SBUX vs UNH: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Starbucks Corporation and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
Starbucks Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$96.60
+19.0% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B+
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 |
SBUX |
UNH |
| Current Price |
$96.60 |
$304.33 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$115.00 |
$430.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+19.0%
|
+41.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$110.1B |
$276.2B |
| Forward P/E |
42.2x
|
15.1x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
22.5x
|
14.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
3.0x
|
0.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
45.1x
|
17.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+2.8%
|
+11.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
24.2%
|
18.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
9.6%
|
4.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
-22.9%
|
12.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.55% |
2.9% |
| FCF Yield |
2.2%
|
5.82%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Hold
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Starbucks is the world's largest specialty coffee retailer with over 39,000 stores across 86 markets, generating $37.2B in annual revenue. Under CEO Brian Niccol, now 19 months into his tenure after joining from Chipotle in September 2024, the company is executing the Back to Starbucks operational turnaround focused on service speed, menu simplification, and store experience reinvention. At P/S 2…
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 |
SBUX |
UNH |
| Zone Low |
$88.00 |
$280.00 |
| Zone High |
$98.00 |
$340.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|