Centene vs Elevance Health
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The short version
- Elevance Health is the larger business, with $199.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $194.8B for Centene.
- Centene grew revenue faster (19.4%, against 12.5%).
- Elevance Health kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (3.6% operating margin, against −3.9%).
- Centene turned more of its sales into free cash flow (2.2% FCF margin, against 1.6%).
- Elevance Health earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (15.2%, against −26.4%).
| Latest fiscal year | CNC · FY25 | ELV · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $34.9B | $95.7B |
| Revenue | $194.8B | $199.1B |
| Free cash flow | $4.3B | $3.2B |
| Net income | −$6.7B | $5.7B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 19.4% | 12.5% |
| 5-year growth | 11.9% | 10.3% |
| Share count change | −5.9% | −3.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | −3.9% | 3.6% |
| Net margin | −3.4% | 2.8% |
| FCF margin | 2.2% | 1.6% |
| Return on capital | −26.4% | 15.2% |
| Return on equity | −28.8% | 13.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$2.8B | −$3.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | −0.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $475M | $4.1B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 18.7x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
CNC $40.6B
ELV $84.9B
FY17
CNC $48.4B
ELV $90.0B
FY18
CNC $60.1B
ELV $92.1B
FY19
CNC $74.6B
ELV $104.2B
FY20
CNC $111.1B
ELV $121.9B
FY21
CNC $126.0B
ELV $138.6B
FY22
CNC $144.5B
ELV $156.6B
FY23
CNC $154.0B
ELV $171.3B
FY24
CNC $163.1B
ELV $177.0B
FY25
CNC $194.8B
ELV $199.1B
CNC
ELV
Operating margin
FY16
CNC 3.1%
ELV 5.7%
FY17
CNC 2.5%
ELV 4.6%
FY18
CNC 2.4%
ELV 5.9%
FY19
CNC 2.4%
ELV 5.8%
FY20
CNC 2.8%
ELV 5.2%
FY21
CNC 1.4%
ELV 5.5%
FY22
CNC 0.9%
ELV 5.3%
FY23
CNC 1.9%
ELV 5.0%
FY24
CNC 2.0%
ELV 4.4%
FY25
CNC −3.9%
ELV 3.6%
CNC
ELV
Free cash flow
FY16
CNC $1.5B
ELV $2.7B
FY17
CNC $1.1B
ELV $3.4B
FY18
CNC $559M
ELV $2.6B
FY19
CNC $753M
ELV $5.0B
FY20
CNC $4.6B
ELV $9.7B
FY21
CNC $3.3B
ELV $7.3B
FY22
CNC $5.3B
ELV $7.2B
FY23
CNC $7.3B
ELV $6.8B
FY24
CNC −$490M
ELV $4.6B
FY25
CNC $4.3B
ELV $3.2B
CNC
ELV
Return on capital
FY16
CNC 16.4%
ELV 13.2%
FY17
CNC 12.8%
ELV 18.0%
FY18
CNC 10.1%
ELV 15.3%
FY19
CNC 10.3%
ELV 17.7%
FY20
CNC 9.1%
ELV 18.2%
FY21
CNC 4.3%
ELV 22.3%
FY22
CNC 2.7%
ELV 23.3%
FY23
CNC 8.4%
ELV 23.8%
FY24
CNC 9.3%
ELV 17.6%
FY25
CNC −26.4%
ELV 15.2%
CNC
ELV
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.