GEHC vs HTFL: How GE HealthCare and Heartflow Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
GEHC is the larger of the two ($30.72B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (12.59x forward earnings, beta 0.84). HTFL is the smaller challenger ($2.49B), priced similarly on forward earnings (-105.26x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
GEHC vs HTFL: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | GEHC | HTFL | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $30.72B | $2.49B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 12.59 | -105.26 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 30% of range | 41% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 2.90 | 8.69 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how GEHC and HTFL affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. GEHC and HTFL share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined GEHC and HTFL exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does GE HealthCare (GEHC) do?
GE HealthCare is the medical technology business spun off from the former General Electric conglomerate as an independent company. It is one of the world's largest makers of medical imaging and diagnostic equipment. Its product portfolio spans MRI, CT, X-ray, ultrasound, and molecular imaging systems, plus contrast agents and radiopharmaceuticals used in scans, patient monitoring devices, and a growing suite of healthcare software and AI tools that help clinicians interpret images and manage care. GE HealthCare makes money by selling these large imaging systems to hospitals and clinics, and importantly through recurring revenue from service contracts, maintenance, software, and consumables like contrast media. With a large installed base of equipment worldwide, the company benefits from steady demand for diagnostics, an aging global population, and the growing role of AI in radiology. Headquartered in Chicago, it serves healthcare providers across developed and emerging markets and competes among the top global medical imaging vendors.
What does Heartflow (HTFL) do?
Heartflow, founded in 2007 and based in Mountain View, California, sells analysis rather than hardware. A hospital or imaging center uploads a single coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) study, and the Heartflow One platform returns three products built off that one scan: FFRCT Analysis, which computes fractional flow reserve non-invasively to say whether a narrowing is actually restricting blood flow; RoadMap Analysis, which measures stenosis severity vessel by vessel; and Plaque Analysis, which quantifies plaque volume and composition. Each analysis is billed as a case, so revenue scales with scan volume rather than with device placements. Roughly ~93% of revenue comes from the United States, where hospitals bill FFRCT under its own CPT code (75580) and the 2021 ACC/AHA chest pain guideline made CCTA a first-line test for intermediate-risk stable chest pain.
GEHC vs HTFL: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- GEHC drivers: Large installed base and recurring revenue; AI and software in imaging.
- HTFL drivers: Case volume compounding faster than revenue; Plaque Analysis as the second product on the same scan.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: GE HealthCare sells capital equipment to hospitals, whose budgets can tighten during economic or fiscal pressure, delaying purchases. For HTFL, competition in coronary CT AI is crowded and well funded: Cleerly, Elucid, Artrya, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging, Caristo Diagnostics and Keya Medical all have FDA-cleared CCTA analysis tools, and Heartflow's April 2026 patent suit against Cleerly in the Eastern District of Texas is an admission that the moat is being tested, with an outcome nobody can predict.
GEHC or HTFL: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick GEHC if you believe its drivers more; HTFL if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the GEHC and HTFL guides.
GEHC vs HTFL: the full fundamentals
GEHC. GE HealthCare is valued as a defensive medical technology company with a large installed base and recurring service and consumables revenue. Investors weigh steady diagnostics demand and AI-driven product upgrades against competition and hospital capital-spending cycles. The valuation reflects a stable healthcare franchise with moderate growth and the optionality of expanding software and higher-margin businesses.
HTFL. There is no price-to-earnings figure because there are no earnings, so the market is valuing Heartflow on revenue: a market capitalization near ~$2.3B against ~$191M of trailing revenue works out to roughly ~12x sales. That multiple is defensible only if growth stays close to the guided ~30% and gross margin holds near ~80%, since both are already in the price. The next data point is the Q2 2026 report scheduled for August 13, 2026, which will show whether the ~67% case growth from Q1 held through the spring.
Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): GEHC shows revenue (ttm) ~$19 to 21 billion, operating margin ~mid teens percent, net income (ttm) ~$2 billion or more, recurring revenue mix ~meaningful service and consumables; HTFL shows revenue (ttm) ~$191M, q1 2026 revenue ~$52.6M, up ~41% year over year, gaap gross margin (q1 2026) ~80%, up from ~75%, adjusted ebitda (q1 2026) loss of ~$14M.
The bottom line: GEHC vs HTFL
GEHC and HTFL are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined GEHC and HTFL exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how GEHC or HTFL fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in GE HealthCare with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how GEHC fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between GEHC and HTFL?
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GE HealthCare is the medical technology business spun off from the former General Electric conglomerate as an independent company. Heartflow, founded in 2007 and based in Mountain View, California, sells analysis rather than hardware. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is GEHC or HTFL the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. GEHC is the larger incumbent; HTFL is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, GEHC or HTFL?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), GEHC trades at 12.59x and HTFL at -105.26x, so HTFL is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both GEHC and HTFL?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of GEHC vs HTFL?
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GEHC: GE HealthCare sells capital equipment to hospitals, whose budgets can tighten during economic or fiscal pressure, delaying purchases. It faces intense competition from Siemens Healthineers, Philips, and others, and pricing pressure in mature imaging categories. Supply chain disruptions and component shortages can affect deliveries. As a recently independent company, it carries debt from the spinoff and must execute on its own strategy. Regulatory approval, reimbursement changes, and product recalls are risks in medical devices. Currency swings affect its global revenue. Margins in hardware can be modest, and growth depends on successfully expanding higher-margin software, services, and contrast media against capable, well-resourced competitors. HTFL: Competition in coronary CT AI is crowded and well funded: Cleerly, Elucid, Artrya, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging, Caristo Diagnostics and Keya Medical all have FDA-cleared CCTA analysis tools, and Heartflow's April 2026 patent suit against Cleerly in the Eastern District of Texas is an admission that the moat is being tested, with an outcome nobody can predict. Reimbursement is the entire revenue model, so a change to the FFRCT payment rate, a coverage restriction, or slow code assignment for plaque quantification would hit revenue directly rather than gradually. Roughly ~93% of revenue is United States concentration, which leaves the business exposed to one payer system. The company has never earned a profit, lost ~$117M in FY2025, and needs continued volume growth to reach breakeven before cash becomes a constraint. Finally, the $6B addressable-market expansion management describes depends on trials in asymptomatic populations that have not read out, and the stock's ~$20 to ~$41 range in its first year public shows how quickly the market repricing works in both directions.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell GEHC or HTFL; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.