Investment management company Vulcan Value Partners recently released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Vulcan Value Partners prioritizes long-term returns and lower risk over short-term performance. In the quarter, the Large Cap Composite (Net) returned 9.5%, the Small Cap Composite (Net) returned 13.3%, the Focus Composite (Net) returned 10.4%, the Focus Plus Composite (Net) returned 10.5%, and the All-Cap Composite (Net) returned 9.0%. The firm reported strong compounding across its strategies in Q2 2026. Management highlighted that their exceptional holdings remain deeply undervalued relative to “what is working” in the market, viewing this as an excellent opportunity for patient investors. In addition, please check the Firm’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its Q2 2026 investor letter, Vulcan Value Partners highlighted UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) as a material contributor. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is a multinational health benefits company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. On July 29, 2026, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) stock closed at $420.57 per share. The one-month return of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was -1.13%, and its shares gained 68.52% over the past 52 weeks. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has a market capitalization of $381.94 billion.
Vulcan Value Partners stated the following regarding UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in its Q2 2026 investor update:
“There were two material contributors to performance: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) and Elevance Health Inc. UnitedHealth and Elevance are the two largest private health insurers in the country, serving a combined 94 million members. We purchased UnitedHealth Group a little over a year ago after its stock price had declined from approximately $600 per share to under $300 per share as the company missed earnings and replaced its CEO. As a reminder, UnitedHealth Group has been on the MVP list for a number of years and we have owned it successfully several times over the last decade. After a thorough review of the company’s competitive position and assessment of the new management team, we determined that UnitedHealth Group’s value was stable and that the company should be able to return to steady earnings growth within a year or so. Since that time the company has executed even better than we expected. “Mr. Market” is beginning to recognize what we saw a year ago and UnitedHealth Group’s discounted shares are beginning to recover.”
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is in 14th position on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 130 hedge fund portfolios held UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 145 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2026, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) reported revenues of nearly $111.7 billion, representing a 2% increase from Q1 2025. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) and shared Magellan Global Opportunities Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
