LIVE
HCA
HCA Healthcare, Inc. · Healthcare
$375.17
-7.29% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
THC
Tenet Healthcare Corporation · Healthcare
$172.57
-9.84% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
HCA
0
THC
4
Comparison scoreboard
THC LEADS 4/5AI Score
HCA 51.9
THC ✓53.5
1Y Return
HCA +0.73%
THC ✓+2.98%
Fwd P/E
HCA 11.69
THC ✓9.74
Target Up.
HCA +30.06%
THC ✓+41.17%
Op. Margin
HCA 14.98%
THC N/A
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
HCA vs THC Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
HCA Healthcare and Tenet Healthcare are both major for-profit hospital companies, but with different strategic emphases. HCA is the pure hospital system operator — the largest and best-run for-profit hospital company in the US. Tenet is pivoting away from hospitals toward ambulatory surgery centers through USPI, believing higher-margin same-day surgery is the future of procedure volume. HCA's scale and operational excellence make it the clear quality leader; Tenet's USPI ambulatory strategy is a different but potentially interesting bet on healthcare delivery migration.
HCA vs THC is the largest, best-operated for-profit hospital company with Sun Belt population tailwinds and industry-leading margins (HCA Healthcare) versus the hospital-to-ambulatory surgery center transition company with USPI ASC platform as the primary value driver (Tenet Healthcare) — scale and excellence in hospitals vs ambulatory surgery center growth pivot.
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
THC holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. THC leads on both 1-year return (+2.98%) and forward P/E (9.74x vs 11.69x for HCA), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for THC (+41.17%) than for HCA (+30.06%).
Normalized 1Y performance
HCA
THC
Recent returns
HCA
THC
Analyst price targets & sentiment
HCA
Price target range
analyst mean$503.57
current price$375.17
+30.1% upside to analyst mean
THC · 21 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Strong Buy (1.5/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$210.00
analyst high$288.00
analyst mean$243.62
current price$172.57
+41.2% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
HCA may suit investors who:
- →prefer the highest-quality for-profit hospital operator with industry-leading margins from scale, management, and Sun Belt population tailwinds
- →value HCA's 180+ hospital network creating purchasing power and operational best-practice sharing unavailable to smaller systems
- →want for-profit healthcare services exposure with the most proven management team and operational system in the industry
- →are comfortable with labor cost inflation, CMS reimbursement rate pressure, and outpatient migration reducing inpatient hospital acuity
THC may suit investors who:
- →prefer Tenet's strategic pivot toward higher-margin ambulatory surgery through USPI as a play on healthcare procedure migration from hospitals to outpatient settings
- →value USPI as one of the largest ambulatory surgery center operators benefiting from same-day surgical volume growth
- →want hospital sector exposure with the strategic thesis that ambulatory surgery centers will capture increasing procedure share from traditional hospitals
- →are comfortable with Tenet's smaller hospital scale vs HCA, hospital divestiture revenue headwinds, and USPI competition from other ASC operators
Performance & AI score
| Metric | HCA | THC |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 51.9 | 53.5 |
| AI rank | #352 | #300 |
| Latest close | $375.17 | $172.57 |
| 1M return | -7.29% | -9.84% |
| 6M return | -20.49% | -11.51% |
| 1Y return | +0.73% | +2.98% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HCA | THC |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.96K (-0.4%) started 2025-06-18 | $10.3K (+3.0%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $19.27K (+92.7%) started 2021-06-21 | $26.17K (+161.7%) started 2021-06-18 |
| 10Y ago | $54.8K (+448.0%) started 2016-06-20 | $62.41K (+524.1%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | HCA | THC |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $85.89B | $14.86B |
| Trailing P/E | 13.33 | 8.97 |
| Forward P/E | 11.69 | 9.74 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | 0.69 |
| EV/Revenue | 1.81 | 1.40 |
| Analyst target | $503.57 | $243.62 |
| Target upside | +30.06% | +41.17% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | HCA | THC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 4.30% | 2.80% |
| Earnings growth | 10.90% | 87.60% |
| EPS growth | +10.90% | +87.60% |
| FCF margin | +7.50% | +14.27% |
| Operating margin | 14.98% | N/A |
| Profit margin | 8.89% | 7.94% |
| ROIC proxy | 13631.68% | 30.29% |
| Return on equity | 13631.68% | 30.29% |
| Dividend yield | 0.81% | 0.00% |
| Beta | 1.13 | 1.28 |
| Debt/equity | N/A | 149.25 |
