HUM vs UNH: valuation and profitability compared

Investing.com -- Unitedhealth Group (UNH) offers the stronger valuation and income profile, while Humana Inc (HUM) offers faster recent growth but much thinner profitability.

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Data Snapshot

Humana Inc (HUM): Trading at $423.68(Market Cap: $49.45B) || P/E: 41.4x|| Dividend yield: 0.9% || Fair Value Upside: 12.1% — all as of Nov 6, 2026, 10:21 AM EST, except P/E and revenue growth as of Jun 30, 2026.

Unitedhealth Group (UNH): Trading at $395.18(Market Cap: $354.57B) || P/E: 22.3x|| Dividend yield: 2.3%|| Fair Value Upside: 37.0%— all as of Nov 6, 2026, 10:21 AM EST, except P/E and revenue growth as of Sep 30, 2026.

Growth Has A Twist

Scale advantage.Unitedhealth Group (UNH) generated $447.96B in 2025 revenue, versus $129.66B for Humana Inc (HUM). Both grew revenue at roughly 11.7% annually from 2021 through 2025.

Recent divergence.Humana Inc (HUM) posted 18.3% revenue growth as of Jun 30, 2026. Unitedhealth Group (UNH) posted 3.4% as of Sep 30, 2026. HUM has the growth pulse, but the market charges heavily for it.

Profitability Decides

Margin gap.Unitedhealth Group (UNH) reported a 3.5% net margin as of Sep 30, 2026. Humana Inc (HUM) reported only 0.9% as of Jun 30, 2026.

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That difference matters because healthcare revenue can expand while medical costs absorb the earnings. Unitedhealth Group (UNH) also carries a similar debt-to-equity ratio: 75.8% versus 76.7% for Humana Inc (HUM).

Valuation Speaks Louder

Clear edge.Unitedhealth Group (UNH) trades at 22.3x earnings, compared with 41.4x for Humana Inc (HUM). Its 2.3% dividend yield also exceeds HUM's 0.9%.

The valuation models reinforce that gap: UNH shows 37.0% Fair Value Upside and 20.6% analyst-target upside. HUM shows 12.1% and 9.8%, respectively. These figures were both dated Nov 6, 2026, 10:21 AM EST.

Take

UNH leads today.It combines lower valuation, higher income, stronger margins, and greater modeled upside.

HUM remains the higher-risk growth case.Its faster revenue growth could improve the story, but its 41.4x P/E leaves less room for execution mistakes.

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HUM vs UNH: valuation and profitability compared

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