TickerTalks
Browse all tickers →
TickerTalks›$HCA
HCHCA

HCA Healthcare, Inc.

$HCA·$82B·Medical - Care Facilities·Healthcare
$373.09+0.7%YTD-19.9%1Y+1.6%
Mentions · last 7 days
2026-07-13: 67 posts2026-07-14: 91 posts2026-07-15: 30 posts2026-07-16: 15 posts2026-07-17: 15 posts2026-07-18: 5 posts2026-07-19: 9 posts236+2%
Price updated 5m ago·X counts updated 2d ago
HCHCA
$HCAHCA Healthcare, Inc.
$373.09+0.72%236 posts+2%
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
Loading…

AI verdict & sentimentAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Top X posts

Today's AI verdict on what's driving $HCA, plus how loud the X conversation is and which way it's leaning.

AI analysis

TickerTalks’ read on the fundamentals and what’s driving the move.

Proven numbersEvent coming upAI verdict · as of 2026-07-21

A known event soon (earnings, a ruling, etc.) will likely decide the next move.

HCA into Jul 24 — the largest US hospital operator with active securities-fraud investigations, at 18% of range.

HCA Healthcare is the largest US for-profit hospital operator — 190+ hospitals plus surgery centers across 20 states. The stock is down 20% YTD (+1.6% TTM) at 18% of the 52-week range with active Kirby McInerney and Kessler Topaz securities-fraud investigations into Jul 24 earnings.

  • Business is quietly growing: Q1 revenue grew 4.3% YoY to $19.1B at 35% gross margin and 16% op margin — hospital economics work when payor mix and Medicaid reimbursement stabilize.
  • Cash generation is exceptional: 9.6% FCF yield with $895M Q1 FCF at 12.7x TTM P/E — one of the highest-quality FCF profiles in healthcare, and the multiple is depressed by pending litigation.
  • Securities-fraud investigations are the specific overhang: multiple law firms investigating — compresses the multiple further until settlement clarity, though the business isn't implicated in operational breakage.
  • Higher-expenses concerns are the near-term risk: analyst previews flag rising labor/supply costs — the specific data point Jul 24 has to address.

Jul 24 print resolves the setup: adjusted admissions growth above 3% plus labor-cost-inflation-stabilizing commentary pulls HCA back toward $320. A soft admissions print or explicit labor-cost inflation commentary extends the coil — 18% of range plus the securities-fraud overhang limits downside on a decent print, but litigation clarity is the multi-quarter re-rating catalyst.

What to watch: Jul 24 Q2 earnings — adjusted admissions growth above 3% plus labor-cost inflation stabilizing commentary pulls HCA back toward $320; a soft admissions print or explicit labor-cost inflation commentary extends the coil at 18% of range with the securities-fraud overhang unresolved.

On the calendar: 2026-07-24 — Q2 earnings

Read the AI verdict + X sentiment for $HCA

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • X crowd read with bullish/bearish call + post volume
Free, forever. No credit card.

What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

HCA Healthcare, Inc., operating through its subsidiaries, delivers a comprehensive array of healthcare services throughout the United States. The organization manages a network of general and acute care hospitals that provide a full spectrum of medical and surgical care, encompassing inpatient services, intensive care, cardiac treatment, diagnostic procedures, and emergency services. These hospitals additionally offer a broad range of outpatient care, such as ambulatory surgery, laboratory testing, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy. Beyond its hospital infrastructure, HCA Healthcare operates numerous specialized outpatient facilities. These include standalone ambulatory surgery centers, dedicated emergency care facilities, urgent care clinics, walk-in clinics, advanced diagnostic and imaging centers, rehabilitation and physical therapy centers, radiation and oncology treatment facilities, physician practices, and various other healthcare sites. Furthermore, the company oversees psychiatric hospitals, which offer diverse therapeutic programs. These services cater to child, adolescent, and adult psychiatric care, alongside adolescent and adult alcohol and drug abuse treatment and counseling. As of December 31, 2021, HCA Healthcare's extensive portfolio included 182 hospitals, specifically 175 general and acute care hospitals, five psychiatric hospitals, and two rehabilitation hospitals. Its network also featured 125 freestanding surgery centers and 21 freestanding endoscopy centers, all distributed across 20 states and England. Founded in 1968 and formerly known as HCA Holdings, Inc., the company's corporate headquarters are situated in Nashville, Tennessee.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Medical - Care Facilities sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $HCA.

Medical - Care Facilities · Healthcare

No material change from last week — hospital systems continue to rely on travel nursing and locum physician staffing to fill permanent workforce gaps that training pipelines cannot replenish at..