| Current ratio | 0.83 | 1.36 |
| Quick ratio | 0.64 | 1.13 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
HCA max drawdown33.72%
THC max drawdown34.08%
HCA max wkly drop11.38%
THC max wkly drop15.28%
5Y risk snapshot
HCA max drawdown39.49%
THC max drawdown58.88%
HCA max wkly drop22.87%
THC max wkly drop28.74%
10Y risk snapshot
HCA max drawdown54.74%
THC max drawdown71.68%
HCA max wkly drop39.49%
THC max wkly drop44.92%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | HCA | THC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -0.45% | +2.98% |
| CAGR | -0.45% | +2.98% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.04 | 0.15 | |
| Max drawdown | 33.72% | 34.08% | |
| Max daily drop | 8.77% | 10.70% | |
| Max wkly drop | 11.38% | 15.28% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +86.38% | +161.75% |
| CAGR | +13.28% | +21.22% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.42 | 0.56 | |
| Max drawdown | 39.49% | 58.88% | |
| Max daily drop | 21.82% | 30.96% | |
| Max wkly drop | 22.87% | 28.74% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +411.01% | +524.12% |
| CAGR | +17.73% | +20.11% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.53 | 0.53 | |
| Max drawdown | 54.74% | 71.68% | |
| Max daily drop | 21.82% | 30.96% | |
| Max wkly drop | 39.49% | 44.92% |
Business comparison
| Category | HCA | THC |
|---|---|---|
| Company | HCA Healthcare, Inc. | Tenet Healthcare Corporation |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | HCA Healthcare is the largest for-profit hospital operator in the United States, operating 180+ hospitals and 2,300+ care sites in 20 US states and the UK. HCA's scale provides unmatched purchasing power with medical suppliers and payers, staffing efficiency, and best-practice sharing across its network. HCA's hospitals are concentrated in high-growth US markets — Florida, Texas, Nashville, and Colorado — where population growth drives hospital utilization. HCA's management and operational systems are consistently among the best in the industry. | Tenet Healthcare operates hospital systems primarily in Texas and Florida plus USPI (United Surgical Partners International) — a leading ambulatory surgery center (ASC) company that is Tenet's fastest-growing and highest-margin business segment. Tenet's ASC strategy through USPI differentiates it from HCA's hospital focus — ambulatory surgery centers perform same-day surgical procedures outside hospitals at lower cost. Tenet has been divesting hospitals to focus capital on the higher-margin USPI ambulatory surgery business. |
| Investor focus | Investors track same-store volume growth (admissions and outpatient visits), revenue per equivalent admission, labor costs (the largest expense), and adjusted EBITDA margin. | Investors track USPI ASC revenue and margins (the primary value driver), hospital segment performance, and Tenet's hospital divestiture progress and capital allocation toward higher-margin ambulatory business. |
HCA strengths
- →Scale advantage: 180+ hospitals create purchasing power with suppliers, staffing agencies, and insurance payers that smaller systems cannot match
- →Geographic concentration in high-growth Sun Belt markets — Florida, Texas, and Nashville provide population tailwinds that translate to growing hospital utilization
- →Management excellence: HCA has consistently generated industry-leading operating margins through disciplined cost management and clinical quality focus
THC strengths
- →USPI is one of the largest ASC operators in the US — the ambulatory surgery center market is growing as procedure migration from hospitals to ASCs accelerates
- →Texas and Florida hospital concentration aligns with HCA's high-growth Sun Belt market thesis
- →Hospital divestiture strategy focuses capital on USPI's higher-margin ambulatory surgery — improving Tenet's overall margin profile as the mix shifts toward ASCs
Risks to watch — HCA
- →Labor cost inflation — nursing shortages and travel nurse premiums have pressured hospital labor costs significantly; normalizing but still elevated
- →Reimbursement rate pressure from CMS and commercial payers reduces revenue per procedure over time
- →Hospital sector faces ongoing pressure from outpatient care migration — procedures moving to ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient settings reduce hospital acuity and revenue
Risks to watch — THC
- →Smaller hospital system scale means Tenet has less purchasing power than HCA — supplier and payer negotiations are less favorable at smaller scale
- →Hospital divestitures reduce revenue scale while USPI takes time to grow to offset losses — transitional period creates revenue headwinds
- →Ambulatory surgery center competition from HCA's own ASC strategy, United Surgical Partners, and independent surgery centers
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