HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) delivered a powerful finish to 2025, reporting a 30.6% surge in fourth-quarter net income as the largest U.S. hospital operator capitalized on rising patient demand and stabilized labor costs.
The Nashville-based company posted net income of $1.878 billion for the period ended December 31, 2025, while revenue climbed 6.7% to $19.513 billion, up from $18.281 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
The profit growth was even more pronounced on a per-share basis.
Diluted earnings per share jumped 44.6% to $8.14, while adjusted earnings per share—which excludes certain non-recurring items—rose a robust 28.8% to $8.01.
This performance significantly outpaced the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had been closely watching HCA for signals of how higher-acuity surgical volumes would offset persistent inflationary pressures in the healthcare supply chain.
At the heart of the strong results was a consistent increase in facility utilization.
HCA reported that same-facility admissions grew 2.4% year-over-year, while same-facility equivalent admissions—a metric that includes outpatient activity—rose 2.5%.
Efficiency also improved, with adjusted EBITDA rising 10.8% to $4.114 billion.
This expansion suggests that the acute nursing shortages and reliance on expensive contract labor that plagued the industry in previous years are becoming more manageable.
While cash flows from operating activities dipped slightly to $2.359 billion from $2.559 billion in the prior-year period, the company remains in a strong capital position, continuing its aggressive strategy of facility expansion and share repurchases.