HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA)
Health Care · Health Care Facilities · US stock · S&P 500 component
$467.31
▲ +7.91 (1.72%)
Fair valueUndervalued
$566 +21.2% to fair value
$283fair band $482–$686$849
Day's range
$456.18 – $467.31
52-week range
$353.99 – $556.52
Red flags⚠ Negative equity⚠ Negative equity⚠ Negative equity⚠ Negative equity⚠ Negative equity
About HCA Healthcare, Inc.
HCA Healthcare operates one of the largest networks of hospitals and outpatient facilities in the United States, with a presence in the United Kingdom as well. Its facilities include acute care hospitals, emergency rooms, surgery centers and urgent care clinics. Revenue comes from patient services paid by government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, by commercial insurers and by individuals, so reimbursement rates and patient volumes strongly influence results.
The figures show revenue of $76.4 billion for the last twelve months and three-year growth of 7.9% a year. It reports an operating margin of 15.8%. Capital is used to generate a return on invested capital of 24%. Leverage, measured as net debt to EBITDA, is 3.0 times. The company pays a dividend with a yield of 0.7%. The site's X-Ray Score for the company is 63 out of 100.
Price chart
52-wk range $353.99 – $556.52Volume 872,740Daily, split-adjusted
Vitals
Market cap$105.9B
52-week range$353.99 – $556.52
Volume (last day)872,740
P/E (TTM)16.2
EBIT / EV yield7.7%
Free-cash-flow yield7.5%
Dividend yield0.7%
Revenue (TTM)$76.4B
Net income (TTM)$6.8B
Operating margin15.8%
Return on capital23.6%
Debt incl. leases$48.0B
Cash & securities$940M
Debt = borrowings plus lease liabilities. Cash & securities = cash, equivalents and short-term marketable securities (long-term securities are not counted, so net cash can be understated for companies that hold large long-term investments). Net debt = debt minus cash & securities. Source: latest SEC 10-Q/10-K. EBIT / EV yield = operating profit divided by market cap plus net debt.
Fair value estimate
$566middle half of models $443 – $650
Undervalued
+21.2% to fair value
Average of the 12 valuation models that pass our checks: multiples, discounted cash flow, dividend discount and earnings power value. A model more than 100% above or 60% below the price is left out as unrealistic. Model uncertainty is Medium, based on how far apart the models are. Undervalued or Overvalued means the gap to fair value is more than 17.5%.
Price $467
Undervalued < $482Fair $482 – $686Overvalued > $686
P/E multiple
$460
P/S multiple
$389
EV/EBITDA multiple
$519
EV/EBIT multiple
$494
EV/revenue multiple
$368
10-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$664
5-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$600
10-year DCF, revenue exit
$645
5-year DCF, revenue exit
$580
10-year DCF, growth exit
$869
5-year DCF, growth exit
$828
Dividend discount, stable · not used
$181
Dividend discount, multi-stage
$378
Earnings power value · not used
$938
Growth the price implies
0.3%/yr
A model estimate, not a price target or recommendation. Inputs: risk-free 5.13%, equity risk premium 4.30% (Damodaran). How it works.
What this means
Average business at a low price
Our models put fair value above today's price, but models can be wrong, so check the business first. A high score does not guarantee a good outcome; it shifts the odds a little. Use the checklist as a prompt for your own research.
Before you invest · decision checklist
Ticked boxes are filled in from our data; the rest are yours to answer.
The five-lens scan
Every score explained in one sentence, ranked against Health Care peers. Open a lens to see the numbers behind it.
Strong: 70 to 100Fair: 50 to 69Weak: under 50No score: not enough data
Valuation
Strong
85/100
Cheap against its sector on earnings and cash flow.
See the numbers →
EBIT / EV yield7.7%
Free-cash-flow yield7.5%
Fair value vs price1.2×
Growth
Fair
66/100
Growing at a typical pace for its sector.
See the numbers →
Revenue growth (3y)7.9%
EPS growth (3y)13.9%
Growth consistency100%
Profitability
Strong
72/100
Earns high returns on the capital it uses.
See the numbers →
Return on invested capital23.6%
Operating margin15.8%
Financial health
Weak
34/100
Balance sheet is more stretched than most peers.
See the numbers →
Piotroski F-Score7 / 9
Net debt / EBITDA3.0×
Interest cover5.3×
Dividends
Weak
44/100
Dividend is modest or less certain than peers.
See the numbers →
Dividend yield0.7%
Dividends vs free cash flow9%
Dividend growth1.3%
Quarterly results: last 6 quarters
+5.7%
Dec '24
+5.7%
Mar '25
+6.4%
Jun '25
+9.6%
Sep '25
+6.7%
Dec '25
+4.3%
Mar '26
Revenue against the same quarter a year earlier. Latest quarter revenue $19.1B, diluted EPS $7.15.
Compare with peers
UHS Universal Health Servi...66Other Health Care Facilities companies by X-Ray Score.
SWOT analysis: HCA Healthcare, Inc.
