HCA vs THC vs UHS Stock Comparison

HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare and Universal Health Services 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
3 wins
THC Tenet Healthcare Corp
$268.45 +4.6% 1M +29.7% 1Y
Market cap
$22.43B
P/E
10.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.81B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Universal Health Services leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Universal Health Services 4, Tenet Healthcare 4, HCA Healthcare 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHCATHCUHSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $102.46B $22.43B $11.07B HCA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.0x 10.0x 7.3x UHS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.5x 12.2x 8.1x UHS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.3% +5.4% +10.0% UHS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.8% 10.3% 8.4% THC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.0% 18.8% 12.8% HCA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 2.0x 1.7x UHS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.6% +29.7% -10.3% THC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.1%/yr +30.6%/yr +6.6%/yr THC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.3% 42.2% 32.9% HCA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 77/100 66/100 THC

Percentile Scorecard

HCATHCUHS

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

AxisHCATHCUHS
Valuation 86 #14 of 93 94 #7 of 93 98 #3 of 93
Growth 25 #66 of 88 74 #24 of 88 52 #43 of 88
Profitability 94 #6 of 87 97 #4 of 87 78 #20 of 87
Financial Health 16 #84 of 100 36 #64 of 100 42 #58 of 100
Shareholder Returns 75 #15 of 56 86 #9 of 56 62 #22 of 56
Overall 59 77 66
  • HCA ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • THC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • UHS ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHCATHCUHSSPY
1 month +7.4%+4.6%+3.1% -1.0%
3 months +22.7%+15.1%+20.0% +2.9%
6 months +8.5%+48.5%+7.3% +6.4%
Year to date +0.5%+35.1%-14.2% +11.4%
1 year +6.6%+29.7%-10.3% +13.1%
3 years +103.9%+378.9%+50.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +26.8%+68.6%+14.5% +21.5%
5 years +85.3%+280.1%+37.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +13.1%+30.6%+6.6% +10.9%
10 years +473.9%+1,040.9%+51.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +19.1%+27.6%+4.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureHCATHCUHSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.3%42.2%32.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.6%34.0%34.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.170.500.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.210.70-0.31 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.7%-58.9%-43.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.9%-4.4%-23.4% -2.5%
52-week high $545.13$280.77$244.18 $779.14
52-week low $361.32$161.37$141.17 $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.

MultipleHCATHCUHS
P/E now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 25.3x 10.0xmedian 25.3x 7.3xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.6x 1.0xmedian 1.6x 0.5xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.5xmedian 14.6x 6.0xmedian 14.6x 5.3xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 22.7x 7.2xmedian 22.7x 11.4xmedian 22.7x
P/B now vs peer median -15.4xmedian 3.3x 3.3xmedian 3.3x 1.3xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.08median 0.66 0.13median 0.66 0.19median 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 monthsHCATHCUHS
Revenue $78.01B $21.81B $18.11B
Operating income – $4.54B $2.06B
Net income $7.85B $3.17B $1.55B
Free cash flow $6.00B $3.02B $845.40M
EPS (diluted) $30.70 $26.69 $25.47
Cash & equivalents $1.01B $2.17B $138.80M
Total debt $49.72B $13.25B $4.85B
Shares (diluted) 222.83M 83.96M 59.91M
Enterprise value $98.47B $11.44B $10.56B

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
MetricHCATHCUHS
P/E 15.1x 10.0x 7.3x
P/FCF 17.0x 7.2x 11.4x
P/Operating cash flow 9.2x 5.4x 5.4x
P/S 1.3x 1.0x 0.5x
P/B -15.4x 3.3x 1.3x
P/Tangible book -15.4x 4.1x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 9.5x 6.0x 5.3x
EV/EBIT 12.4x 7.2x 7.0x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 1.5x 0.8x
EV/FCF 25.2x 10.8x 17.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.6x 8.1x 8.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.08 0.13 0.19

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHCATHCUHS
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.3% 5.4% 10.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 3.1% 9.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 23.5% 13.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 24.7% 23.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.1% 32.4% 20.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 41.1% 31.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 24.4% 65.1% 31.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.0% 77.6% 37.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.8% 62.9% -5.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 31.1% 15.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -17.8% 94.7% -6.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 46.5% 18.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHCATHCUHS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 20.4% 25.0% 14.9%
Operating margin – 20.8% 11.4%
Pretax margin 12.7% 17.7% 11.2%
Net margin 8.8% 10.3% 8.4%
FCF margin 7.7% 13.9% 4.7%
Operating cash flow margin 14.3% 18.4% 9.9%
Return on equity – 47.8% 20.5%
Return on assets 12.6% 10.3% 9.8%
Return on invested capital 22.0% 18.8% 12.8%
Return on capital employed 27.1% 17.9% 16.5%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.7x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.6% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHCATHCUHS
Debt / assets 78.6% 43.2% 30.4%
Debt / equity -7.5x 2.0x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 2.0x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 8.3x 4.4x 5.7x
Liabilities / assets 110.5% 78.6% 52.4%
Equity / assets -10.5% 21.4% 47.6%
Interest coverage 5.3x 5.5x 13.1x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.4x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.9x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.61 2.10 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHCATHCUHS
Dividend yield 0.7% – 0.4%
Net buyback yield 8.5% 7.6% 10.9%
Shareholder yield 9.2% 7.6% 11.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 3.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 5.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -6.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -4.6%

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.

ConsensusHCATHCUHS
Forward P/E 15.5xFY2026 12.2xFY2026 8.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $30.21FY2026 $22.00FY2026 $23.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.0% -7.1% +8.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $73.04BFY2026 $23.70BFY2026 $18.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.4%FY2026 +11.2%FY2026 +4.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.8% -0.3% +10.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHCATHCUHS
Held by institutions 59.5% 96.2% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,333 677 597
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% -1.9% +1.2%
Institutions buying 567 331 289
Institutions selling 563 260 235
Buyers to sellers 1.01 1.27 1.23

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.

HCATHCUHS
HCA 1.00 0.62 0.66
THC 0.62 1.00 0.56
UHS 0.66 0.56 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HCA, THC and UHS?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the largest by market capitalisation: HCA Healthcare (HCA) $102.46B, Tenet Healthcare (THC) $22.43B, Universal Health Services (UHS) $11.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, HCA, THC and UHS?

Universal Health Services (UHS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.0x, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 10.0x, Universal Health Services (UHS) 7.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Universal Health Services (UHS) is cheapest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.5x, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 12.2x, Universal Health Services (UHS) 8.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Universal Health Services (UHS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: HCA Healthcare (HCA) +7.3%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) +5.4%, Universal Health Services (UHS) +10.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Tenet Healthcare (THC) has the highest net margin (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 8.8%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 10.3%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 8.4%). On return on invested capital, HCA Healthcare (HCA) leads (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 22.0%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 18.8%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 12.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Tenet Healthcare (THC) returned the most: HCA Healthcare (HCA) +6.6%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) +29.7%, Universal Health Services (UHS) -10.3%. Over five years, Tenet Healthcare (THC) compounded fastest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) +13.1%/yr, Tenet Healthcare (THC) +30.6%/yr, Universal Health Services (UHS) +6.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: HCA Healthcare (HCA) 0.00%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 0.00%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 0.00%. HCA Healthcare (HCA) and Tenet Healthcare (THC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, HCA Healthcare (HCA) has been the steadiest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 31.3%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 42.2%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 32.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HCA, THC and UHS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Universal Health Services (UHS) leads on 4. 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.