Unitedhealth Group (UNH) stock, explained like you're 5

Is Unitedhealth Group a small, medium or large cap company?

Yes. Unitedhealth Group is a large cap stock, and an extra big one: it is a mega cap, worth more than 200 billion dollars. Its market cap, which is the total value of all its shares, is about 340.5 billion dollars.

Here is how you can tell. Multiply the share price by the number of shares to get the market cap, then compare it to the usual sizes. Micro cap is under 300 million dollars, small cap is 300 million to 2 billion, mid cap is 2 to 10 billion, large cap is 10 billion and up, and mega cap is over 200 billion. Market caps move every day with the share price, so treat the number as a recent snapshot.

How Unitedhealth Group makes money

• UnitedHealthcare sells health insurance plans to employers of all sizes, individual consumers, and government programs like Medicaid and childrens health insurance.
• Optum Health earns revenue by delivering direct care and health management services to individuals, employers, insurers, and government organisations.
• Optum Insight sells software, data products, consulting, and outsourced managed services to hospitals, doctors, health plans, and life sciences companies.
• Optum Rx manages retail pharmacy networks, home prescription delivery, and specialty pharmacy services, earning fees and spreads on drug purchasing.

What moves UNH stock

• Changes to Medicaid and Medicare funding rules hit UnitedHealth hard, since government health programs make up a large share of UnitedHealthcare revenue.
• Medical loss ratio, meaning the share of insurance premiums paid out as medical claims, is watched closely. A rising ratio squeezes profit margins.
• Optum Rx results move with prescription drug pricing policy, pharmacy benefit manager regulation, and any shifts in how drug formularies are managed.
• Broad regulatory or legal scrutiny of health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers can weigh on the stock, given UnitedHealths scale and visibility.

Good to know about Unitedhealth Group

• UnitedHealth Group employs around 390,000 people, making it one of the largest private employers in the United States.
• The company was founded in 1977 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1984.
• It paid a dividend of $9.06 per share most recently, rewarding shareholders with a regular cash payment.
• Its beta of 0.615 means the stock has historically been less volatile than the broader market, moving more gently when markets swing.

In the news lately

• Learn Why The Bull Case For UnitedHealth Group Stock Could Change Following Earnings Beat (Yahoo Finance)
• UnitedHealth Stock Moves Higher: What's Going On? (Benzinga)
• UnitedHealth Group tops estimates, hikes profit outlook as insurer manages high medical costs (CNBC)
• Will Raised Earnings Guidance Change UnitedHealth Stock's Narrative (Simply Wall Street)
• UnitedHealth raises profit forecast as turnaround efforts gather pace (Reuters)

Key terms to know before you follow UNH

• Market cap
• P/E ratio
• EPS (earnings per share)
• Earnings report
• Volatility