Hospital Chains Stocks Q1 In Review: Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Vs Peers

As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q1. Today, we are looking at hospital chains stocks, starting with Acadia Healthcare .

Hospital chains operate scale-driven businesses that rely on patient volumes, efficient operations, and favorable payer contracts to drive revenue and profitability. These organizations benefit from the essential nature of their services, which ensures consistent demand, particularly as populations age and chronic diseases become more prevalent. However, profitability can be pressured by rising labor costs, regulatory requirements, and the challenges of balancing care quality with cost efficiency. Dependence on government and private insurance reimbursements also introduces financial uncertainty.Looking ahead, hospital chains stand to benefit from tailwinds such as increasing healthcare utilization driven by an aging population that generally has higher incidents of disease. AI can also be a tailwind in areas such as predictive analytics for more personalized treatment and efficiency (intake, staffing, resourcing allocation). However, the sector faces potential headwinds such as labor shortages that could push up wages as well as substantial investments needs for digital infrastructure to support telehealth and electronic health records. Regulatory scrutiny, and reimbursement cuts are also looming topics that could further strain margins.

The 4 hospital chains stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 7% on average since the latest earnings results.

Acadia Healthcare

With a network of over 250 facilities serving patients in 38 states and Puerto Rico, Acadia Healthcare operates facilities providing mental health and substance use disorder treatment services across the United States.

Acadia Healthcare reported revenues of $770.5 million, flat year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ sales volume estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Acadia Healthcare scored the highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 16.8% since reporting and currently trades at $21.52.

Is now the time to buy Acadia Healthcare? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q1: Tenet Healthcare

With a network spanning nine states and serving primarily urban and suburban communities, Tenet Healthcare operates a nationwide network of hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and outpatient facilities providing acute care and specialty healthcare services.

Tenet Healthcare reported revenues of $5.22 billion, down 2.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. The business had a strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

Tenet Healthcare scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 35.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $167.58.

Is now the time to buy Tenet Healthcare? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q1: Universal Health Services

With a network spanning 39 states and three countries, Universal Health Services operates acute care hospitals and behavioral health facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico.

Universal Health Services reported revenues of $4.1 billion, up 6.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1%. It was a mixed quarter as it posted a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but same-store sales in line with analysts’ estimates.

Universal Health Services delivered the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 1.1% since the results and currently trades at $171.24.

Read our full analysis of Universal Health Services’s results here.

HCA Healthcare

With roots dating back to 1968 and a network spanning 20 states, HCA Healthcare operates a network of 190 hospitals and 150+ outpatient facilities providing a full range of medical services across the US and England.

HCA Healthcare reported revenues of $18.32 billion, up 5.7% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 0.5%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ same-store sales estimates.

HCA Healthcare had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 10.4% since reporting and currently trades at $376.86.

Read our full, actionable report on HCA Healthcare here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.