UNH vs COST
Comparison between Unitedhealth Group Inc (UNH, Company) and Costco Wholesale Corp (COST, Company).
UNH is from the Healthcare sector, while COST is from the Consumer Defensive sector.
5-Year PerformanceCOST has outperformed UNH, delivering a return of +18.8% compared to +2.8%
UNH vs COST - Performance Comparison
Key Characteristics
Financial metrics and valuation ratios
Market Cap
UNH
$380B
Winner
COST
$406B
Max Drawdown
UNH
74.45%
Winner
COST
53.39%
Sharpe Ratio
Winner
UNH
1.27
COST
-0.18
5Y Beta
Winner
UNH
0.29
COST
0.39
Industry
UNH
Healthcare Plans
COST
Discount Stores
P/E Ratio
Winner
UNH
31.51
COST
46.00
Forward P/E
Winner
UNH
23.31
COST
41.49
PEG Ratio
Winner
UNH
1.49
COST
3.63
Dividend Yield
Winner
UNH
1.04%
COST
0.57%
5Y Dividends CAGR
Winner
UNH
17.42%
COST
-12.35%
5Y EPS CAGR
UNH
-5.71%
Winner
COST
13.27%
Debt to Equity
UNH
75.00%
Winner
COST
16.92%
Free Cash Flow Yield
Winner
UNH
5.18%
COST
2.17%
P/S Ratio
Winner
UNH
0.86
COST
1.39
P/B Ratio
Winner
UNH
3.98
COST
12.26
UNH vs COST - Historical Returns
Returns include dividend reinvestment.
1M
Winner
UNH
+7.30%
COST
-2.33%
3M
Winner
UNH
+26.82%
COST
-7.48%
6M
Winner
UNH
+27.16%
COST
-5.19%
1Y
Winner
UNH
+58.81%
COST
-1.38%
5Y(CAGR)
UNH
+2.82%
Winner
COST
+18.76%
10Y(CAGR)
UNH
+13.67%
Winner
COST
+20.75%
Max(CAGR)
Winner
UNH
+18.21%
COST
+14.29%
UNH vs COST - Annual Returns (1999 - 2026)
Returns include dividend reinvestment.
| Year | UNH | COST |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | +31.45% | +9.05% |
| 2025 | -32.93% | -4.72% |
| 2024 | -4.74% | +41.64% |
| 2023 | +3.04% | +50.03% |
| 2022 | +6.92% | -18.91% |
| 2021 | +45.70% | +50.47% |
| 2020 | +21.82% | +33.72% |
| 2019 | +22.76% | +44.95% |
| 2018 | +14.16% | +9.30% |
| 2017 | +38.60% | +22.66% |
| 2016 | +39.81% | +1.51% |
| 2015 | +18.62% | +19.11% |
| 2014 | +37.79% | +21.70% |
| 2013 | +40.26% | +18.56% |
| 2012 | +6.88% | +26.50% |
| 2011 | +38.28% | +16.31% |
| 2010 | +15.90% | +23.17% |
| 2009 | +10.63% | +12.51% |
| 2008 | -52.98% | -22.17% |
| 2007 | +10.77% | +33.29% |
| 2006 | -12.91% | +6.93% |
| 2005 | +43.52% | +4.29% |
| 2004 | +49.17% | +34.26% |
| 2003 | +35.80% | +28.16% |
| 2002 | +18.62% | -36.87% |
| 2001 | +20.13% | +7.74% |
| 2000 | +128.51% | -10.25% |
| 1999 | +1.78% | +16.15% |
UNH vs COST Drawdown Comparison
The maximum drawdown for UNH was -74.37%, occurring on Nov 20, 2008. Recovery took 1829 trading sessions.
The maximum drawdown for COST was -53.39%, occurring on Dec 24, 2002. Recovery took 1551 trading sessions.
The current UNH drawdown is -27.24%. The current COST drawdown is -15.09%.
| Rank | UNH | COST |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | -74.37% Dec 21, 2005 - Apr 2, 2013 | -53.39% May 1, 2000 - Jul 3, 2006 |
| #2 | -61.39% Nov 11, 2024 - Aug 1, 2025 | -48.03% Jul 8, 2008 - Dec 20, 2010 |
| #3 | -35.92% Feb 19, 2020 - May 29, 2020 | -31.40% Apr 7, 2022 - Dec 5, 2023 |
| #4 | -24.27% Feb 17, 2000 - Apr 10, 2000 | -22.02% Sep 11, 2018 - Apr 1, 2019 |
| #5 | -23.98% Dec 3, 2018 - Dec 12, 2019 | -20.74% Feb 13, 2025 - May 18, 2026 |
| #6 | -23.85% Oct 23, 2002 - Jun 11, 2003 | -20.65% Feb 3, 2000 - Mar 16, 2000 |
| #7 | -19.99% Nov 30, 2023 - Jul 16, 2024 | -19.49% Dec 1, 2020 - May 27, 2021 |
| #8 | -19.85% May 1, 2001 - Jul 18, 2001 | -18.54% Jul 3, 2006 - Feb 15, 2007 |
| #9 | -18.48% Oct 31, 2022 - Nov 30, 2023 | -17.43% Jun 7, 2017 - Nov 30, 2017 |
| #10 | -17.50% Dec 28, 2000 - Apr 25, 2001 | -16.57% May 19, 2026 - Jul 9, 2026 |
| #11 | -16.91% Apr 20, 2022 - Aug 15, 2022 | -16.23% Dec 7, 2007 - May 1, 2008 |
| #12 | -15.58% Jun 19, 2002 - Oct 16, 2002 | -15.93% Dec 29, 2021 - Mar 29, 2022 |
| #13 | -15.18% Nov 18, 1999 - Jan 7, 2000 | -15.86% Dec 8, 2015 - Jul 19, 2016 |
| #14 | -14.78% Jul 6, 2000 - Aug 11, 2000 | -15.80% May 19, 2011 - Sep 16, 2011 |
| #15 | -14.70% Jan 13, 2000 - Feb 17, 2000 | -15.60% Aug 12, 2016 - Feb 8, 2017 |
Correlation
Correlation between UNH and COST is 0.87 which considered as a strong positive correlation - the stocks tend to move together.
0.87
-101
Dividend Comparison (2000 - 2026)
UNH vs COST dividend yield comparison.
| Year | UNH | COST |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.04% | 0.30% |
| 2025 | 2.64% | 0.59% |
| 2024 | 1.62% | 0.49% |
| 2023 | 1.38% | 2.87% |
| 2022 | 1.21% | 0.76% |
| 2021 | 1.12% | 0.54% |
| 2020 | 1.38% | 3.38% |
| 2019 | 1.41% | 0.86% |
| 2018 | 1.38% | 1.08% |
| 2017 | 1.30% | 4.81% |
| 2016 | 1.48% | 1.09% |
| 2015 | 1.59% | 4.06% |
| 2014 | 1.39% | 0.97% |
| 2013 | 1.40% | 1.01% |
| 2012 | 1.47% | 8.17% |
| 2011 | 1.21% | 1.11% |
| 2010 | 1.12% | 1.10% |
| 2009 | 0.10% | 1.18% |
| 2008 | 0.23% | 1.19% |
| 2007 | 0.05% | 0.81% |
| 2006 | 0.06% | 0.96% |
| 2005 | 0.02% | 0.90% |
| 2004 | 0.03% | 0.62% |
| 2003 | 0.03% | 0.00% |
| 2002 | 0.04% | 0.00% |
| 2001 | 0.04% | 0.00% |
| 2000 | 0.02% | 0.00% |
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