ARDT vs HCA vs PAIYY Stock Comparison

Ardent Health, HCA Healthcare and Aesthetic Medical International Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARDT Ardent Health, Inc.
$11.94 +14.3% 1M -20.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.73B
P/E
22.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.41B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
2 wins
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$463.52 +7.1% 1M -0.6% 1Y
Market cap
$105.23B
P/E
15.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.70B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

HCA Healthcare leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (HCA Healthcare 6, Ardent Health 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARDTHCAPAIYYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.73B $105.23B $491.09K HCA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.2x 15.5x -0.1x HCA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.8x 15.3x — ARDT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.3% +5.8% — HCA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.2% — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.4% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.9x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.9% -0.6% -95.2% HCA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +13.1%/yr -70.2%/yr HCA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.6% 31.2% 421.9% HCA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 61/100 — ARDT

Percentile Scorecard

ARDTHCAPAIYY

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

AxisARDTHCAPAIYY
Valuation 99 #2 of 92 86 #14 of 92 22 #72 of 92
Growth 45 #48 of 87 24 #66 of 87 –
Profitability 72 #25 of 86 74 #23 of 86 –
Financial Health 54 #45 of 97 – 9 #88 of 97
Shareholder Returns – 59 #23 of 55 –
Overall 68 61 –
  • ARDT ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • HCA ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • PAIYY ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARDTHCAPAIYYSPY
1 month +14.3%+7.1%-50.0% +0.9%
3 months +9.2%+13.5%-50.0% +5.9%
6 months +24.0%+6.6%-80.0% +8.5%
Year to date +35.2%-0.7%-94.1% +13.3%
1 year -20.9%-0.6%-95.2% +12.4%
3 years —+105.7%-98.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year —+27.2%-74.2% +23.5%
5 years —+85.1%-99.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year —+13.1%-70.2% +11.0%
10 years —+499.6%— +263.4%
10 years, per year —+19.6%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureARDTHCAPAIYYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.6%31.2%421.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 74.3%30.8%1,222.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.160.12-3.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.35-0.02-0.23 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -61.2%-39.7%-99.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.9%-15.0%-96.9% -0.9%
52-week high $15.09$545.13$0.32 $779.14
52-week low $7.83$361.32$0.01 $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.

MultipleARDTHCAPAIYY
P/E now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 25.6x 15.1xmedian 25.6x -0.1xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.6x 1.3xmedian 1.6x 0.0xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 16.3x —median 16.3x —median 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 21.3x 15.7xmedian 21.3x -0.2xmedian 21.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 3.3x -12.5xmedian 3.3x -0.1xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.68 1.11median 0.68 —median 0.68

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 monthsARDTHCAPAIYY
Revenue $6.41B $78.70B –
Net income $125.32M $7.80B –
Free cash flow $304.76M – –
EPS (diluted) $0.55 $30.41 –
Cash & equivalents $724.48M $908.00M $8.61M
Total debt $1.10B – $76.21M
Shares (diluted) 143.05M 222.83M 47.83M
Enterprise value -$918.95M $105.23B -$24.51M

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
MetricARDTHCAPAIYY
P/E 21.6x 15.1x -0.1x
P/FCF 5.6x 15.7x -0.2x
P/Operating cash flow 3.3x 9.0x –
P/S 0.3x 1.3x 0.0x
P/B 1.0x -12.5x -0.1x
P/Tangible book 1.0x -12.5x -0.1x
EV/EBITDA 4.9x – –
EV/EBIT 8.0x – –
EV/Revenue 0.3x 1.3x –
EV/FCF 6.8x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 4.0x 9.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 1.11 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARDTHCAPAIYY
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.3% 5.8% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 7.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) -61.3% 6.8% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 4.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) -69.6% 13.2% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 13.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 70.3% -13.0% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 6.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 181.8% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARDTHCAPAIYY
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 6.7% – –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin 3.2% – –
Net margin 1.2% – –
FCF margin 4.8% – –
Operating cash flow margin 8.0% 14.2% –
Return on equity 9.7% – –
Return on assets 3.2% – –
Return on invested capital 7.4% – –
Return on capital employed 6.0% – –
Asset turnover 1.2x – –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.1x 1.4x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARDTHCAPAIYY
Debt / assets 20.9% – 28.2%
Debt / equity 0.6x – -3.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.9x – –
Debt / FCF 3.6x – –
Liabilities / assets 66.9% – 108.5%
Equity / assets 33.1% – -8.5%
Interest coverage 5.1x – –
Current ratio 2.1x – –
Quick ratio 1.5x – 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.7x – 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.06 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARDTHCAPAIYY
Dividend yield – 0.7% –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – 0.7% –
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.

ConsensusARDTHCAPAIYY
Forward P/E 12.8xFY2026 15.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.93FY2026 $30.21FY2026 $-1.50FY2023
EPS growth, next FY -3.1%FY2026 +7.1%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +17.2% +11.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.84BFY2026 $73.03BFY2026 $89.98MFY2023
Revenue growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% +18.8% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARDTHCAPAIYY
Held by institutions 76.4% 59.5% –
Institutions holding 137 1,334 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +0.3% –
Institutions buying 87 568 –
Institutions selling 36 563 –
Buyers to sellers 2.42 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.

ARDTHCAPAIYY
ARDT 1.00 0.31 -0.20
HCA 0.31 1.00 0.02
PAIYY -0.20 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARDT, HCA and PAIYY?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ardent Health (ARDT) $1.73B, HCA Healthcare (HCA) $105.23B, Aesthetic Medical International Holdings (PAIYY) $491.09K.

Which stock is cheaper, ARDT, HCA and PAIYY?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ardent Health (ARDT) 22.2x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.5x, Aesthetic Medical International Holdings (PAIYY) -0.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ardent Health (ARDT) is cheapest (Ardent Health (ARDT) 12.8x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ardent Health (ARDT) +3.3%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +5.8%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year HCA Healthcare (HCA) returned the most: Ardent Health (ARDT) -20.9%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) -0.6%, Aesthetic Medical International Holdings (PAIYY) -95.2%. Over five years, HCA Healthcare (HCA) compounded fastest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) +13.1%/yr, Aesthetic Medical International Holdings (PAIYY) -70.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, HCA Healthcare (HCA) has been the steadiest (Ardent Health (ARDT) 59.6%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 31.2%, Aesthetic Medical International Holdings (PAIYY) 421.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARDT, HCA and PAIYY?

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 6. 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.