Compare Stocks: CVS vs. HCA

Market Snapshot

Current market context for the selected companies.

CVS

$97.11

Market Cap $124.35B

Sector Healthcare

Industry Healthcare Services

Data through 2026-09-03

HCA

$409.08

Market Cap $87.05B

Sector Healthcare

Industry Hospitals

Data through 2026-09-03

Key Differences

A differences-first view of the selected companies using the same data shown in the comparison tables below.

6M Performance

CVS has the stronger six-month price performance (+23.4% vs -23.5% for HCA).

Revenue Growth

HCA currently shows the faster revenue growth rate (8.7% vs 7.1% for CVS).

Operating Margin

HCA currently shows the higher operating margin (15.2% vs 3.9% for CVS).

Forward P / E

CVS currently trades at the lower forward earnings multiple (11.4x vs 12.5x for HCA).

Performance

Absolute returns and relative performance versus SPY.

Metric	CVS	HCA
1 Month	-2.0%	-0.1%
1 Month vs SPY	-2.4%	-0.5%
3 Months	+2.4%	+13.1%
3 Months vs SPY	+0.3%	+11.0%
6 Months	+23.4%	-23.5%
6 Months vs SPY	+10.0%	-36.9%
1 Year	+32.4%	+0.4%
1 Year vs SPY	+12.4%	-19.7%
2 Years	+70.5%	+4.1%
2 Years vs SPY	+32.1%	-34.2%

Growth & Profitability

Operating growth, margins and capital efficiency.

Metric	CVS	HCA
Revenue Growth	7.1%	8.7%
Earnings Growth	188.8%	11.6%
Gross Margin	13.6%	42.6%
Operating Margin	3.9%	15.2%
Net Margin	1.2%	8.8%
Return on Equity	6.2%	—
Return on Assets	3.0%	12.3%

Valuation

Common valuation multiples shown side by side.

Metric	CVS	HCA
P / E	25.8	13.9
Forward P / E	11.4	12.5
P / S	0.3	1.1
P / B	1.6	-30.1
EV / Sales	0.5	1.8
EV / EBIT	11.8	12.1
P / FCF	15.5	24.0
FCF Yield	6.5%	4.2%

Cash Flow & Balance Sheet

Cash generation and leverage context.

Metric	CVS	HCA
Free Cash Flow	$8.08B	$3.74B
Operating Cash Flow	$14.78B	$11.12B
Debt / Equity	95.5%	—

Earnings Outlook

Upcoming earnings expectations when available.

Metric	CVS	HCA
Next Earnings	2026-10-28	2026-10-23
EPS Estimate	1.63	6.70
Revenue Estimate	104.69B	19.36B
EPS Growth	+1.8%	-3.8%
Revenue Growth	+1.8%	+1.1%
Analyst Coverage	22	19