HCA Posts Stronger-Than-Expected Earnings, Helped by CARES Act

HCA Healthcare  (HCA) - Get Report rose Wednesday after the hospital manager reported second-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ forecasts.

HCA Healthcare posted net income of $1.08 billion, or $3.16 a share, in the latest quarter, up from $783 million, or $2.25 a share, a year earlier. 

Results for the latest quarter were boosted by $822 million, or $1.73 a share, in government stimulus income that came from the CARES Act for pandemic relief.

Revenue was $11.07 billion in the quarter, down from $12.6 billion in the year-ago quarter, HCA Healthcare said.

Analysts had been calling for a loss of 20 cents a share on second-quarter revenue of $10.09 billion.

Adjusted Ebitda in the second quarter was$2.67 billion, up from $2.29 billion a year ago.

Not all the numbers were rosy. Same-facility admissions at HCA Healthcare slid 12.8% in the latest quarter, same-facility inpatient surgeries dipped 15.7% and same-facility outpatient surgeries dropped 32.6%.

Those decreases resulted from the suspension of elective treatment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"Patient volumes across most service lines were significantly impacted in April due to state and local policies implemented to contain the spread of Covid-19 and preserve personal protective equipment," the company said in a statement Wednesday.

But improvement came, HCA Healthcare said. "Patient volumes gradually improved in May and June as states began to re-open and allow for non-emergent procedures."

HCA Healthcare shares recently traded $115.97, up 6.07%. The stock has slid 21.52% year to date, compared with a 0.78% gain for the S&P 500.