HCA Healthcare (HCA) Beats Q3 Earnings Estimates

Company Performance - HCA Healthcare reported quarterly earnings of $5.05 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.97 per share, and up from $3.91 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of 1.61% [1] - The company posted revenues of $17.49 billion for the quarter ended September 2024, slightly missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.04%, compared to $16.21 billion in the same quarter last year [1] - Over the last four quarters, HCA has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times and topped consensus revenue estimates three times [1] Stock Performance - HCA shares have increased approximately 47.4% since the beginning of the year, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 21.8% [2] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $6.62 on revenues of $18.45 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $22.48 on revenues of $70.77 billion [4] Industry Outlook - The Medical - Hospital industry, to which HCA belongs, is currently ranked in the top 4% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating a favorable outlook [5] - The performance of HCA's stock may also be influenced by the overall industry outlook, as research shows that the top 50% of Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by more than 2 to 1 [5]