HCA Holdings Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

HCA Holdings (NYS: HCA) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), HCA Holdings beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
HCA Holdings recorded revenue of $9.20 billion. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $8.93 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $8.06 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $1.18. The 23 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.98 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.18 for Q1 were 127% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.52 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 44.0%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.2%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.9%, 290 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $8.82 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.80.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $35.25 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.58.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 43 members out of 51 rating the stock outperform, and eight members rating it underperform. Among 15 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 13 give HCA Holdings a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on HCA Holdings is outperform, with an average price target of $32.20.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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