CHEMED CORPORATION vs UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC., two Medical Care stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Chemed's balance sheet carries 0.11 turns of debt, Universal Health's 0.72, both conservative for care operators, which makes the multiple gap the real subject: 25.3 times for Chemed against 6.1 for UHS, four times the price per dollar of earnings for the smaller company. UHS earns respectably, an 11.2% operating margin and 20.2% return on equity, and hands back 10.2% of its price in free cash; Chemed earns better returns, 30.6% on equity, on fatter margins, 12.9%, with half the cash yield. The market has priced UHS for erosion, behavioral and acute-care margins fading, and Chemed for permanence. The balance sheets say both could survive being wrong; the multiples say only one is expected to be right.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | CHE | UHS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $462.49 | $145.68 |
| Market cap | $6.3B | $9.0B |
| Sector | Medical Care | Medical Care |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +4.5% | — |
| P/E | 25.3 | 6.1 |
| P/B | 7.47 | 1.19 |
| P/S | 2.49 | 0.51 |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.3 | 5.4 |
| Revenue growth | +2.1% | +10.4% |
| Operating margin | 12.9% | 11.2% |
| Net margin | 10.2% | 8.6% |
| Return on equity | 30.6% | 20.2% |
| Return on assets | 16.9% | 9.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 26.1% | 12.0% |
| FCF yield | 5.6% | 10.2% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.11 | 0.72 |
| Current ratio | 0.85 | 1.08 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 10.00 | 7.26 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
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.