KO vs UNH: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of The Coca-Cola Company and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated โ€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-05-04.
The Coca-Cola Company ยท Consumer Defensive
$78.19
-7.8% upside to fair value
Grade D High Quality
VS
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated ยท Healthcare
$353.52
+97.1% upside to fair value
Grade B High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
UNH has more upside to fair value (+97.1%). KO trades at a lower forward P/E (24.6x). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric KO UNH
Current Price $78.19 $353.52
Fair Value Estimate $72.12 $696.88
Upside to Fair Value -7.8% +97.1%
Market Cap $336.5B $320.9B
Forward P/E 24.6x 26.7x
EV / EBITDA 19.9x 16.1x
Price / Sales 6.8x 0.7x
Price / FCF 26.8x 16.3x
Revenue Growth YoY +12.1% +2.0%
Gross Margin 61.7% 18.8%
Operating Margin 29.3% 4.2%
Return on Equity 43.6% 12.4%
Dividend Yield 0% 0%
FCF Yield 3.73% 6.13%
Analyst Consensus Strong Buy Strong Buy
Investment Thesis
KO โ€” The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is a leading global beverage company specializing in non-alcoholic drinks with a diversified portfolio including sparkling soft drinks, juices, water, coffee, and energy beverages. The business quality is high due to its durable brand moat, consistent earnings growth, and strong operational efficiency, reflected in a 43.6% return on equity and 12.1% revenue growth in the mosโ€ฆ
UNH โ€” UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a leading healthcare company with two main platforms: UnitedHealthcare, providing health benefits coverage, and Optum, offering information and technology services. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat due to its scale, integrated platforms, and broad market reach serving over 170 million consumers. Despite strong revenue growth of 12% yโ€ฆ
Accumulation Zones
Metric KO UNH
Zone Low $54.09 $522.66
Zone High $61.30 $592.35
In Buy Zone? No Yes
โ† KO Research    UNH Research โ†’    All Research