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Side-by-side financial comparison of Centene Corporation (CNC) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
UnitedHealth Group is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($113.2B vs $44.7B, roughly 2.5× Centene Corporation). UnitedHealth Group runs the higher net margin — -2.5% vs 0.0%, a 2.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Centene Corporation posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (23.2% vs 12.3%). Centene Corporation produced more free cash flow last quarter ($224.0M vs $160.0M). Over the past eight quarters, Centene Corporation's revenue compounded faster (10.9% CAGR vs 6.5%).
Centene Corporation is an American for-profit healthcare company based in the Greater St. Louis area, which is an intermediary for government-sponsored and privately insured healthcare programs. Centene ranked No. 23 on the 2025 Fortune 500.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational for-profit company specializing in health insurance and health care services based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Selling insurance products under UnitedHealthcare, and health care services under the Optum brand, it is the world's seventh-largest company by revenue and the largest health care company by revenue. The company is ranked seventh on the 2025 Fortune Global 500.
CNC vs UNH — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $44.7B | $113.2B |
| Net Profit | $-1.1B | $10.0M |
| Gross Margin | 5.7% | 88.8% |
| Operating Margin | -3.9% | 0.3% |
| Net Margin | -2.5% | 0.0% |
| Revenue YoY | 23.2% | 12.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | -489.0% | -99.8% |
| EPS (diluted) | $-2.15 | $0.05 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $44.7B | $113.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $44.9B | $113.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $42.5B | $111.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $42.5B | $109.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $36.3B | $100.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $36.9B | $100.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | $36.0B | $98.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $36.3B | $99.8B |
| Q4 25 | $-1.1B | $10.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-6.6B | $2.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $-253.0M | $3.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.3B | $6.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $283.0M | $5.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | $713.0M | $6.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.1B | $4.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.2B | $-1.4B |
| Q4 25 | 5.7% | 88.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 7.5% | 88.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 7.1% | 88.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 12.4% | 88.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 10.5% | 87.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 10.9% | 88.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 12.6% | 88.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 13.0% | 88.9% |
| Q4 25 | -3.9% | 0.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | -15.5% | 3.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | -1.1% | 4.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.6% | 8.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.5% | 7.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.8% | 8.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 8.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.0% | 7.9% |
| Q4 25 | -2.5% | 0.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | -14.8% | 2.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | -0.6% | 3.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.1% | 5.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.8% | 5.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.9% | 6.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.2% | 4.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.2% | -1.4% |
| Q4 25 | $-2.15 | $0.05 | ||
| Q3 25 | $-13.50 | $2.59 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.51 | $3.74 | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.63 | $6.85 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $5.99 | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.36 | $6.51 | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.16 | $4.54 | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.16 | $-1.53 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $20.3B | $28.1B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $17.5B | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $20.0B | $100.1B |
| Total Assets | $76.7B | $309.6B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.88× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $20.3B | $28.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $19.2B | $30.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $17.3B | $32.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $17.3B | $34.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $16.7B | $29.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $17.6B | $37.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $20.2B | $31.3B | ||
| Q1 24 | $19.7B | $32.7B |
| Q4 25 | $17.5B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $18.6B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
| Q4 25 | $20.0B | $100.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $20.9B | $101.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $27.4B | $100.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $27.9B | $100.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $26.4B | $98.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $27.3B | $99.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $27.4B | $94.7B | ||
| Q1 24 | $27.0B | $92.4B |
| Q4 25 | $76.7B | $309.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $82.1B | $315.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $86.4B | $308.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $87.0B | $309.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $82.4B | $298.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $82.4B | $299.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $83.1B | $286.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $82.6B | $284.2B |
| Q4 25 | 0.88× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.71× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $437.0M | $1.1B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $224.0M | $160.0M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 0.5% | 0.1% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | — | 110.80× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $4.3B | $16.1B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $437.0M | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.4B | $5.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.8B | $7.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.5B | $5.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $-587.0M | $2.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $-978.0M | $13.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.2B | $6.7B | ||
| Q1 24 | $-456.0M | $1.1B |
| Q4 25 | $224.0M | $160.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.1B | $5.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.6B | $6.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.4B | $4.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $-741.0M | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | $-1.1B | $13.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.0B | $5.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $-607.0M | $401.0M |
| Q4 25 | 0.5% | 0.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 4.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.7% | 5.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.2% | 4.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | -2.0% | 1.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | -3.1% | 12.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 5.5% | 6.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | -1.7% | 0.4% |
| Q4 25 | 0.5% | 0.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.5% | 0.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.5% | 0.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.3% | 0.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.4% | 0.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.4% | 1.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.5% | 0.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| Q4 25 | — | 110.80× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 2.53× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 2.11× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.15× | 0.87× | ||
| Q4 24 | -2.07× | 0.43× | ||
| Q3 24 | -1.37× | 2.30× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.90× | 1.60× | ||
| Q1 24 | -0.39× | — |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CNC
| Total Premium And Service | $23.0B | 52% |
| Commercial Segment | $10.8B | 24% |
| Medicare Segment | $9.6B | 21% |
| Services | $749.0M | 2% |
UNH
| Total Optum | $70.3B | 62% |
| Intersegment | $15.8B | 14% |
| Products | $13.5B | 12% |
| Services | $10.3B | 9% |
| Other | $3.3B | 3% |
