Elevance Health Inc. ELV
Elevance Health trades at a 17.7x P/E, a 21% discount to the healthcare peer median of 22.4x, and has delivered four consecutive EPS beats including a 20% surprise in Q2 2026 (actual $7.45 vs. estimate $6.21). However, the FY2026 EPS guidance of $27.00 sits below the $27.16 consensus, revenue growth has decelerated sharply from 12.6% in FY2025 to just 1.4% YoY in Q2 2026, and operating margin compressed from 5.03% in FY2024 to 4.07% in FY2025.
With CEO Boudreaux making open-market purchases on July 17, 2026 and the stock holding above its 200-day MA of $364.17, the setup is balanced enough to warrant a hold until margin trends stabilize or guidance moves above consensus.
What could go wrong
- Margin compression persists. FY2025 operating margin fell to 4.07% from 5.03% in FY2024 and 6.45% in FY2021, with operating income declining to $8.11B from $8.89B year-over-year.
- Revenue growth deceleration. Q2 2026 revenue grew only 1.4% YoY, down from 14.0% in Q2 2025 and 12.6% for full-year FY2025, signaling a sharp slowdown in top-line momentum.
- Free cash flow deterioration. FY2025 free cash flow fell to $3.17B from $4.55B in FY2024 and $6.77B in FY2023, reducing financial flexibility.
- Medicare Advantage plan exits. Recent news indicates insurers are cutting Medicare Advantage plans effective December 31, which could pressure membership and revenue in ELV's core business.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: peer_relative · earnings_surprises · news (Defense World, 2026-09-21) · quarterly_results. Orin's read on ELV; not advice.
Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings
50-day average 200-day average · volume below
On file
All ELV filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Capital Management | $5.4B | 0.1% of fund |
| State Street | $4.0B | 0.1% of fund |
| Wellington Management Group Llp | $3.6B | 0.6% of fund |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $2.4B | 0.1% of fund |
| Geode Capital Management | $2.0B | 0.1% of fund |
| Harris Associates L P | $1.9B | 2.5% of fund |
124 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 90 Form 4 filings, net $49.8M. Of the 50 on hand, 4 were open-market purchases and 5 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about ELV
Orin answers questions about ELV from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →Where it trades
| Metric | Now | Own median | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 17.7× | 18.4× | 26.4× |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.4× | 12.4× | — |
| P/S | 0.43× | 0.64× | — |
| P/B | 1.9× | 2.8× | — |
Its P/E sits 40th percentile of its own last 5 years (+0.20σ from its own mean).
11.9%
free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $3.2B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.
What Wall Street published
$444
$391 – $498 · +10% against today's price
- 27 buy or overweight
- 11 hold
- 0 underweight or sell
The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.
Against the companies it is compared to
| Company | Market cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross | Net | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELVElevance Health Inc. | $86B | 17.7× | 13.4× | 39.0% | 2.5% | 11% |
| BDXBecton, Dickinson and Company | $49B | 54.0× | 16.8× | 46.1% | 4.5% | 4% |
| CICigna Corporation | $70B | 10.9× | 8.1× | 11.7% | 2.3% | 15% |
| CORCencora, Inc. | $60B | 22.9× | 13.5× | 3.7% | 0.8% | 106% |
| CVSCVS Health Corporation | $109B | 22.2× | 12.9× | 14.2% | 1.2% | 6% |
| GEHCGE HealthCare Technologies Inc. | $30B | 19.1× | 10.9× | 42.9% | 7.9% | 15% |
| HUMHumana Inc. | $46B | 35.7× | 17.3× | 13.7% | 0.9% | 7% |
| IDXXIDEXX Laboratories, Inc. | $40B | 36.1× | 25.6× | 62.4% | 25.0% | 72% |
| REGNRegeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | $82B | 19.0× | 14.2× | 84.9% | 27.9% | 14% |
| ZTSZoetis Inc. | $29B | 11.6× | 9.6× | 70.9% | 27.5% | 69% |
The median is of the 9 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 20.3% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.
What it has traded at
What its sector has traded at
Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.
Discounted cash flow
| Model | Fair value | Against | Computed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard DCF | $1118 | $408.22 · +174% | 2026-06-10 |
| Levered DCF | $924 | $408.22 · +126% | 2026-06-10 |
The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.
Every estimate on one scale
The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.