HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) is scheduled to report its earnings on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. The company has a market value of about $103.4 billion. Over the last twelve months it generated $78.0 billion in revenue and $12.1 billion in operating profit, with net income of $6.8 billion.
The reaction will turn on how the results and guidance land against expectations. Before the release, it helps to know how the stock has behaved after previous reports, and whether an early move has tended to carry on.
See the earnings reaction history of all stocks
HCA Healthcare's Historical Odds Of A Positive Post-Earnings Return
Some observations on one-day (1D) post-earnings returns, measured from the last close before each release:
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There are 19 earnings releases in the last five years, with 7 positiveand 12 negativeone-day (1D) returns. Positive 1D returns were seen 37% of the time.
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Over the last three years that share rises to 45%, across 11 releases.
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The median of the 7 positive 1D returns is 4.5%, and the median of the 12 negative ones is -4.2%.
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The largest one-day reactions were 11.4% and -21.8%.
The table below shows the 1D, 5-day (5D) and 21-day (21D) returns after each release, followed by summary statistics.
| Earnings Date |
1D |
5D |
21D |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/24/2026 |
1.5% |
5.1% |
14.0% |
| 4/24/2026 |
-8.8% |
-8.3% |
-16.9% |
| 1/27/2026 |
7.1% |
5.2% |
14.4% |
| 10/24/2025 |
1.6% |
6.1% |
11.6% |
| 7/25/2025 |
-2.1% |
3.7% |
18.6% |
| 4/25/2025 |
-4.0% |
0.5% |
10.3% |
| 1/24/2025 |
-3.8% |
2.8% |
-1.8% |
| 10/25/2024 |
-8.9% |
-10.1% |
-18.5% |
| 7/23/2024 |
4.5% |
10.2% |
15.3% |
| 4/26/2024 |
-2.4% |
-1.7% |
1.5% |
| 1/30/2024 |
5.2% |
8.3% |
8.8% |
| 10/24/2023 |
-4.5% |
-7.3% |
3.2% |
| 7/27/2023 |
-2.1% |
-4.5% |
-3.4% |
| 4/21/2023 |
3.9% |
4.3% |
4.3% |
| 1/27/2023 |
-0.03% |
1.2% |
-2.7% |
| 10/21/2022 |
-5.7% |
4.4% |
10.3% |
| 7/22/2022 |
11.4% |
15.7% |
18.6% |
| 4/22/2022 |
-21.8% |
-18.7% |
-24.0% |
| 1/27/2022 |
-4.6% |
0.3% |
5.5% |
| Statistic |
1D |
5D |
21D |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Positive |
7 |
13 |
13 |
| # Negative |
12 |
6 |
6 |
| Median Positive |
4.5% |
4.4% |
10.3% |
| Median Negative |
-4.2% |
-7.8% |
-10.1% |
| Max Positive |
11.4% |
15.7% |
18.6% |
| Max Negative |
-21.8% |
-18.7% |
-24.0% |
Does The First Move Carry On?
Another approach is to wait for the initial reaction and ask whether it tends to continue. The table below shows the correlation between the 1D return and the return over the following 5 and 21 trading days, and between the 5D return and the following 21 trading days. A value near 1 means the first move has tended to continue; near -1, to reverse; near 0, no consistent pattern. Over five years, all three correlations are below 0.40, so the early post-earnings move has not reliably predicted what followed. Over the last three years the links are stronger, at 0.45 and 0.68, but that rests on only 11 releases.
| History |
1D vs next 5D |
1D vs next 21D |
5D vs next 21D |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Years |
0.06 |
0.25 |
0.28 |
| 3 Years |
0.14 |
0.45 |
0.68 |
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