MA vs UNH: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Mastercard Incorporated and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$498.66
+22.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A-
VS
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated · Healthcare
$304.33
+41.3% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B+
QuantHub Verdict
UNH has more upside to fair value
(+41.3%).
UNH trades at a lower forward P/E
(15.1x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MA |
UNH |
| Current Price |
$498.66 |
$304.33 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$610.00 |
$430.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+22.3%
|
+41.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$445.0B |
$276.2B |
| Forward P/E |
25.5x
|
15.1x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
22.4x
|
14.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
13.6x
|
0.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
26.0x
|
17.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+16.4%
|
+11.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
83.4%
|
18.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
59.2%
|
4.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
198.4%
|
12.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.65% |
2.9% |
| FCF Yield |
3.84%
|
5.82%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Mastercard operates one of the world's two dominant payment networks, processing over $9 trillion in gross dollar volume annually across 220+ countries. The business generates 83% gross margins and 46% net margins with zero credit risk because Mastercard never lends money, only collecting tolls on every transaction. Value-Added Services (analytics, fraud prevention, cybersecurity) now comprise 41…
UnitedHealth Group is the world's largest diversified healthcare company, combining the dominant US health insurer UnitedHealthcare with the high-margin Optum services platform spanning care delivery, pharmacy benefits, and data analytics. The stock has fallen roughly 49% from its 2024 peak of $596, driven by elevated medical costs, DOJ antitrust scrutiny, CEO transitions (Brian Thompson's murder…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MA |
UNH |
| Zone Low |
$460.00 |
$280.00 |
| Zone High |
$515.00 |
$340.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|