HCA Q2 Revenue Tops $20.2B, but Uncompensated Care Surges and Cash Flow Drops
HCA sits 26% above its 52-week low of $331.61.
Summary
HCA Healthcare's Q2 2026 revenue grew 8.7% to $20.23B, but uncompensated care costs surged 29% and operating cash flow dropped 44%, confirming the pressures behind its recent guidance cut.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · HCA
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Revenue Up, But Costs Bite
Q2 revenue rose 8.7% to $20.23B, but uncompensated care costs jumped 29% to $1.445B as uninsured admissions surged 23.3% after enhanced premium tax credits expired.
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Cash Flow Deterioration
Operating cash flow fell 44% to $2.335B from $4.210B a year ago, driven by a $1.4B working capital drain and $594M higher tax payments.
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Debt Load Increases
Total debt rose to $49.718B from $46.492B at year-end, with $3B in new senior notes issued in April, partly offset by $2.5B in redemptions.
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Share Buybacks Continue
HCA repurchased $1.988B in stock during Q2 at an average price of $414.25, with $7.21B remaining under its $10B authorization.
Analysis · HCA · Industrial Applications And Services
HCA Healthcare delivered an 8.7% revenue increase to $20.23 billion in Q2 2026, yet the quarter exposed significant headwinds. Uncompensated care costs climbed 29% to $1.445 billion as uninsured admissions jumped 23% following the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits. Operating cash flow tumbled to $2.335 billion from $4.210 billion a year ago, pressured by working capital drains and higher tax payments. While the company continued aggressive share buybacks, debt rose to nearly $50 billion. The results confirm the guidance cut from two weeks ago, with rising uncompensated care and cash flow pressure now quantified.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 2, 2026, 36.3% of the 1065 measured filings Wiseek scored 8 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.57%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, HCA was trading at $417.50 on NYSE in the Industrial Applications And Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $92.8B. The 52-week trading range was $331.61 to $556.52. This filing was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.