SafetyMargin.ioSafetyMargin.io
BlogWatchlistCompare
Compare Stocks › GPN vs UNH

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) vs UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)

GPN
Global Payments Inc.
$68.18
VS
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
$280.44

Rewards

GPN
  • ★Gross margin of 72.6% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★Share count has been reduced by 10% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
  • ★Management has timed buybacks well — 3 out of 4 years showed value-accretive repurchases.
UNH
  • ★5 insider purchases over the past 12 months with a buy/sell ratio above 3:1 — a sustained pattern of insider confidence.
  • ★Dividend yield of 3.15% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

Risks

GPN
  • ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 4.0x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.88 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 18.5% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠FCF yield of 5.4% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.

Key Valuation Metrics

Learn more →
GPN
UNH
Valuation
$1.75B
Free Cash Flow
$13.86B
9.16%
FCF Yield
5.45%
15.39
Trailing P/E
21.18
4.20
Forward P/E
14.08
Quality & Moat
3.69%
ROIC
0.64%
5.89%
ROE
11.85%
72.64%
Gross Margin
18.53%
N/A
PEG Ratio
N/A
Balance Sheet Safety
0.93
Debt / Equity
0.82
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
4.03
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.54
1.47%
Dividend Yield
3.15%
GPN: 5Ties: 1UNH: 5
GPNUNH

Historical Fundamentals

Learn more →
GPN

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

Learn more →
GPN
$-2.44
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$3.20B
Δ Market Cap
$-7.81B
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

Learn more →
GPN
50.4% Margin of Safety
Price is 50.4% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $68.18
Fair Value: $137.40
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
UNH
4.9% Margin of Safety
Price is 4.9% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $280.44
Fair Value: $294.90
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

Learn more →
GPN

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $68?

+9.9%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +6.9%

The market implies +9.9% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +6.9%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

UNH

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $280?

+11.1%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +9.2%

The market implies +11.1% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +9.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

Learn more →
GPN
42/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency 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.
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

Learn more →
GPN
-2.67
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

Learn more →
GPN
Insiders 0.9%Institutions 102.0%
No. of Institutional Holders1,196
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 84.2%Retail & Other 14.9%
No. of Institutional Holders4,244
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

Learn more →
GPN
1
Buys (3M)
3
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.29M
JOHNSON JOIA M
Director
$99,345
@ $81.90 · 2026-02-20
BALDWIN ROBERT H B JR
Director
$1.09M
@ $81.16 · 2025-12-11
WATSON PATRICIA A
Director
$99,905
@ $75.06 · 2025-11-07
BALDWIN ROBERT H B JR
Director
$672,800
@ $116.00 · 2024-12-13
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
UNH
0
Buys (3M)
5
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $31.61M
REX JOHN F
President
$5.00M
@ $291.12 · 2025-05-16
HEMSLEY STEPHEN J
Chief Executive Officer
$25.02M
@ $288.57 · 2025-05-16
GIL KRISTEN
Director
$1.00M
@ $271.17 · 2025-05-15
FLYNN TIMOTHY PATRICK
Director
$491,786
@ $320.80 · 2025-05-14
NOSEWORTHY JOHN H
Director
$93,647
@ $312.16 · 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

Learn more →
GPN
0
Sells (3M)
7
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $2.36M
SHEFFIELD DAVID M
Officer
$164,123
@ $81.41 · 2025-12-11
GREEN DAVID LAWRENCE
Officer
$927,884
@ $79.99 · 2025-12-03
MCDANIEL CONNIE D
Director
$347,344
@ $77.81 · 2025-11-12
CORTOPASSI ROBERT M
President
$342,080
@ $85.52 · 2025-08-21
SHEFFIELD DAVID M
Officer
$207,575
@ $83.03 · 2025-08-12
STEELE-BELKIN DARA L.
General Counsel
$172,000
@ $86.00 · 2025-08-07
SHEFFIELD DAVID M
Officer
$201,975
@ $80.79 · 2025-05-08
CARTER ANDREA M
Officer
$250,015
@ $105.67 · 2024-11-04
GREEN DAVID LAWRENCE
Officer
$3.27M
@ $104.55 · 2024-10-31
SHEFFIELD DAVID M
Officer
$166,305
@ $100.73 · 2024-08-08
JOHNSTON SHANNON A
Chief Technology Officer
$169,816
@ $98.33 · 2024-06-06
CARTER ANDREA M
Officer
$367,422
@ $111.34 · 2024-05-09
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
UNH
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $179,645
CONWAY PATRICK HUGH M.D.
Chief Executive Officer
$179,645
@ $305.00 · 2025-06-10
MCSWEENEY ERIN L
Officer
$438,987
@ $626.23 · 2024-11-11
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

Learn more →
GPN
FearGreed
😨Fear(29/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

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
😨Fear(37/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

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

Learn more →
GPN
⚪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: Fear (29)
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: Fear (37)
View GPN Full AnalysisView UNH Full Analysis