Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC) posted a sharp rise in fourth-quarter profitability, fueled by a surge in high-acuity surgical procedures and the strategic streamlining of its hospital portfolio.
The Dallas-based hospital giant reported adjusted diluted earnings of $4.70 per share, comfortably beating Wall Street estimates and marking a 36.6% increase over the same period last year.
The results were anchored by Tenet's ambulatory care segment, United Surgical Partners International (USPI), which saw its adjusted EBITDA climb 9.4% to $580 million.
USPI, now the largest ambulatory platform in the U.S., has become Tenet’s primary engine for margin expansion as the company shifts away from lower-margin general hospital services toward specialized outpatient surgery.
The quarter also marked a turning point for Tenet's capital structure.
Earlier this month, the company regained 100% ownership of its revenue cycle subsidiary, Conifer Health Solutions, a move expected to eliminate significant minority interest distributions and simplify its balance sheet.
CEO Saum Sutaria noted that the company’s "disciplined operations" and "robust free cash flow" have allowed Tenet to aggressively deleverage, bringing its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio down to approximately 2.3x.