HCA vs UHS Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare HCA Healthcare and Universal Health Services by hospital vs behavioral health network, reimbursement rate trends, volume growth, operating leverage, and which hospital operator offers better margin expansion potential.
Use this HCA Healthcare vs Universal Health Services comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
HCA holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. HCA has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+11.92% vs +0.19%), though UHS has the better forward P/E setup (6.01x vs 11.34x for HCA). On fundamentals, UHS is growing revenue faster (9.60%), while HCA maintains the higher operating margin (14.98%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for UHS (+36.40%) than for HCA (+25.98%).
| Metric | HCA | UHS |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 52.0 | 37.7 |
| AI rank | #390 | #1408 |
| Latest close | $382.19 | $155.75 |
| 1M return | -1.44% | +7.11% |
| 6M return | -18.83% | -24.06% |
| 1Y return | +11.92% | +0.19% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HCA | UHS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.43K (+14.3%) started 2025-07-25 | $10.01K (+0.1%) started 2025-07-25 |
| 5Y ago | $16.62K (+66.2%) started 2021-07-26 | $10.5K (+5.0%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $55.03K (+450.3%) started 2016-07-25 | $12.3K (+23.0%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | HCA | UHS |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $82.34B | $9.15B |
| Trailing P/E | 12.79 | 6.31 |
| Forward P/E | 11.34 | 6.01 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | 0.76 |
| EV/Revenue | 1.76 | 0.81 |
| Analyst target | $467.60 | $206.18 |
| Target upside | +25.98% | +36.40% |
| Metric | HCA | UHS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 4.30% | 9.60% |
| Earnings growth | 10.90% | 17.70% |
| EPS growth | +10.90% | +17.70% |
| FCF margin | +7.50% | +3.66% |
| Operating margin | 14.98% | 11.19% |
| Profit margin | 8.89% | 8.56% |
| ROIC proxy | 13631.68% | 21.37% |
| Return on equity | 13631.68% | 21.37% |
| Dividend yield | 0.84% | 0.53% |
| Beta | 1.13 | 1.07 |
| Debt/equity | N/A | 67.41 |
| Current ratio | 0.83 | 1.08 |
| Quick ratio | 0.64 | 0.88 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | HCA | UHS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +14.32% | +0.10% |
| CAGR | +14.36% | +0.10% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.45 | 0.02 | |
| Max drawdown | 33.72% | 42.19% | |
| Max daily drop | 8.77% | 11.44% | |
| Max wkly drop | 14.06% | 12.32% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +60.77% | +2.83% |
| CAGR | +9.97% | +0.56% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.32 | 0.04 | |
| Max drawdown | 39.49% | 44.90% | |
| Max daily drop | 21.82% | 13.96% | |
| Max wkly drop | 22.87% | 20.55% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +413.19% | +18.36% |
| CAGR | +17.77% | +1.70% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.53 | 0.09 | |
| Max drawdown | 54.74% | 56.30% | |
| Max daily drop | 21.82% | 22.26% | |
| Max wkly drop | 39.49% | 38.54% |
| Category | HCA | UHS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | HCA | UHS |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | N/A | Medical Care Facilities |
| Core business | N/A | N/A |
| Investor focus | N/A | N/A |
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