HCA
HCA Healthcare, Inc.
HCA's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks expensive: trading at 17x earnings, above its usual 15x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
HCA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure |
HCA's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
HCA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 12x | $366 | -27% |
| Fair | 15x | $437 | -13% |
| Forward | 16x | $501 | — |
| Expensive | 17x | $516 | +3% |
| Current | 17x | $501 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HCA's PE is in its expensive range at 17x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 16x.
HCA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect HCA's earnings to grow, with its revenue and profitability holding steady.
HCA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $30.61 | +1.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $30.13 | +16% |
| Q2 2026 | $29.82 | +25% |
| Q1 2026 | $29.03 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $28.33 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.90 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $23.82 | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $22.52 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $22.00 | +16% |
HCA's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $30.13 over the past year, up 16% from the year before, and higher year over year for 11 quarters in a row.
HCA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $19.8B | +3.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $20.2B | +8.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $19.1B | +4.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $19.5B | +6.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.2B | +9.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $18.6B | +6.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $18.3B | +5.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $18.3B | +5.7% |
HCA's revenue has grown year over year for 16 quarters in a row: $19.8B last quarter, up 3.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 12% | -0.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 13% | +1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 13% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | -1.9 points |
HCA's operating margin was 12% last quarter, down 0.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
HCA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.1B | -0.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | -64% |
| Q1 2026 | $895M | +36% |
| Q4 2025 | $870M | -32% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.1B | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $3B | +340% |
| Q1 2025 | $660M | -51% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.3B | -16% |
HCA still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2020 peak: $6B over the past year.
HCA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -2.5% | -5.6M shares |
| 1 year | -8% | -19M shares |
| 3 years | -21% | -58.2M shares |
| 5 years | -33% | -107M shares |
| Available history | -38% | -131M shares |
HCA has 217M diluted shares, down 8% from a year ago, with $9.2B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3B |
| Q2 2026 | $2.1B |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $2.6B |
| Q3 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q2 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q4 2024 | $1.7B |
HCA spent $9.2B buying back its own shares over the past year, about the same as the year before.
HCA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.7x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.5x | Elevated |
HCA's net debt is about 3.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 3.4 years a year ago.
HCA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 67.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 82.7 | Overbought |
HCA's weekly RSI is 67 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 83 (overbought).
HCA PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | HCA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 17x | 26x | 36% below |
| PE % | 73 | 29 | 44 pts above |
HCA is trading at 17x earnings, a 36% discount to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
HCA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $463.8 | 8% above |
| 20 week MA | $430.4 | 16% above |
| 50 week MA | $450.3 | 11% above |
| 100 week MA | $411.1 | 22% above |
| 200 week MA | $356.2 | 41% above |
HCA is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 41% above its 200-week average.
HCA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $149.3 | $164.2 | +10% |
| 2021 | $164.2 | $252.1 | +53% |
| 2022 | $252.1 | $240.7 | -4.5% |
| 2023 | $240.7 | $270.7 | +12% |
| 2024 | $270.7 | $302.5 | +12% |
| 2025 | $302.5 | $477.1 | +58% |
| 2026 YTD | $477.1 | $500.7 | +4.9% |
HCA has finished higher in five of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's up 4.9% so far in 2026.