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HCA Healthcare

HCA
56
Medical - Care Facilities · Healthcare
Price
$371.18
-14.56 (-3.77%)
Market Cap
$82.34B
Winston Score
56
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.

Share count falling — buybacks

29.8% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 328.8M (2021) → 230.7M (2025)

HCA Healthcare owns and operates a large network of hospitals, surgery centers, and outpatient clinics across the United States and United Kingdom. It serves patients needing emergency care, surgeries, cancer treatment, and other medical services. HCA is one of the largest for-profit hospital operators in the world, with roughly 180 hospitals and over 2,000 care sites.

HCA makes money by billing patients, private insurance companies, and government programs like Medicare and Medicaid for the medical services it provides. Most of its revenue comes from the U.S., with a smaller presence in the UK. Its scale gives it negotiating power with insurers and suppliers, which helps protect its margins. The main risk the business faces is reimbursement pressure — if government programs cut what they pay per patient, or if labor costs keep rising, profitability could shrink meaningfully.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

8 trades / 12mo

2 Congressional buys and 6 sells on HCA in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+4.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+9.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (18%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

32.6%ownership

Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$940M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

HCA Healthcare is growing revenue at 4% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Gross Margin
15.0%
Thin — 15.0% gross margin
Operating Margin
15.0%
Healthy — 15.0% operating margin
ROCE
6.9%
Weak — 6.9% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+6.7%
Slow sales growth (6.7% YoY)
EPS YoY
+28.5%
Earnings growing fast (28.5% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

EPS Consistency
8/8 quarters
Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
191%
Turns 191% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
10.4%
Modest free cash flow (10.4%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
N/A
Data not available
Interest Cover
5.24x
Adequate interest coverage (5.2x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
12.7x
Attractive valuation — P/E 12.7

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

P/E vs Forward
+2.9
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow — slightly cheaper on forward P/E

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
0.83%
Small dividend — 0.83% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth
+8.7%
Dividend growing modestly (8.7% YoY)

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