Universal Health Services (UHS) Lags Q4 Earnings Estimates

Core Viewpoint - Universal Health Services reported quarterly earnings of $5.88 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.92 per share, but showing an increase from $4.92 per share a year ago, indicating a year-over-year growth in earnings despite the miss [1] Group 1: Earnings Performance - The company experienced an earnings surprise of -0.63% for the recent quarter, while it had a positive surprise of +22.1% in the previous quarter [1][2] - Over the last four quarters, Universal Health Services has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times [2] Group 2: Revenue Performance - The company posted revenues of $4.49 billion for the quarter ended December 2025, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.05%, and showing an increase from $4.11 billion year-over-year [2] - Universal Health Services has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters [2] Group 3: Stock Performance and Outlook - Shares of Universal Health Services have increased by approximately 5.5% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500, which gained 0.7% [3] - The sustainability of the stock's price movement will depend on management's commentary during the earnings call and future earnings expectations [3][4] Group 4: Earnings Estimates and Industry Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $5.27 on revenues of $4.32 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $23.52 on revenues of $18.26 billion [7] - The Medical - Hospital industry is currently ranked in the top 24% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating a favorable outlook for the sector [8]