Centene vs Humana

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KIRA’s take AI analyst

I put Centene and Humana side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:

Centene is the larger business, with $194.8B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $129.7B for Humana, about 1.5 times as much.
Centene grew revenue faster (19.4%, against 10.1%).
Humana kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (2.1% operating margin, against −3.9%).
Centene turned more of its sales into free cash flow (2.2% FCF margin, against 0.3%).
Humana earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (25.7%, against −26.4%).

Who comes out ahead

Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.

Centene

CNC

4/9

Revenue growth5-year growthFCF marginShare count change

Humana

HUM

4/9

Operating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equity

Side by side

Best in the row

Latest fiscal year	CNC FY25	HUM FY25
Size
Market cap	$33.9B	$50.4B
Revenue	$194.8B	$129.7B
Free cash flow	$4.3B	$375M
Net income	−$6.7B	$1.2B
Growth
Revenue growth	19.4%	10.1%
5-year growth	11.9%	10.9%
Share count change	−5.9%	−0.0%
Profitability
Gross margin	—	—
Operating margin	−3.9%	2.1%
Net margin	−3.4%	0.9%
FCF margin	2.2%	0.3%
Return on capital	−26.4%	25.7%
Return on equity	−28.8%	7.0%
Balance sheet
Net debt	−$2.8B	−$7.5B
Net debt / EBITDA	—	−2.2x
Dividends and buybacks	$475M	$581M
Valuation & quality
P/E	—	44.5x
Piotroski F-score	5	5

Ten years

Revenue

FY16

CNC $40.6B

HUM $54.4B

FY17

CNC $48.4B

HUM $53.8B

FY18

CNC $60.1B

HUM $56.9B

FY19

CNC $74.6B

HUM $64.9B

FY20

CNC $111.1B

HUM $77.2B

FY21

CNC $126.0B

HUM $83.1B

FY22

CNC $144.5B

HUM $92.9B

FY23

CNC $154.0B

HUM $106.4B

FY24

CNC $163.1B

HUM $117.8B

FY25

CNC $194.8B

HUM $129.7B

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

CNC HUM

Operating margin

FY16

CNC 3.1%

HUM 3.2%

FY17

CNC 2.5%

HUM 7.9%

FY18

CNC 2.4%

HUM 5.5%

FY19

CNC 2.4%

HUM 4.9%

FY20

CNC 2.8%

HUM 6.5%

FY21

CNC 1.4%

HUM 3.8%

FY22

CNC 0.9%

HUM 4.1%

FY23

CNC 1.9%

HUM 3.8%

FY24

CNC 2.0%

HUM 2.2%

FY25

CNC −3.9%

HUM 2.1%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

CNC HUM

Free cash flow

FY16

CNC $1.5B

HUM $1.4B

FY17

CNC $1.1B

HUM $3.5B

FY18

CNC $559M

HUM $1.6B

FY19

CNC $753M

HUM $4.5B

FY20

CNC $4.6B

HUM $4.7B

FY21

CNC $3.3B

HUM $920M

FY22

CNC $5.3B

HUM $3.5B

FY23

CNC $7.3B

HUM $3.0B

FY24

CNC −$490M

HUM $2.4B

FY25

CNC $4.3B

HUM $375M

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

CNC HUM

Return on capital

FY16

CNC 16.4%

HUM 22.0%

FY17

CNC 12.8%

HUM —

FY18

CNC 10.1%

HUM —

FY19

CNC 10.3%

HUM —

FY20

CNC 9.1%

HUM —

FY21

CNC 4.3%

HUM 42.8%

FY22

CNC 2.7%

HUM 38.5%

FY23

CNC 8.4%

HUM 56.3%

FY24

CNC 9.3%

HUM 30.9%

FY25

CNC −26.4%

HUM 25.7%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

CNC HUM

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.