HCA Healthcare ($HCA) Crushes Q2 Earnings: 23.5% EPS Surge & Revenue Rocket Fuel

Wall Street's prognosis? Bullish.

HCA Healthcare just delivered a steroid-shot quarter—blowing past expectations with a 23.5% EPS leap and revenue growth that'd make a medtech startup blush. No 'wait-and-see' here—this is full-tilt execution.

The vital signs:

- EPS up 23.5% (take that, inflation)
- Revenue sprinting past analyst forecasts
- Margins looking healthier than a marathon runner

The diagnosis:

While rivals play catch-up with telehealth gimmicks, HCA's old-school hospital dominance—plus surgical precision on costs—keeps printing money. Even the bears can't ignore these fundamentals.

Prognosis:

Another quarter of beating the Street's lowball estimates. Because when you're the Walmart of healthcare—scale wins. Just don't ask about their billing ethics.

TLDR

• Q2 2025 EPS of $6.84 beat estimates by 10.5%
• Revenues grew 6.4% Y/Y to $18.605 billion
• Adjusted EBITDA rose 8.4% to $3.849 billion
• HCA repurchased 7M shares and raised quarterly cash dividend to $0.72
• Shares down 2.83% to $331.83 despite solid Q2 performance

HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA) traded at $331.83 midday Friday, down 2.83%, despite reporting robust second-quarter results for the period ending June 30, 2025.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA)

The hospital giant beat earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $6.84, surpassing the Zacks consensus estimate of $6.19. The 23.5% jump in diluted EPS was backed by strong revenue and operational performance, signaling resilience in the healthcare sector.

Revenue and Profit Highlights

HCA’s total Q2 revenue reached $18.605 billion, a 6.4% year-over-year increase from $17.492 billion. Net income attributable to the company ROSE 13.1% to $1.653 billion, while adjusted EBITDA came in at $3.849 billion, up 8.4% from the prior year. The results included a $3 million loss on facility sales versus a $12 million gain in Q2 2024.

Cash flows from operations nearly doubled year-over-year to $4.210 billion from $1.971 billion, reflecting stronger profitability and capital efficiency.

HCA Healthcare, $HCA, Q2-25. Results:

📊 Adj. EPS: $6.84 🟢
💰 Revenue: $18.61B 🟢
📈 Net Income: $1.65B
🔎 Raised 2025 guidance on strong revenue growth and improved margins pic.twitter.com/SXAH71RnaW

— EarningsTime (@Earnings_Time) July 25, 2025

Patient Volume and Operational Metrics

Same-facility admissions increased 1.8%, and equivalent admissions were up 1.7%. Emergency room visits also rose 1.3%, though surgical volumes saw slight declines — inpatient surgeries dipped 0.3%, and outpatient procedures fell 0.6%. Still, revenue per equivalent admission climbed 4.0%, underscoring operational pricing strength.

CEO Sam Hazen attributed the solid Q2 performance to improved margins and better patient outcomes, while thanking staff for continued excellence.

Capital Allocation and Shareholder Returns

HCA repurchased 7.031 million shares for $2.505 billion in Q2 and maintained $5.753 billion under its remaining repurchase authorization. The company also declared a $0.72 per share dividend payable on September 30, 2025, to shareholders of record as of September 16. It ended the quarter with $939 million in cash and $6.2 billion in available credit.

Capital expenditures in the quarter totaled $1.176 billion, with full-year 2025 CapEx projected at around $5 billion (excluding acquisitions).

Earnings Consistency and Outlook

HCA has exceeded EPS estimates in each of the past four quarters, with this quarter delivering a 10.5% surprise. The company also topped revenue expectations, continuing its trend of outperformance.

While shares have pulled back slightly post-earnings, HCA stock remains up 13.8% year-to-date, ahead of the S&P 500’s 8.2% gain. The Zacks Rank sits at #3 (Hold), reflecting a mixed revision trend heading into the next quarter, where EPS is projected at $5.52 on $18.45 billion in revenue.

Industry Context

HCA operates within the Zacks Medical – Hospital industry, which ranks in the top 22% of over 250 industries, suggesting favorable momentum. Investors are now watching for updates to earnings estimates and how sector peers like Universal Health Services (UHS), set to report on July 28, will compare.