Humana
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 3/4
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $1.34bn | positive | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 6.7% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.70x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | 46.4% | median 15.0% | ✓ |
Passes 3 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 2/4
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 9.0% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | 0.78x | median 1.78x | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 46.4% | median 15.0% | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.70x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 4. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 1/3
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 9.0% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Return on equity | 6.7% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 46.4% | median 15.0% | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 1/4
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 6.7% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.70x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | 0.78x | median 1.78x | ✗ |
| Return on equity, sustained | 7 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 2/3
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 46.4% | median 15.0% | ✓ |
| Net margin | 20.4% | median 10.2% | ✓ |
| Return on capital employed | 9.0% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
Passes 2 of 3. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 2/2
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 2.00x | median 1.25x | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.70x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 3/3
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 2.00x | 2.00x published | ✓ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 0.75x | 1.00x published | ✓ |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 10 yrs | 10 published | ✓ |
Passes 3 of 3. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 0/1
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 9.0% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 2/2
| Measure | HUM | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.70x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Net margin | 20.4% | median 10.2% | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Humana. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 36.0% | whyThe figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 46.7% | whyAbsorbs working-capital swings that earnings do not. |
| Free cash flow | 114.7% | whyAfter maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 78.7 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 0 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 0/50Direction 0/30Stability 0/20
Against its own history: 114.7% this year vs 9.8% median over the prior 5. A gap this size is usually a one-off — acquisition, settlement, cyclical trough — not a dividend that stopped being funded. The rating reads the latest year; the table shows the trend.
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 114.7% |
| 2024-12-31 | 18.0% |
| 2023-12-31 | 14.5% |
| 2022-12-31 | 2.8% |
| 2021-12-31 | 9.8% |
| 2020-12-31 | 6.9% |
Coverage has deteriorated three years running — 2.8% to 114.7% — and the dividend now exceeds what the basis that applies can fund.
0% of the 38 health care here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $3.54 ÷ diluted EPS $9.84
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $430m ÷ operating cash flow $921m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $430m ÷ (operating cash flow $921m − capex $546m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-19 · accession 0000049071-26-000009
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: covered on earnings, not on the basis that applies · rated not covered · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Humana files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.