Quick Take: HCA pre-announces 2Q26 earnings; weaker volume on Marketplace and lower surgery volume

Research evidence excerpt

Quick Take: HCA pre-announces 2Q26 earnings; weaker volume on Marketplace and lower surgery volume

nerate healthy amounts of cash and often maintain relatively conservative balance sheets, suggesting

potential further upside through effective capital allocation over the investment horizon.

RISKS

HCA Healthcare Inc

Downside risks to our price target include: lower volume; reimbursement reduction from government programs; reimbursement

reduction from MCOs beyond historic trends; increase in bad debt expense through deterioration or policy change to ACA public

exchange or Medicaid expansion; inability to manage expense effectively in competitive market for clinicians.

Upside risks to our price target include: higher utilization resulting in higher volume; enhanced funding and program stability

for ACA public exchange; attractive acquisition opportunities caused by excess leverage or financial distress of competitors;

above expectation reimbursement increases from the government or MCOs; GLP1 and other drug innovation adoption outlook

diminishing over the long term.

RATINGS DEFINITIONS, BENCHMARKS AND DISTRIBUTION

EQUITY RATINGS DEFINITIONS

Bernstein brand

The Bernstein brand rates stocks based on forecasts of relative performance for the next 12 months versus the S&P 500 for

stocks listed on the U.S. and Canadian exchanges, versus the Bloomberg Europe Developed Markets Large and Mid Cap Price

Return Index EUR (EDME) for stocks listed on the European exchanges and emerging markets exchanges outside of the Asia

Pacific region, versus the Bloomberg Japan Large and Mid Cap Price Return Index USD (JPL) for stocks listed on the Japanese

exchanges, and versus the Bloomberg Asia ex-Japan Large and Mid Cap Price Return Index (ASIAX) for stocks listed on the Asian