Compare StocksUAL vs UNH

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) vs UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)

UAL
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
$92.55
VS
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
$368.78

Rewards

UAL
  • Free cash flow has grown at a 27.0% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • Each dollar of retained earnings has created $3.19 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • FCF yield of 8.5% is historically attractive — the business generates significant cash relative to its price.
UNH
  • Dividend yield of 2.40% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

Risks

UAL
  • Altman Z-Score of 1.38 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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UAL
UNH
Valuation
$2.56B
Free Cash Flow
$17.69B
8.51%
FCF Yield
5.28%
8.28
Trailing P/E
27.85
6.57
Forward P/E
17.77
Quality & Moat
4.43%
ROIC
15.60%
21.12%
ROE
11.45%
33.79%
Gross Margin
18.80%
0.10
PEG Ratio
39.79
Balance Sheet Safety
1.95
Debt / Equity
0.74
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
2.13
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.18
N/A
Dividend Yield
2.40%
UAL: 6Ties: 2UNH: 3
UALUNH

Historical Fundamentals

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UAL

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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UAL
$2.61
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$9.12B
Δ Market Cap
+$23.85B
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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UAL
86.8% Margin of Safety
Price is 86.8% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $92.55
Fair Value: $699.30
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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UAL

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $93?

+2.8%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +6.5%

The market implies +2.8% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +6.5%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

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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UAL
44/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with revenue predictability 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

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UAL
-2.65
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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UAL
Insiders 0.6%Institutions 90.3%Retail & Other 9.1%
No. of Institutional Holders1,333
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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UAL
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
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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UAL
0
Sells (3M)
7
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $23.52M
HART BRETT J
President
$2.02M
@ $106.45 · 2026-02-02
KIRBY JOHN SCOTT
Chief Executive Officer
$12.94M
@ $107.86 · 2025-12-03
HARFORD BARNEY
Director
$2.30M
@ $92.84 · 2025-08-12
LESKINEN MICHAEL D.
Chief Financial Officer
$2.10M
@ $91.43 · 2025-07-28
FREYRE MICHELLE
Director
$82,914
@ $92.13 · 2025-07-28
HART BRETT J
President
$2.22M
@ $89.50 · 2025-07-25
ENQVIST TORBJORN J
Chief Operating Officer
$1.84M
@ $92.22 · 2025-07-18
JOJO LINDA P
Officer
$5.71M
@ $95.13 · 2024-11-22
ENQVIST TORBJORN J
Chief Operating Officer
$1.04M
@ $72.00 · 2024-10-17
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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UAL
FearGreed
😐Neutral(44/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

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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UAL
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: Neutral (44)
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 UAL Full AnalysisView UNH Full Analysis
UAL vs UNH: Which Is the Better Buy? | SafetyMargin.io