HCA Healthcare (HCA) reported $20.23 billion in revenue for the quarter ended June 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 8.7%. EPS of $7.59 for the same period compares to $6.84 a year ago.
The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $20.23 billion, representing no surprise. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +0.26%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $7.57.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how HCA performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Revenue per Equivalent Admission: $19,370.00 versus $18,771.14 estimated by five analysts on average.
Equivalent Admissions: 1.04 billion versus the five-analyst average estimate of 1.04 billion.
Admissions: 579.56 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of 579.01 million.
Patient Days: 2,690.92 Days compared to the 2,713.59 Days average estimate based on two analysts.
Average Length of Stay: 5 versus 5 estimated by two analysts on average.
Number of hospitals: 190 versus 189 estimated by two analysts on average.
Inpatient Revenue per Admission: $22,524.00 compared to the $20,251.40 average estimate based on two analysts.
Equivalent Patient Days: 4.85 million versus 4.9 million estimated by two analysts on average.
Licensed Beds at End of Period: 50,550 versus 50,729 estimated by two analysts on average.
Number of freestanding outpatient surgery centers: 118 versus the two-analyst average estimate of 119.
Shares of HCA have returned -2.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.6% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.
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