ACHC vs HCA Stock Comparison

Acadia Healthcare Company and HCA Healthcare Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$469.11 +7.4% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$102.46B
P/E
15.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.01B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
8 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

HCA Healthcare leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (HCA Healthcare 8, Acadia Healthcare Company 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACHCHCALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.84B $102.46B HCA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2.5x 15.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.1x 15.5x HCA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.3% +7.3% HCA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -33.4% 8.8% HCA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -24.7% 22.0% HCA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.5x 3.1x ACHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.1% +6.6% ACHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.4%/yr +13.1%/yr HCA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 64.2% 31.3% HCA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 26/100 59/100 HCA

Percentile Scorecard

ACHCHCA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACHCHCA
Valuation 45 #52 of 93 86 #14 of 93
Growth 6 #83 of 88 25 #66 of 88
Profitability 17 #72 of 87 94 #6 of 87
Financial Health 34 #66 of 100 16 #84 of 100
Shareholder Returns – 75 #15 of 56
Overall 26 59
  • ACHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • HCA ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACHCHCASPY
1 month +10.5%+7.4% -1.0%
3 months -8.7%+22.7% +2.9%
6 months +15.1%+8.5% +6.4%
Year to date +122.1%+0.5% +11.4%
1 year +34.1%+6.6% +13.1%
3 years -58.0%+103.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -25.1%+26.8% +21.5%
5 years -45.4%+85.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -11.4%+13.1% +10.9%
10 years -19.7%+473.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year -2.2%+19.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureACHCHCASPY
Volatility, 1Y 64.2%31.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 64.7%30.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.950.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.530.21 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -86.9%-39.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.5%-13.9% -2.5%
52-week high $35.61$545.13 $779.14
52-week low $11.68$361.32 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACHCHCA
P/E now vs peer median -2.5xmedian 25.3x 15.1xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.6x 1.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -5.7xmedian 14.6x 9.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -21.4xmedian 22.7x 17.0xmedian 22.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 3.3x -15.4xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.03median 0.66 1.08median 0.66

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACHCHCA
Revenue $3.37B $78.01B
Net income -$1.12B $7.85B
Free cash flow -$134.03M $6.00B
EPS (diluted) $-12.33 $30.70
Cash & equivalents $171.29M $1.01B
Total debt $9.75B $49.72B
Shares (diluted) 91.37M 222.83M
Enterprise value $2.26B $98.47B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACHCHCA
P/E -2.5x 15.1x
P/FCF -21.4x 17.0x
P/Operating cash flow 13.6x 9.2x
P/S 0.9x 1.3x
P/B 1.4x -15.4x
P/Tangible book 1.5x -15.4x
EV/EBITDA -5.7x 9.5x
EV/EBIT -4.7x 12.4x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 1.9x
EV/FCF -38.1x 25.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.3x 13.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.03 1.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACHCHCA
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.3% 7.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 8.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – –
Net income growth (1Y) -838.8% 14.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -82.3% 4.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -900.5% 24.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -83.4% 14.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -50.4% -6.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -16.6% 4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 56.9% -17.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.4% 6.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACHCHCA
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin -26.6% 20.4%
Operating margin – –
Pretax margin -32.6% 12.7%
Net margin -33.4% 8.8%
FCF margin -4.0% 7.7%
Operating cash flow margin 6.3% 14.3%
Return on equity -57.0% –
Return on assets -20.2% 12.6%
Return on invested capital -24.7% 22.0%
Return on capital employed -21.9% 27.1%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACHCHCA
Debt / assets 43.5% 78.6%
Debt / equity 1.2x -7.5x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.5x 3.1x
Debt / FCF -18.0x 8.3x
Liabilities / assets 64.3% 110.5%
Equity / assets 35.7% -10.5%
Interest coverage – 5.3x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.2x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.31 2.61

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACHCHCA
Dividend yield – 0.7%
Net buyback yield – 8.5%
Shareholder yield – 9.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACHCHCA
Forward P/E 20.1xFY2026 15.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.57FY2026 $30.21FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -21.5%FY2026 +7.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.3% +11.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.53BFY2026 $73.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.5%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.9% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACHCHCA
Held by institutions 100.0% 59.5%
Institutions holding 314 1,333
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +0.3%
Institutions buying 165 567
Institutions selling 98 563
Buyers to sellers 1.68 1.01

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACHCHCA
ACHC 1.00 0.19
HCA 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACHC and HCA?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) $2.84B, HCA Healthcare (HCA) $102.46B.

Which company is growing faster?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) +4.3%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +7.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) has the highest net margin (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -33.4%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 8.8%). On return on invested capital, HCA Healthcare (HCA) leads (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -24.7%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) returned the most: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) +34.1%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +6.6%. Over five years, HCA Healthcare (HCA) compounded fastest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -11.4%/yr, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +13.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, HCA Healthcare (HCA) has been the steadiest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) 64.2%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 31.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ACHC and HCA move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.19, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ACHC and HCA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, HCA Healthcare (HCA) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.