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Chicago, IL – July 22, 2025 – Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA, Tenet Healthcare Corp. THC, Universal Health Services, Inc. UHS and Community Health Systems, Inc. CYH.
Industry: Hospitals
Link: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/2599247/hospital-market-may-be-sick-but-these-4-stocks-are-healthy
The Zacks Medical-Hospital industry faces mounting challenges, including rising labor costs, supply expenses, regulatory pressures and tightening budgets. Workforce burnout and cybersecurity risks continue to strain operations, while technological innovations offer long-term efficiency gains. Despite near-term headwinds, growing patient volumes may support gradual recovery.
Consolidation through mergers and acquisitions remains a key strategy, allowing hospitals to scale operations and increase market share in a fragmented landscape. Leading players HCA Healthcare, Inc., Tenet Healthcare Corp., Universal Health Services, Inc. and Community Health Systems, Inc. are demonstrating resilience by optimizing operations and expanding strategically to stay competitive in a complex and evolving healthcare environment.
The Zacks Medical-Hospital industry comprises for-profit hospital companies that provide healthcare through different types of hospitals, such as acute care, rehabilitation and psychiatric. These hospital entities are engaged in internal medicine, general surgery, cardiology, oncology, neurosurgery, orthopedics and obstetrics, telehealth services, mental health care and diagnostic and emergency services.
Revenues of these companies depend on inpatient occupancy levels, medical and ancillary services ordered by physicians and provided to patients, and the volume of outpatient procedures. These hospital companies receive payments for patient services from the government under the Medicare program, Medicaid, or similar programs, managed care plans (including plans offered through the American Health Benefit Exchanges), private insurers and directly from patients.
Patient Demand Rising, But Care is Shifting Settings: Elective procedures are on the rise, contributing to increased patient volumes across hospitals. U.S. Census Bureau projections show the 65+ population will grow from 17.3% in 2022 to 22.8% by 2050, amplifying demand for healthcare.
Health spending is projected to hit $5.3 trillion by 2025, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. However, technological advancements are likely to accelerate a shift from inpatient care to outpatient, ambulatory and home-based services, leaving many hospitals with underused beds and a heavy fixed-cost burden.
Battling Costs on Multiple Fronts: Labor shortage, higher wages, supply chain disruptions and escalating benefit costs continue to squeeze hospital margins. In response, providers are embracing automation, refining staffing models, and renegotiating supplier contracts to manage expenses. Efforts to reduce reliance on contract labor are gaining traction, although burnout challenges persist.
Meanwhile, cybersecurity threats are prompting higher insurance premiums, adding to financial strain. A new $50 billion federal fund aims to support rural and underserved hospitals, but several experts note it may fall short of covering broader funding gaps tied to Medicaid reimbursement changes.
Digital Transformation Gains Speed: Hospitals are investing heavily in AI, automation, and real-time analytics to streamline care delivery and reduce operational inefficiencies. These tools are improving clinical outcomes, enhancing patient engagement, and supporting long-term cost savings. Simultaneously, telehealth, accelerated by the pandemic, has become a permanent and vital component of care, particularly for remote and underserved populations.
Consolidation Accelerates in a Fragmented Market: M&A activity has rebounded strongly post-pandemic, as hospitals seek scale, efficiency, and financial resilience. With the industry still highly fragmented, consolidation is being driven by economic recovery, regulatory clarity and the need to adapt to changing care models. Strategic partnerships, technology-driven collaborations, and innovative delivery models are helping hospitals expand capacity and sharpen their competitive edge.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all member stocks, signals challenging near-term prospects. The Zacks Medical-Hospital industry, which is housed within the broader Zacks Medical sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #181, which places it in the bottom 26% of nearly 250 Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.
The industry’s position in the bottom 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a negative earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are becoming pessimistic about this group’s earnings growth potential. As a matter of fact, the industry’s earnings estimates for 2025 have gone down 0.2% since February-end.
Despite the dull near-term prospects of the industry, we will present a few stocks that you may want to watch. But it’s worth taking a look at the industry’s shareholder returns and current valuation first.
The Zacks Medical-Hospital industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite while outperforming the broader Medical sector in a year. The industry has gained 4.2% over this period, underperforming the S&P 500's appreciation of 13.1% and outperforming the broader sector’s slide of 17.6%.
On the basis of the trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA (Enterprise Value/ Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortization) ratio, which is commonly used for valuing hospital stocks, the industry trades at 7.84X compared with the S&P 500’s 17.79X and the sector’s 9.72X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 9.55X and as low as 6.45X, with a median of 8.03X.
HCA Healthcare: The company operates general and acute care hospitals and is well-positioned to benefit from rising patient volumes. Growth in inpatient surgeries, ER visits, and telemedicine is boosting performance and diversifying revenue. Strategic acquisitions and ongoing dividends and buybacks reflect its focus on expansion and shareholder returns.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for one of the biggest for-profit publicly traded hospitals’ 2025 EPS indicates 15% year-over-year growth. HCA Healthcare beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, the average surprise being 7.1%. The consensus mark for 2025 revenues signals a 5.7% increase from a year ago. Shares of the company have gained 20.3% over the year-to-date period. It currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation: The company operates a wide network of hospitals and facilities, with strong revenue growth driven by its Ambulatory Care and Hospital segments. The USPI unit remains a core growth engine, supported by strategic tuck-in acquisitions that continue to enhance its market position.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tenet Healthcare’s 2025 and 2026 bottom line indicates 7.2% and 7% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in all the past four quarters, the average surprise being 26.4%. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 revenues is pegged at $20.9 billion and $21.9 billion, signaling an increase from $20.7 billion in 2024. Shares of the company have gained 38.7% over the year-to-date period. It currently has a Zacks Rank #3.
Universal Health Services: The company operates acute care hospitals, outpatient centers, and behavioral health facilities, with specialties including autism, addiction, and military-related conditions. Growth is supported by rising patient days, network expansion, added licensed beds and strategic behavioral health joint ventures.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Universal Health’s 2025 and 2026 bottom line is pegged at $19.43 and $21.10 per share, respectively, up 17% and 8.6% year over year, respectively. It beat earnings estimates in three of the past four quarters and missed once, the average surprise being 13.8%. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 revenues indicates 8% and 5.2% year-over-year increases. Although shares of Universal Health have declined 5.9% over the year-to-date period, its improving operations are expected to support a future rebound. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #3.
Community Health Systems: It operates a national network of acute care hospitals and outpatient centers, benefiting from higher occupancy rates and a growing telehealth focus. It is expanding through hospital acquisitions, enhancing specialty services, and improving efficiency. Strategic divestments of non-core assets aim to boost long-term profitability and cash flow, despite potential short-term impact.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Community Health Systems’ 2025 and 2026 bottom lines indicates 69.9% and 142.1% year-over-year improvements, respectively. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 revenues is pegged at $12.3 billion and $12.8 billion, respectively. Shares of Community Health Systems have gained 20% in the past week. It has a Zacks Rank #3 at present.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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