Q3 Forecasts Put HCA Earnings at $6.65 and Revenue at $19.33 Billion
Key Facts
Markets are awaiting HCA Healthcare's results for the third quarter of 2026, after MarketBeat analysts estimated earnings per share at $6.65 and revenue at $19.33 billion. Reuters, in a report published via Investing.com before the results announcement, gave the same two estimates, with revenue expected to grow 0.9% year over year and earnings to decline 4.5%. The company is scheduled to hold its third-quarter earnings call on October 27, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, according to its investor relations page. The forecasts follow a second quarter in which HCA exceeded market estimates for revenue and EPS. At the same time, estimates ahead of the announcement indicated that expected third-quarter revenue growth was slower than the pace in the second quarter.
In the second quarter of 2026, HCA revenue rose 8.7% to $20.230 billion, according to the company's statement, while net income attributable to the company increased 2.8% to $1.699 billion. Adjusted diluted EPS was $7.59, up 11.0% from the same period a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA rose 4.6% to $4.027 billion. Reuters said actual quarterly revenue exceeded the market estimate of $19.38 billion, while EPS also came in above the $7.40 estimate. This comparison sets second-quarter results against the more moderate third-quarter forecasts, which pointed to year-over-year revenue growth of 0.9% and lower earnings. The second-quarter figures alone do not establish whether third-quarter results met or exceeded expectations.
On second-quarter operating activity, same-facility hospital admissions increased 2.5% year over year, and emergency room visits rose 3.6%. Outpatient surgeries, by contrast, fell 3.4% compared with the same quarter a year earlier, showing divergence among service trends within the facilities. In a survey of an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald cited in a Reuters report, estimated admissions growth in the second half of 2026 was 1.9%, above the 1.7% consensus. The survey estimated full-year 2026 admissions growth at 2.5%. These estimates offer an indication of patient-volume expectations, but they are not actual third-quarter figures.
Payer mix remained one of the pressures the company cited in its previous results. HCA said an increase in uninsured patient volumes, primarily linked to patients who lost coverage through health insurance marketplaces, negatively affected pretax income by about $400 million during the second quarter. That estimate covers the period from April to June and is not attributed to the third quarter. Among the challenges ahead, an analyst at BMO, according to a Reuters report, pointed to the end of nonrecurring Florida payments to providers, estimated at about $520 million. This places the second-quarter impact of payer mix alongside a nonrecurring financial support factor that the report said was set to ease in the period ahead.
On share performance, EL7 data showed HCA stock closed at $465.26 on October 26, 2026, ahead of the earnings call scheduled for the following day. The available data do not include the session's high and low prices, so only the closing price can be confirmed. The October 27 call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time is the next scheduled opportunity to present third-quarter results. The results' comparison with estimates made before the announcement will be watched, alongside what the company reports about admission trends and patient mix. The nonrecurring Florida payments cited in the Reuters report also remain among the factors shaping the outlook ahead.