We’re adding HCA Healthcare to the Market Matters International Hitlist. This is a stock we’ve owned several times in the past, and it has been good to us (6th most fertile stock we’ve held since 2019). Our most recent sale was for a ~50% profit in November 2025.
HCA is one of the largest hospital operators in the US, giving investors exposure to a defensive, cash-generative healthcare business with strong scale benefits. The stock has pulled back sharply from its 2025 highs, falling from above US$550 to around US$375, creating a more attractive entry point.
The key attraction is valuation. HCA is now trading on a blended forward P/E of ~11.9x, below its 5-year average of ~13.9x and slightly below the –1 standard deviation level of ~12.3x. In other words, the stock is now screening on the cheap side relative to its own recent history.
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HCA Healthcare – Blended Forward PE – Source Bloomberg
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HCA Healthcare – Blended Forward PE – Source Bloomberg
US healthcare does remain politically sensitive which is one of the reasons why we should only consider HCA when obvious risks are priced in. Further, labour costs can pressure margins, and hospital operators are cyclical around procedure volumes and reimbursement settings. However, after the recent de-rating, we think the risk/reward has improved materially.
- We’re adding it to the International Hitlist, seeing obvious value in the stock following weakness.
MM is now bullish HCA ~$US375
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