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Compare Stocks › CHTR vs UNH

Charter Communications, Inc. (CHTR) vs UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)

CHTR
Charter Communications, Inc.
$171.74
VS
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
$368.78

Rewards

CHTR
  • ★Charter Communications, Inc. scores 83/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with margin stability as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • ★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.
  • ★Share count has been reduced by 17% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
UNH
  • ★Dividend yield of 2.40% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

Risks

CHTR
  • ⚠High leverage (4.60x debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
  • ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 4.4x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.65 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
UNH
  • ⚠ROIC has declined by 7.9 percentage points over the observed period, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • ⚠Gross margin of 18.8% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠FCF yield of 5.3% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.

Key Valuation Metrics

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CHTR
UNH
Valuation
$4.42B
Free Cash Flow
$17.69B
18.22%
FCF Yield
5.28%
4.65
Trailing P/E
27.85
3.88
Forward P/E
17.77
Quality & Moat
8.74%
ROIC
15.60%
23.67%
ROE
11.45%
55.35%
Gross Margin
18.80%
0.52
PEG Ratio
39.79
Balance Sheet Safety
4.60
Debt / Equity
0.74
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
4.38
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.18
N/A
Dividend Yield
2.40%
CHTR: 6Ties: 1UNH: 4
CHTRUNH

Historical Fundamentals

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CHTR

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

UNH

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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CHTR
$-1.73
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$14.63B
Δ Market Cap
$-25.33B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
UNH
$-7.37
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$26.63B
Δ Market Cap
$-196.16B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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CHTR
85.1% Overvalued
Price is 85.1% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $171.74
Fair Value: $92.76
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
UNH
9.6% Overvalued
Price is 9.6% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $368.78
Fair Value: $336.33
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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CHTR

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $172?

+10.3%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +11.9%

The market implies +10.3% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +11.9%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

UNH

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $369?

+13.9%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +8.7%

The market implies +13.9% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +8.7%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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CHTR
83/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat driven primarily by margin stability. Reinvestment Efficiency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
UNH
64/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving margin stability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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CHTR
-2.66
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
UNH
-2.45
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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CHTR
Insiders 36.3%Institutions 83.6%
No. of Institutional Holders1,149
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
UNH
Insiders 0.8%Institutions 84.7%Retail & Other 14.5%
No. of Institutional Holders4,077
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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CHTR
3
Buys (3M)
5
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $3.47M
DAVIS WADE
Director
$995,068
@ $173.72 · 2026-04-28
WINFREY CHRISTOPHER L
Chief Executive Officer
$1.19M
@ $172.23 · 2026-04-28
NAIR BALAN
Director
$175,460
@ $175.46 · 2026-04-28
WINFREY CHRISTOPHER L
Chief Executive Officer
$1.00M
@ $273.10 · 2025-07-31
NAIR BALAN
Director
$98,716
@ $274.21 · 2025-07-31
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
UNH
0
Buys (3M)
5
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $31.61M
HEMSLEY STEPHEN J
Chief Executive Officer
$25.02M
@ $288.57 · 2025-05-16
REX JOHN F
President
$5.00M
@ $291.12 · 2025-05-16
GIL KRISTEN
Director
$1.00M
@ $271.17 · 2025-05-15
NOSEWORTHY JOHN H
Director
$93,647
@ $312.16 · 2025-05-14
FLYNN TIMOTHY PATRICK
Director
$491,786
@ $320.80 · 2025-05-14
FLYNN TIMOTHY PATRICK
Director
$511,575
@ $511.57 · 2025-01-17
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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CHTR
0
Sells (3M)
2
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $928,738
MERRITT DAVID C
Director
$271,416
@ $226.18 · 2025-11-05
DIGERONIMO RICHARD J
Officer
$657,322
@ $423.81 · 2025-05-16
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
UNH
1
Sells (3M)
2
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $463,645
CONWAY PATRICK HUGH M.D.
Officer
$284,000
@ $355.00 · 2026-04-23
CONWAY PATRICK HUGH M.D.
Chief Executive Officer
$179,645
@ $305.00 · 2025-06-10
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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CHTR
FearGreed
🥶Extreme Fear(14/100)

"Mr. Market is panicking — potential buying opportunity if fundamentals are strong"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
UNH
FearGreed
😏Greed(65/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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CHTR
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Extreme Fear (14)
UNH
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Greed (65)
View CHTR Full AnalysisView UNH Full Analysis