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.