What happened
Even on a good day for the overall stock market, HCA Healthcare (HCA +1.26%) was a big winner on Tuesday. The hospital operator's latest quarterly results were a real cure for investor blues, with the stock closing a robust and S&P 500 index-crushing 14% higher.
So what
The catalyst was HCA's second-quarter earnings, which the company released that morning. For the quarter, revenue came in at just over $14.4 billion, which was 30% higher on a year-over-year basis. That was due in no small part to a bounce-back in demand for healthcare services, which were affected by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 as many would-be patients chose to delay non-essential surgeries at the time.
Net income, meanwhile, rose 34% to $1.45 billion ($4.36 per share).
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Both headline figures blew past analyst estimates, which on average were for only $13.6 billion on the top line and $3.16 in per-share net profit.
Better, HCA raised its guidance for the entirety of 2021. The company now expects its annual revenue will come in at $57 billion to $58 billion, with per-share earnings of $16.30 to $17.10 per share.
Now what
HCA is making hay while the sun shines. CEO Sam Hazen said, "We continue to invest aggressively in our strategic agenda, which is building greater clinical capabilities to serve our communities while also developing more comprehensive enterprise resources to support caregivers and differentiate our local networks."
Assuming demand remains at or near current levels, that should keep this healthcare giant on a growth path.
