Key Takeaways
- UnitedHealth Group yields 2.3% and Cigna Group yields 2.1%, and both boards held their quarterly dividends steady in their December declarations.
- Cigna’s dividend rose from $0.04 a share in fiscal 2020 to $6.04 in fiscal 2025, so its five-year growth rate of 172.8% a year doesn’t describe its pace today.
- Over the twelve months to Sept. 30, 2026, Cigna paid out 20% of its free cash flow as dividends, against 36% at UnitedHealth, whose ratio reached 49% in fiscal 2025.
- Both companies raised their 2026 earnings outlooks with their third-quarter results, and both expect earnings growth in 2027.
Within a week of each other, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and Cigna Group (CI) declared their December dividends, and both held them where they were. On Oct. 28, Cigna’s board declared $1.56 a share for the quarter, the same rate as the prior two quarters. On Nov. 4, UnitedHealth followed with $2.32, unchanged from the quarter before.
That works out to a 2.3% yield for UnitedHealth and 2.1% for Cigna, so $10,000 in UnitedHealth pays $230 a year now, against $210 for Cigna. Cigna’s dividend grew faster in fiscal 2025, though (7.9% against 6.7%), and it uses far less of its cash to pay it. So which one pays you more over the next 10 years?
| Metric | UnitedHealth (UNH) | Cigna (CI) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 2.3% | 2.1% |
| Annual dividend | $9.28 | $6.24 |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2020-2025 | 12.6% a year | 172.8% a year (from $0.04 a share) |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2025 | 6.7% | 7.9% |
| Cash dividend payout ratio (TTM to Sept. 30, 2026) | 36% | 20% |
| Net debt/EBITDA (LTM) | 1.6x | 1.9x |
| Interest coverage (LTM) | 6.8x | 7.7x |
Source: TIKR and StockAnalysis, Nov. 9, 2026.
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UnitedHealth is earning more on less revenue
UnitedHealth’s revenue slipped to $112.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026, from $113.2 billion a year earlier. Its medical care ratio fell to 88.4% from 89.9%, though, and earnings from operations jumped to $6.6 billion from $4.3 billion.
Still, UnitedHealth raised its 2026 outlook to adjusted earnings of at least $20.50 a share. For 2027, CFO Wayne DeVeydt said on the third-quarter call, “we see the lower end of our long-term 13% to 16% growth rate as a more reasonable starting point.”
UnitedHealth pays its dividend from free cash flow. That cash climbed from $8.09 billion in fiscal 2016 to $25.7 billion in fiscal 2023, then fell to $16.1 billion in fiscal 2025, while dividends paid rose every year to $7.92 billion:
That took its cash dividend payout ratio from 26.3% in fiscal 2023 to a much tighter 49.2% in fiscal 2025. Free cash flow has since recovered to $22.83 billion over the twelve months to Sept. 30, 2026, and the $8.17 billion in dividends took a well-covered 36% of it.
The risk is medical costs. Management said commercial cost trends are running above the 11% it first expected, driven partly by No Surprises Act arbitration costs.
Cigna has cash to spare
Cigna pays the smaller check, but its dividend has far more cash behind it. Its 172.8% five-year growth rate comes from one big step: Cigna paid $0.04 a share in fiscal 2020, and its dividends paid jumped from $20 million that year to $1.34 billion in fiscal 2021. Its free cash flow has held between $6.04 billion and $10.2 billion a year since then:
That kept its cash dividend payout ratio between 14.2% and 22.2% from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025. Over the twelve months to Sept. 30, 2026, it was a comfortable 20%.
The business is growing too. Third-quarter 2026 revenue rose 6% to $73.7 billion, and Cigna raised its 2026 outlook to at least $30.60 a share and expects at least 10% adjusted EPS growth in 2027.
At its Sept. 30 Investor Day, Cigna set a target of 10-14% annual adjusted EPS growth through 2030 and about $50 billion in cumulative operating cash flow. Leaving the ACA Exchange is about a $200 million headwind in 2027, CFO Ann Dennison said.
So which dividend wins?
UnitedHealth pays you more over the next 10 years, though only just.
Since Cigna’s five-year rate starts from $0.04 a share, the fair test is each dividend at its pace now. Growing 6.7% a year, $10,000 in UnitedHealth pays about $3,137 over the 10 years, against about $3,022 from Cigna growing 7.9%. UnitedHealth’s check in year 10 comes to about $413, so call it a 4.1% yield on your original $10,000.
UnitedHealth can keep that pace: its payout is back to 36% from 49% in fiscal 2025, and its earnings outlook just went up.
Cigna’s case is strong: its dividend takes a fifth of its free cash flow, and even at today’s pace its income passes UnitedHealth’s in about 8.6 years, in 2035. Over the full decade, though, UnitedHealth’s bigger check today and its recovering cash flow keep it ahead.
Of course, the gap is only about $115. Cigna would pull ahead with a raise well above 7.9%, and at a 20% payout it can afford one.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