What this means for $HCA

Partial — HCA Healthcare, Inc., operating through its subsidiaries, delivers a comprehensive array of healthcare services throughout the United States. The organization manages a network of general and acute; partial earnings exposure to medical - care facilities demand dynamics through its product portfolio.

Top industry ETF

$IHFiShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF
+19.4%YTD
+32.8%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
12.7How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
18.8%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
15.7%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
9.6%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
1.1Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
-123%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
34.9%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
-7.9Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q1 2026Apr 24, 2026$7.15$7.12+0.4%
Q4 2025Jan 27, 2026$8.01$7.46+7.4%
Q3 2025Oct 24, 2025$6.96$5.79+20.2%
Q2 2025Jul 25, 2025$6.84$6.29+8.7%
Next earningsFri, Jul 24·consensus EPS $7.52

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q1 FY26$19.1B+4.3%15.0%15.0%$7.15$895.0M
Q4 FY25$19.5B+6.7%41.9%16.3%$8.14$870.0M
Q3 FY25$19.2B+9.6%41.8%15.5%$7.05$3.1B
Q2 FY25$18.6B+6.4%41.0%15.9%$6.91$3.0B

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 18 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$78.5B$78.1B – $78.9B$30.11$29.29 – $30.8117
FY27$82.0B$81.1B – $83.6B$33.00$31.32 – $34.7918
FY28$86.2B$85.8B – $86.5B$36.86$34.91 – $38.6312
FY29$91.7B$90.5B – $93.1B$42.25$41.54 – $43.0811
FY30$98.0B$96.7B – $99.4B$48.73$47.91 – $49.696

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.0.9×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.18%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.-5.8%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.-19.3%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatMid float · 149.5M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today1.0% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β1.135-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.FilingActive offeringA shelf registration (S-3 / S-3ASR / S-1) or prospectus supplement (424B*) was filed in the last 90 days — the company is registered to (or actively) issuing new shares. Dilution risk.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellFeb 18Michael R McaleveyEVP & Chief Legal & Admin Off.1.7K sh$904KSellFeb 11Christopher F. WyattSVP & Controller4.0K sh$2.0MSellFeb 11Jennifer BerresSVP & Chief Human Res. Officer8.0K sh$4.1M
+ 37 other (16 awards · 11 inkinds · 6 others · 3 exempts · 1 gift) in window

See when $HCA insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
Free, forever. No credit card.

SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

8-KPress release / Reg FDJul 148-K — Item 2.02: Earnings release · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
AI summary

HCA Healthcare released preliminary second quarter 2026 financial results, providing early guidance on revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and admissions volumes ahead of the full earnings release. As the nation's largest for-profit hospital system, the preliminary Q2 results reflect hospital utilization trends, payer mix, and labor cost dynamics across approximately 180 hospitals.

8-KOfficer or director changeJun 188-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change
AI summary

HCA Healthcare announced that Dr. Michael Cuffe, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, agreed to step down effective August 31, 2026, thereafter continuing in a transitional role until February 2027. Cuffe will be eligible for benefits under the company's executive severance policy. This is a senior executive departure at the nation's largest for-profit hospital system.

8-KMaterial agreementApr 308-K — Item 1.01: Material agreement · Item 2.03: Material debt obligation · Item 8.01: Other event
424B5Prospectus supplement (offering)Apr 29424B5
8-KShareholder voteApr 288-K — Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
S-3ASRAuto-shelf registrationApr 27S-3ASR
8-KPress release / Reg FDApr 248-K — Item 2.02: Earnings release · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD · Item 8.01: Other event
8-KOfficer or director changeFeb 258-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change
+ 11 other (2 13Gs · 2 proxys · 1 10-Q · 1 routine 8-K) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

HCA INVESTOR ALERT: Kirby McInerney LLP Announces Investigation Into Potential Securities Fraudglobenewswire.com·1d agoNYSE: HCA Investigation Alert: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Encourages HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: HCA) Investors to Contact the Firmbusinesswire.com·1d agoWill Higher Expenses Impact HCA Healthcare's Q2 Earnings?zacks.com·1d agoHCA Investors Have Opportunity to Join HCA Healthcare, Inc. Fraud Investigation with the Schall Law Firmbusinesswire.com·2d agoINVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of HCA Healthcare, Inc. - HCAprnewswire.com·5d ago

More in Medical - Care Facilities

Peers in the same group — one click to compare setups, fundamentals, and chatter.

$NAKA$CMPS$AMN$DVA$PACS$PIII
Voices on X · top 2 · last 7 days

TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

PrivacyTermsSupport