HCA Holdings Meets on Revenues, Misses on EPS (HCA)

HCA Holdings Meets on Revenues, Misses on EPS

HCA Holdings (NYSE: HCA ) reported earnings on Nov. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), HCA Holdings met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins shrank, operating margins increased, net margins grew.

Revenue details
HCA Holdings reported revenue of $8.89 billion. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $8.97 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% higher than the prior-year quarter's $8.05 billion.

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 $0.77. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.79 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.78 for Q3 were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.11 per share.

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 42.0%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.5%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.0%, 320 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $8.97 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.90.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $36.24 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.60.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 47 members out of 54 rating the stock outperform, and seven members rating it underperform. Among 16 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 15 give HCA Holdings a green thumbs-up, and one 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 $33.52.

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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 of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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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