CYH vs HCA vs ARDT Stock Comparison

Community Health Systems, HCA Healthcare and Ardent Health Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$449.78 +3.2% 1M -3.9% 1Y
Market cap
$101.81B
P/E
15.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.70B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
5 wins
ARDT Ardent Health, Inc.
$11.84 +12.3% 1M -21.8% 1Y
Market cap
$1.68B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.41B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

HCA Healthcare leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (HCA Healthcare 5, Community Health Systems 3, Ardent Health 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCYHHCAARDTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $358.38M $101.81B $1.68B HCA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 1.3x 15.0x 21.5x CYH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 14.9x 12.7x ARDT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -5.3% +5.8% +3.3% HCA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.4% — 1.2% CYH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.1% — 7.4% CYH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.2x — 0.9x ARDT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -35.6% -3.9% -21.8% HCA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -25.0%/yr +12.4%/yr — HCA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.3% 31.1% 59.6% HCA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 61/100 67/100 ARDT

Percentile Scorecard

CYHHCAARDT

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

AxisCYHHCAARDT
Valuation 89 #11 of 92 88 #12 of 92 99 #2 of 92
Growth 33 #59 of 87 23 #67 of 87 45 #48 of 87
Profitability 72 #25 of 86 74 #23 of 86 69 #27 of 86
Financial Health 19 #79 of 97 – 56 #43 of 97
Shareholder Returns – 58 #24 of 56 –
Overall 53 61 67
  • CYH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • HCA ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ARDT ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCYHHCAARDTSPY
1 month -3.1%+3.2%+12.3% -0.2%
3 months +1.4%+7.5%+3.0% +3.9%
6 months -1.4%+4.1%+21.9% +8.2%
Year to date -9.0%-3.7%+34.1% +12.9%
1 year -35.6%-3.9%-21.8% +12.3%
3 years +35.9%+99.6%— +87.4%
3 years, per year +10.8%+25.9%— +23.3%
5 years -76.3%+79.4%— +67.9%
5 years, per year -25.0%+12.4%— +10.9%
10 years -43.8%+467.1%— +261.1%
10 years, per year -5.6%+19.0%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCYHHCAARDTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.3%31.1%59.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.5%30.7%74.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.950.111.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.71-0.12-0.37 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -86.3%-39.7%-61.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.6%-17.5%-21.8% -1.2%
52-week high $4.41$545.13$15.14 $779.14
52-week low $2.49$361.32$7.83 $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.

MultipleCYHHCAARDT
P/E now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 24.6x 14.6xmedian 24.6x 21.4xmedian 24.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 1.6x 1.2xmedian 1.6x 0.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 14.6x —median 14.6x 4.8xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2.2xmedian 21.6x 15.7xmedian 21.6x 5.5xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median -0.3xmedian 3.2x -12.1xmedian 3.2x 1.0xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.16median 0.66 1.08median 0.66 —median 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 monthsCYHHCAARDT
Revenue $11.98B $78.70B $6.41B
Gross profit $10.38B – –
Operating income $1.59B – –
Net income $410.00M $7.80B $125.32M
Free cash flow -$185.00M – $304.76M
EPS (diluted) $2.09 $30.41 $0.55
Cash & equivalents $149.00M $908.00M $724.48M
Total debt $9.58B – $1.10B
Shares (diluted) 136.51M 222.83M 143.05M
Enterprise value -$885.62M $101.81B -$974.20M

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
MetricCYHHCAARDT
P/E 1.4x 14.6x 21.4x
P/FCF -2.2x 15.7x 5.5x
P/Operating cash flow 3.2x 8.8x 3.3x
P/S 0.0x 1.2x 0.3x
P/B -0.3x -12.1x 1.0x
P/Tangible book -0.3x -12.1x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 5.5x – 4.8x
EV/EBIT 7.2x – 7.9x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 1.2x 0.3x
EV/FCF -53.1x – 6.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 78.0x 8.8x 4.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.16 1.08 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCYHHCAARDT
Revenue growth (1Y) -5.3% 5.8% 3.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 27.7% 7.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.0% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 93.7% – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 1,179% 6.8% -61.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.4% 4.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 282.9% 13.2% -69.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.4% 13.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -74.3% -13.0% 70.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -19.0% 6.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -236.0% – 181.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.7% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCYHHCAARDT
Gross margin 86.6% – –
EBITDA margin 15.0% – 6.7%
Operating margin 13.3% – –
Pretax margin 3.9% – 3.2%
Net margin 2.4% – 1.2%
FCF margin -1.5% – 4.8%
Operating cash flow margin 1.1% 14.2% 8.0%
Return on equity – – 9.7%
Return on assets 3.2% – 3.2%
Return on invested capital 14.1% – 7.4%
Return on capital employed 12.8% – 6.0%
Asset turnover 0.9x – 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.3x 1.4x 4.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 0.5% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCYHHCAARDT
Debt / assets 78.7% – 20.9%
Debt / equity -6.9x – 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.2x – 0.9x
Debt / FCF -51.8x – 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 111.4% – 66.9%
Equity / assets -11.4% – 33.1%
Interest coverage 1.6x – 5.1x
Current ratio 1.5x – 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.1x – 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.1x – 0.7x
Altman Z-score 1.07 – 2.05

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCYHHCAARDT
Dividend yield – 0.7% –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 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.

ConsensusCYHHCAARDT
Forward P/E – 14.9xFY2026 12.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.16FY2026 $30.21FY2026 $0.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -197.5%FY2026 +7.1%FY2026 -3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +11.0% +17.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $73.03BFY2026 $6.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – -3.4%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +18.8% +1.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCYHHCAARDT
Held by institutions 82.1% 59.5% 76.4%
Institutions holding 179 1,333 137
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% +0.3% +1.4%
Institutions buying 96 567 87
Institutions selling 52 563 36
Buyers to sellers 1.85 1.01 2.42

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.

CYHHCAARDT
CYH 1.00 0.26 0.28
HCA 0.26 1.00 0.31
ARDT 0.28 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CYH, HCA and ARDT?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Community Health Systems (CYH) $358.38M, HCA Healthcare (HCA) $101.81B, Ardent Health (ARDT) $1.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, CYH, HCA and ARDT?

Community Health Systems (CYH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Community Health Systems (CYH) 1.3x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.0x, Ardent Health (ARDT) 21.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ardent Health (ARDT) is cheapest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 14.9x, Ardent Health (ARDT) 12.7x). 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: Community Health Systems (CYH) -5.3%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +5.8%, Ardent Health (ARDT) +3.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Community Health Systems (CYH) has the highest net margin (Community Health Systems (CYH) 2.4%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 1.2%). On return on invested capital, Community Health Systems (CYH) leads (Community Health Systems (CYH) 14.1%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 7.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year HCA Healthcare (HCA) returned the most: Community Health Systems (CYH) -35.6%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) -3.9%, Ardent Health (ARDT) -21.8%. Over five years, HCA Healthcare (HCA) compounded fastest (Community Health Systems (CYH) -25.0%/yr, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +12.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, HCA Healthcare (HCA) has been the steadiest (Community Health Systems (CYH) 50.3%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 31.1%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 59.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 5. 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.