Largest U.S. For-Profit Hospital Operator HCA Beats Q4 Forecasts With $18.3B In Revenue
HCA Healthcare reported earnings Friday showing that it hasn't faced the kind of financial struggles plaguing two other major hospital operators.
The country's largest for-profit hospital operator reported fourth-quarter revenue of $18.3B, which was down 6% year-over-year but beat analysts forecasts, according to Seeking Alpha.
The company said it saw lower-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter due to the impacts of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. The operator said the facilities in North Carolina and Florida that were impacted by the hurricanes have resumed normal operations.
"We finished 2024 with strong business fundamentals that were consistent with previous quarters," HCA Healthcare CEO Sam Hazen said ahead of the company's earnings call.
The company has 190 hospitals in its portfolio, 124 outpatient surgery centers and roughly 50,000 licensed beds. Earlier this month, the hospital operator acquired Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, for $110M. HCA agreed to add 10 new beds to the hospital as part of the sale.
In August, the healthcare system sold its 258-bed Regional Medical Center in San Jose, California, to Santa Clara County in an effort to restore its critical care services at the hospital.
In 2021, HCA reached an agreement with Medical Properties Trust to enter into a 15-year, $1.2B master lease for a portfolio of Utah hospitals, but that deal later fell through and the hospitals were instead leased to CommonSpirit Health.
Hospital operators have come under fire in recent years as MPT's two largest tenants, Steward Health Care and Prospect Medical Holdings, have both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In response to Steward Health Care's bankruptcy and abrupt exit from Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey signed an Act enhancing the market review process, granting greater authority to state commissions and agencies to review and scrutinize private equity investments in the state's healthcare systems.
CORRECTION, JAN. 27, 12:30 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story misstated HCA Healthcare's relationship with Medical Properties Trust. This story has been updated.
