Have you been eager to see how HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) performed in Q4 in comparison with the market expectations?
Let’s quickly scan through the key facts from this leading hospital company’s earnings release this morning.
Earnings Miss Estimates
HCA Healthcare came out with adjusted earnings per share of $1.30, that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.86. Earnings declined nearly 45% year over year.
HCA Holdings, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
How Was the Estimate Revision Trend?
You should note that the earnings estimate for HCA Healthcare depicted neutral stance prior to the earnings release. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged at $1.86 per share over the last 7 days.
Overall, the company missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters with an average miss of 8.6%.
Revenues Beat Estimates
HCA Healthcare posted revenues of $11.6 billion, that surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.2 billion. The reported figure was up from 8.6% from the year-ago quarter.
Key Stats to Note
Adjusted EBITDA totaled $2.4 billion up 7.1% year over year.
Same facility equivalent admissions increased 2.3% year over year, while same facility admissions increased 1.4%. Same facility revenue per equivalent admission increased 3.5%.
Expenses increased 12% year over year to $10.2 billion.
As of Dec 31, 2017, HCA Healthcare operated 179 hospitals and 120 freestanding surgery centers.
2018 Guidance
The company expects 2018 revenues in the range of $45 billion -$46 billion, adjusted EBIDTA of $ 8.45–$8.75 billion, EPS of $8.50–$9.00 and capital expenditures of about $3.5 billion.
What Zacks Rank Says
HCA Healthcare carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). However, since the latest earnings performance is yet to be reflected in the estimate revisions, the rank is subject to change. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Check back later for our full write up on this HCA Healthcare earnings report!
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HCA Holdings, Inc. (HCA): Free Stock Analysis Report
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