Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.96 EPS

Key Points

• Tenet Healthcare significantly beat quarterly expectations, reporting $6.64 in adjusted EPS versus the $4.68 consensus estimate and $6.28 billion in revenue, up 6.5% year over year.
• The company raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $5.05 billion–$5.20 billion and increased free-cash-flow guidance, supported by strong USPI growth, higher joint-replacement volumes, and continued cash generation.
• Despite robust results, management flagged risks from declining exchange admissions, potential 2027 Medicaid and enrollment pressures, and the expected loss of approximately $450 million in one-time Conifer transition contributions.

Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.68 by $1.96, FiscalAI reports. Tenet Healthcare had a return on equity of 26.76% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $6.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Tenet Healthcare's conference call:

• Third-quarter results exceeded expectations, with $5.6 billion in revenue, $1.355 billion in adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS up 80% year over year to $6.64. Excluding $147 million of one-time Conifer transition benefits, core adjusted EBITDA still grew 10%.
• Tenet raised 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance by $195 million at the midpoint to $5.05 billion-$5.2 billion and increased adjusted free cash flow guidance to $1.925 billion-$2.155 billion after NCI.
• USPI adjusted EBITDA increased 9.1%, while same-facility revenue rose 4.5%; total joint replacement volume grew 12.8% as Tenet expands higher-acuity services and continues investing in acquisitions and de novo centers.
• Strong cash generation is supporting shareholder returns and balance-sheet flexibility. Tenet repurchased $255 million of stock in the quarter, bringing year-to-date buybacks to $1.615 billion, while leverage declined to 2.11 times EBITDA and there are no significant debt maturities until 2028.
• Exchange admissions and revenue fell 18% year over year and represented about 5.5% of consolidated revenue, while management is still assessing potential 2027 headwinds from exchange enrollment declines and Medicaid work requirements. The company also expects approximately $450 million of 2026 Conifer transition EBITDA contributions not to recur in 2027.

Tenet Healthcare Stock Down 0.4%

THC traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $267.49. 990,937 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,116,550. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $264.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.63. Tenet Healthcare has a one year low of $157.58 and a one year high of $283.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tenet Healthcare news, Director J. Robert Kerrey sold 12,010 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.72, for a total value of $3,167,277.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,264,273.68. The trade was a 71.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Mark sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.42, for a total value of $2,634,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,617,373.82. This represents a 28.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 106,484 shares of company stock valued at $28,898,063. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Tenet Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $265.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Tenet Healthcare from $254.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Tenet Healthcare in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Tenet Healthcare from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Tenet Healthcare from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tenet Healthcare has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.21.

About Tenet Healthcare

Tenet Healthcare Corp. NYSE: THC is a diversified healthcare services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its hospital operations and outpatient platforms, the company provides a range of medical services to patients across the United States.

Tenet operates acute care and specialty hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging facilities and other outpatient care sites. Its United Surgical Partners International subsidiary is a major provider of ambulatory surgery services and partners with physicians and health systems.

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