Centene vs UnitedHealth
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The short version
- UnitedHealth is the larger business, with $447.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $194.8B for Centene, about 2.3 times as much.
- Centene grew revenue faster (19.4%, against 11.8%).
- UnitedHealth kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (4.2% operating margin, against −3.9%).
- UnitedHealth turned more of its sales into free cash flow (3.6% FCF margin, against 2.2%).
- UnitedHealth earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.2%, against −26.4%).
| Latest fiscal year | CNC · FY25 | UNH · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $34.9B | $378.8B |
| Revenue | $194.8B | $447.6B |
| Free cash flow | $4.3B | $16.1B |
| Net income | −$6.7B | $12.1B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 19.4% | 11.8% |
| 5-year growth | 11.9% | 11.7% |
| Share count change | −5.9% | −1.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 88.7% |
| Operating margin | −3.9% | 4.2% |
| Net margin | −3.4% | 2.7% |
| FCF margin | 2.2% | 3.6% |
| Return on capital | −26.4% | 11.2% |
| Return on equity | −28.8% | 12.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$2.8B | $50.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 2.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $475M | $13.5B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 26.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 7 |
Revenue
FY16
CNC $40.6B
UNH $184.8B
FY17
CNC $48.4B
UNH $201.2B
FY18
CNC $60.1B
UNH $226.2B
FY19
CNC $74.6B
UNH $242.2B
FY20
CNC $111.1B
UNH $257.1B
FY21
CNC $126.0B
UNH $287.6B
FY22
CNC $144.5B
UNH $324.2B
FY23
CNC $154.0B
UNH $371.6B
FY24
CNC $163.1B
UNH $400.3B
FY25
CNC $194.8B
UNH $447.6B
CNC
UNH
Operating margin
FY16
CNC 3.1%
UNH 7.0%
FY17
CNC 2.5%
UNH 7.6%
FY18
CNC 2.4%
UNH 7.7%
FY19
CNC 2.4%
UNH 8.1%
FY20
CNC 2.8%
UNH 8.7%
FY21
CNC 1.4%
UNH 8.3%
FY22
CNC 0.9%
UNH 8.8%
FY23
CNC 1.9%
UNH 8.7%
FY24
CNC 2.0%
UNH 8.1%
FY25
CNC −3.9%
UNH 4.2%
CNC
UNH
Free cash flow
FY16
CNC $1.5B
UNH $8.1B
FY17
CNC $1.1B
UNH $11.6B
FY18
CNC $559M
UNH $13.7B
FY19
CNC $753M
UNH $16.4B
FY20
CNC $4.6B
UNH $20.1B
FY21
CNC $3.3B
UNH $19.9B
FY22
CNC $5.3B
UNH $23.4B
FY23
CNC $7.3B
UNH $25.7B
FY24
CNC −$490M
UNH $20.7B
FY25
CNC $4.3B
UNH $16.1B
CNC
UNH
Return on capital
FY16
CNC 16.4%
UNH 13.9%
FY17
CNC 12.8%
UNH 19.0%
FY18
CNC 10.1%
UNH 18.9%
FY19
CNC 10.3%
UNH 19.1%
FY20
CNC 9.1%
UNH 19.0%
FY21
CNC 4.3%
UNH 20.1%
FY22
CNC 2.7%
UNH 21.4%
FY23
CNC 8.4%
UNH 21.6%
FY24
CNC 9.3%
UNH 17.9%
FY25
CNC −26.4%
UNH 11.2%
CNC
UNH
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.