CHEMED CORPORATION vs OPTION CARE HEALTH, INC., two Medical Care stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Chemed at 25.3 times earnings is priced for its hospice-plus-Roto-Rooter oddity to keep compounding at 30.6% returns on equity; Option Care at 17 times is priced as ordinary home-infusion infrastructure, and the eight-turn gap understates how differently the two earn. Chemed's 12.9% operating margin doubles Option Care's 5.4%, and its 16.9% return on assets nearly triples 6.1%. Option Care's rebuttal is cash and modesty: a 6.2% free-cash yield against 5.6%, most of it uncommitted. Both carry manageable debt. The premium buys the strange conglomerate that outearns its category; the discount buys the pure-play that merely works. Eight turns is cheap for that quality gap, which is the page's quiet conclusion.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | CHE | OPCH |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $462.49 | $21.76 |
| Market cap | $6.3B | $3.4B |
| Sector | Medical Care | Medical Care |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +4.5% | -4.3% |
| P/E | 25.3 | 17.0 |
| P/B | 7.47 | 2.55 |
| P/S | 2.49 | 0.61 |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.3 | 11.1 |
| Revenue growth | +2.1% | +9.4% |
| Gross margin | — | 19.4% |
| Operating margin | 12.9% | 5.4% |
| Net margin | 10.2% | 3.6% |
| Return on equity | 30.6% | 15.3% |
| Return on assets | 16.9% | 6.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 26.1% | 9.8% |
| FCF yield | 5.6% | 6.2% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.11 | 0.86 |
| Current ratio | 0.85 | 1.64 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 10.00 | 3.31 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 4 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.