HCA Healthcare Earnings Preview: What to Expect

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA) is one of the largest healthcare services companies in the United States. Through its subsidiaries, it operates hospitals and outpatient facilities, providing a wide range of medical services and patient care. The company has a market capitalization of approximately $87.2 billion.

HCA is expected to report its Q2 earnings soon. Ahead of the release, analysts expect the company to report diluted EPS of $7.37, representing a 7.8% increase from $6.84 in the year-ago quarter. HCA Healthcare has exceeded Wall Street's EPS estimates in three of its last four quarters, while missing expectations in the previous quarter.

For fiscal 2026, analysts expect HCA to report EPS of $30.07, up 6.6% from $28.21 in fiscal 2025. Looking ahead, EPS is projected to grow another 9.7% year over year to $32.98 in fiscal 2027.

HCA stock has gained just 1% over the past 52 weeks, significantly underperforming the S&P 500 Index ($SPX), which returned 20.7%, and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which gained 16.7% over the same period.

Despite its grim price performance over the past year, HCA's fundamentals tell a different story. Strong U.S. healthcare hiring points to sustained demand for hospital services, while rising patient volumes, higher admissions, improving revenue per admission, and robust operating cash flow continue to support earnings growth. Investors are also encouraged by HCA's capacity expansion, share buybacks, and analysts' expectations of roughly 30% upside.

Analysts remain reasonably bullish on HCA, with the stock carrying a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating. Among the 25 analysts covering the stock, 14 recommend a "Strong Buy," one suggests a "Moderate Buy," nine recommend a "Hold," and one recommends a "Strong Sell." The average analyst price target of $493.27 implies a potential upside of 25.4% from current price levels.