Strengthsinside the company
- Return on invested capital is 23.6%, against a median of 11.8% for sector peers.
- Earnings per share have compounded at 13.9% a year over three years.
- Free cash flow equals 7.5% of the market value, which funds dividends, buybacks or debt paydown.
- Passes 7 of the 9 Piotroski tests, which points to improving profitability, funding and efficiency.
Weaknessesinside the company
- Altman Z-score of 0.6 is in the zone linked with financial distress in past studies.
Opportunitiesvaluation and setting
- Trades at 15.6x earnings, 45% below the 28.4x median of sector peers.
- The price is 21% below our fair value estimate, with the gap larger than the margin we allow for error.
- Price momentum is strong on the weekly and monthly signals (trends can reverse).
Threatsvaluation and setting
- Our checks raised: Negative equity; Negative equity.
Written by fixed rules from the figures on this page and the peer table below: filings, our fair value, the sector climate and the price trend. It summarises the data, it is not a forecast or advice.
Compare HCA with peers and sector
Medians of 59 Health Care peers and of 59 Health Care stocks in our universe.
Largest peers (X-Ray Score): LLY 62, JNJ 49, ABBV 41, UNH 58, MRK 33, TMO 34.
| Metric | HCA | Peers | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-Ray Score (out of 100) | 63 | 49 | 49 |
| Valuation | 85 | 52 | 52 |
| Growth | 66 | 47 | 47 |
| Profitability | 72 | 49 | 49 |
| Financial health | 33 | 48 | 48 |
| Dividends | 44 | 52 | 52 |
Sector leaders: highest X-Ray Score in Health Care
HCA ranks #11 of 60 in Health Care by X-Ray Score. A higher score is stronger on our five pillars; it is a ranking of facts, not a forecast.
Green means better than the peer median, red worse (only where a higher or lower figure is clearly better). A dash means too few companies report the figure. P/E, EV/EBITDA and price changes are not graded: a different level is not good or bad by itself.
Factor ratings for HCA
Each factor is rated by where HCA stands among the 60 Health Care stocks in our universe.
Rating against the sector
Goodthe top third of these stocks
Averagethe middle third of these stocks
Badthe bottom third of these stocks
"Beats" is the share of those stocks it is ahead of.
Against its own history
The last columns set today's figure against the company's own median of its last five financial years:
▲ Betterbetter than its usual level
▼ Worseworse than its usual level
≈ In linewithin its usual range
For valuation factors Good means cheaper than most of the sector and Better means cheaper than usual for this company, which is not the same as a bargain.
In total: 10 Good · 6 Average · 3 Bad of 19
Growth: 1 · 2 · 0
Profitability: 1 · 2 · 0
Financial strength: 0 · 2 · 2
Valuation: 4 · 0 · 0
Cash flow: 3 · 0 · 1
Efficiency: 1 · 0 · 0
| Factor | HCA | Rating | Sector median | Own 5-year median | Against own history |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | |||||
| Revenue growth, 3 years a year | +7.9% | Average beats 63% | +5.5% | – | – |
| Revenue growth, last year | +7.1% | Average beats 49% | +7.1% | +7.9% | ≈ In line |
| EPS growth, 3 years a year | +13.9% | Good beats 68% | +5.0% | – | – |
| Profitability | |||||
| Operating margin | 15.8% | Average beats 49% | 16.4% | 16.0% | ≈ In line |
| Net margin | 8.9% | Average beats 41% | 11.1% | 9.0% | ≈ In line |
| Return on invested capital | 23.6% | Good beats 81% | 12.2% | – | – |
| Financial strength | |||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.0x | Average beats 36% | 2.0x | 2.9x | ≈ In line |
| Interest cover | 5.3x | Bad beats 28% | 9.4x | 5.4x | ≈ In line |
| Current ratio | 0.83 | Bad beats 6% | 1.52 | 1.18 | ▼ Worse |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 / 9 | Average beats 62% | 6 / 9 | – | – |
| Valuation | |||||
| P/E ratio | 15.6x | Good beats 88% | 28.2x | 13.6x | ▼ Worse |
| Price / sales | 1.4x | Good beats 78% | 3.7x | 1.2x | ≈ In line |
| EV / EBITDA | 10.0x | Good beats 90% | 17.6x | 8.6x | ▼ Worse |
| Free cash flow yield | 7.5% | Good beats 84% | 4.4% | 6.4% | ▲ Better |
| Cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow margin | 10.4% | Bad beats 29% | 16.3% | 8.0% | ▲ Better |
| Cash from operations / net income | 1.91 | Good beats 81% | 1.61 | 1.80 | ≈ In line |
| Free cash flow growth, 3 years a year | +23.1% | Good beats 79% | +4.3% | – | – |
| Accruals (lower is better) | −10.1% | Good beats 87% | −3.9% | – | – |
| Efficiency | |||||
| Days sales outstanding | 54 days | Good beats 71% | 62 days | 54 days | ≈ In line |
These ratings compare companies with each other and describe the past; they are not a forecast, a recommendation or part of the X-Ray Score. A factor is left out when its data is missing or meaningless (for example a P/E on negative earnings). A dash in the history columns means fewer than three usable years.
