choose? CVS Health (CVS) vs. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- CVS has delivered stronger recent momentum, with approximately 33.9% year-to-date returns compared to roughly 30.7% for UNH, alongside a more pronounced one-month gain.
- Both companies reported solid first-quarter 2026 results and raised full-year guidance, reflecting resilience in the healthcare sector amid evolving reimbursement and utilization trends.
- CVS Health benefits from pharmacy services scale and Aetna insurance improvements, while UnitedHealth Group leverages its Optum platform and substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI).
- Market sentiment has favored CVS in recent weeks due to consistent outperformance versus the broader market, whereas UNH trades near 52-week highs with analyst support ahead of its second-quarter earnings.
- Risk factors include regulatory pressures for both, with CVS navigating legacy legal matters and UNH focusing on cost management and AI-driven efficiencies.
- Relative positioning highlights trade-offs between CVS’s retail-pharmacy integration and UNH’s diversified insurance and services model.
Introduction
CVS Health Corporation (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) represent two leading integrated healthcare providers with significant influence on the sector. This comparison examines their business models, recent stock behavior, and relative positioning in the current market environment. Investors and traders seeking exposure to healthcare through established names with pharmacy benefit management, insurance, and care delivery operations may find this analysis relevant for assessing diversification opportunities, momentum shifts, and sector-specific dynamics.
CVS Overview and Recent Performance
CVS Health operates as a diversified healthcare company encompassing pharmacy services, retail operations, and insurance through its Aetna subsidiary. In recent market activity, the stock has exhibited notable resilience, posting approximately 7.5% gains over the past month and outperforming the S&P 500 on a year-to-date basis with returns near 33.9%. Strong first-quarter 2026 results, including revenue of $100.4 billion and raised full-year earnings guidance, have supported positive sentiment. Factors influencing performance include improved insurance margins and operational execution amid broader healthcare reimbursement pressures.
UNH Overview and Recent Performance
UnitedHealth Group provides health insurance, pharmacy benefit management, and healthcare services primarily through its Optum division. The stock has shown steady advancement in recent weeks, with year-to-date returns around 30.7% and one-month gains near 5%, trading close to 52-week highs near $430. First-quarter 2026 results featured revenue growth to $111.7 billion and upward revisions to full-year guidance. Sentiment has been shaped by commitments to $1.5 billion in AI initiatives and anticipation surrounding the upcoming second-quarter earnings release scheduled for mid-July.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
CVS emphasizes vertical integration across retail pharmacy, pharmacy benefit management, and insurance, offering exposure to consumer-facing healthcare delivery. In contrast, UNH centers on a broader insurance platform supplemented by technology-enabled services via Optum. Recent momentum has tilted toward CVS, evidenced by superior year-to-date and short-term returns amid recovery narratives. UNH maintains advantages in scale within managed care and proactive AI adoption for operational efficiency. Risk considerations differ, with CVS addressing historical legal exposures and UNH managing utilization trends and regulatory scrutiny. Sector exposure remains comparable, though market sentiment currently reflects greater near-term optimism around CVS’s execution trajectory.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on observable factors such as trend consistency, relative momentum, and recent catalysts, Tickeron’s AI would currently assign a higher probabilistic preference to CVS. Its stronger recent performance metrics and guidance revisions suggest more sustained upward consistency in the prevailing environment, though UNH retains competitive positioning through diversification and innovation initiatives. This assessment reflects data-driven patterns rather than guarantees of future results.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is CVS is a Hold and UNH is a Buy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
CVS’s FA Score shows that 3 FA rating(s) are green whileUNH’s FA Score has 3 green FA rating(s).
- CVS’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
- UNH’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
CVS’s TA Score shows that 2 TA indicator(s) are bullish while UNH’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- CVS’s TA Score: 2 bullish, 6 bearish.
- UNH’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
CVS (@Managed Health Care) experienced а +3.74% price change this week, while UNH (@Managed Health Care) price change was -0.17% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Managed Health Care industry was +0.83%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +7.45%, and the average quarterly price growth was +35.30%.
Reported Earning Dates
CVS is expected to report earnings on Aug 05, 2026.
UNH is expected to report earnings on Jul 16, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Managed Health Care (+0.83% weekly)Managed healthcare industry focuses on providing health/medical and disability insurance plans, generally intended to reduce the cost of for-profit health care. The insurance products might be provided through employer-paid (fully or partly) insurance and benefit programs, or through Medicare/Medicaid. Some of the largest providers of managed health care include Aetna, Humana Inc., and Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare.
| CVS | UNH | CVS / UNH | |
| Capitalization | 135B | 390B | 35% |
| EBITDA | 11.1B | 22.8B | 49% |
| Gain YTD | 35.721 | 31.743 | 113% |
| P/E Ratio | 46.45 | 32.31 | 144% |
| Revenue | 408B | 450B | 91% |
| Total Cash | 11.8B | N/A | - |
| Total Debt | 78.3B | 77.9B | 101% |
CVS | UNH | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 50 | 50 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 4 Undervalued | 6 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 66 | 88 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 88 | 64 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 7 | 9 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 5 | 6 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 85 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
CVS's Valuation (4) in the Drugstore Chains industry is in the same range as UNH (6) in the Managed Health Care industry. This means that CVS’s stock grew similarly to UNH’s over the last 12 months.
CVS's Profit vs Risk Rating (66) in the Drugstore Chains industry is in the same range as UNH (88) in the Managed Health Care industry. This means that CVS’s stock grew similarly to UNH’s over the last 12 months.
UNH's SMR Rating (64) in the Managed Health Care industry is in the same range as CVS (88) in the Drugstore Chains industry. This means that UNH’s stock grew similarly to CVS’s over the last 12 months.
CVS's Price Growth Rating (7) in the Drugstore Chains industry is in the same range as UNH (9) in the Managed Health Care industry. This means that CVS’s stock grew similarly to UNH’s over the last 12 months.
CVS's P/E Growth Rating (5) in the Drugstore Chains industry is in the same range as UNH (6) in the Managed Health Care industry. This means that CVS’s stock grew similarly to UNH’s over the last 12 months.
| CVS | UNH | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 65% | 4 days ago 56% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 60% | 4 days ago 59% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 58% | 4 days ago 55% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 68% | 4 days ago 68% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 59% | 4 days ago 57% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 60% | 4 days ago 52% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 67% | 18 days ago 54% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 8 days ago 58% | 8 days ago 54% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 76% | 4 days ago 56% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 66% | 4 days ago 46% |
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UNH and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, UNH has been loosely correlated with ELV. These tickers have moved in lockstep 64% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if UNH jumps, then ELV could also see price increases.