Fundamentals checklist
● 8 Good · ● 4 Average · ● 3 BadCash quality
Earnings backed by cashGood
Free-cash-flow yieldGood
Risk models
Altman Z''Bad
Piotroski F-ScoreAverage
Growth
EPS growth (3y)Good
Free-cash-flow growth (3y)Good
Revenue growth (3y)Average
Growth consistencyGood
Balance sheet
Current ratioBad
Net debt / EBITDAAverage
Interest coverBad
Valuation
Fair value vs priceGood
EBIT / EV yieldGood
Profitability
Return on invested capitalGood
Operating marginAverage
Each check is graded against the company's sector, not a fixed number. Checklist score 64/100.
Financials
| FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $58.8B | $60.2B | $65.0B | $70.6B | $75.6B |
| Operating income | $11.4B | $10.3B | $9.6B | $10.6B | $12.1B |
| Net income | $7.0B | $5.6B | $5.2B | $5.8B | $6.8B |
| Operating cash flow | $9.0B | $8.5B | $9.4B | $10.5B | $12.6B |
| Operating margin | 19.4% | 17.1% | 14.8% | 15.0% | 16.0% |
| Free cash flow | $5.4B | $4.1B | $4.7B | $5.6B | $7.7B |
| Diluted EPS | $21.16 | $19.15 | $18.97 | $22.00 | $28.33 |
Fiscal years, from SEC filings.
Technical summary
Daily
Strongly bullish
12 bullish · 4 neutral · 0 bearish
Weekly
Strongly bullish
11 bullish · 1 neutral · 0 bearish
Monthly
Strongly bullish
7 bullish · 1 neutral · 0 bearish
Moving averages (daily)
| SMA 10 | 461.6 | Bullish |
| EMA 10 | 458.7 | Bullish |
| SMA 20 | 447.2 | Bullish |
| EMA 20 | 450.2 | Bullish |
| SMA 50 | 430.0 | Bullish |
| EMA 50 | 434.4 | Bullish |
| SMA 100 | 409.9 | Bullish |
| EMA 100 | 427.8 | Bullish |
| SMA 200 | 443.3 | Bullish |
| EMA 200 | 428.1 | Bullish |
Oscillators (daily)
| RSI (14) | 63.90 | Neutral |
| MACD (12, 26) | 10.87 | Bullish |
| Momentum (12) | 8.12 | Bullish |
| Stochastic %K (14) | 78.15 | Neutral |
| Williams %R (14) | -21.85 | Neutral |
| CCI (20) | 80.23 | Neutral |
Pivot points (classic, last session)
S3 448.8 | S2 452.5 | S1 459.9 | Pivot 463.6 | R1 471.0 | R2 474.7 | R3 482.1 |
Signals describe what the chart is doing, not what to do. Moving averages: price above the average is bullish. Oscillators use the usual thresholds (RSI 30/70, Stochastic 20/80, CCI ±100, Williams %R −80/−20; MACD and momentum above zero are bullish). Weekly and monthly views use closing prices only.
Dividends
Paid, last 12 months
3.06 USD
Yield on today's price
0.65%
Frequency
Quarterly
Next ex-dividend date
Not announced
| Ex-dividend date | Amount per share |
|---|---|
| 0.7800 | |
| 0.7800 | |
| 0.7800 | |
| 0.7200 | |
| 0.7200 | |
| 0.7200 | |
| 0.7200 | |
| 0.6600 | |
| 0.6600 | |
| 0.6600 | |
| 0.6600 | |
| 0.6000 |
Ex-dividend dates and amounts from EODHD. Shown as declared, before tax.
ETFs that hold HCA
| ETF | Share of the fund |
|---|---|
| IHF iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers | 4.49% |
| COWZ Pacer US Cash Cows 100 | 2.07% |
| FEGE First Eagle Global Equity | 1.46% |
| PWV Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Value | 1.35% |
| RPG Invesco S&P 500 Pure Growth | 1.32% |
| XLV Health Care Select Sector SPDR | 1.05% |
| IYH iShares U.S. Healthcare | 0.99% |
| VHT Vanguard Health Care | 0.96% |
The eight funds with the largest weight in HCA among the ETFs we cover, from each fund's latest SEC Form N-PORT (quarter-end positions, so they can be months old). All ETFs.
HCA SEC filings
8-KSEC EDGAR
Other events
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations; Regulation FD disclosure
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations; Regulation FD disclosure
8-KSEC EDGAR
Director or officer change
8-KSEC EDGAR
Entered a material agreement; Other events
424B5SEC EDGAR
424B5
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
Where the numbers come from
Statements SEC EDGAR filings (10-K, 10-Q), quarters derived from year-to-date figures.
Prices end-of-day closes, split-adjusted.
Industry inputs beta, multiples and equity risk premium from Damodaran Online (NYU Stern).
StocksXray is for education only and is not financial advice. Scores and fair values are model estimates from public filings and carry uncertainty.