HCA dividend
HCA pays $0.78 per share each quarter, and its base case raises dividends from $3.30 to $3.78 per share. In 2025, $7,692 million of free cash flow covered $679 million of dividends, although total shareholder payouts exceeded free cash flow.
How much does HCA pay in dividends?
Dividends rise modestly in the base case, from $3.30 to $3.54 and then $3.78 per share. The latest quarterly rate is $0.78, while free cash flow was $7,692 million in 2025, supporting increases. The bear case holds the dividend at $3.12 before a small recovery; the bull case reaches $4.08. Recent dividend growth supports the base, but the 2020 suspension shows that severe pressure can interrupt it.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 28.33 | 22.00 | 18.97 | 19.15 | 21.16 |
| Free cash flow per share | 271.51 | 256.32 | 247.07 | 215.51 | 254.35 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 23.97 | 31.36 | 34.84 | 34.10 | 29.49 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 355.35 | 274.64 | 200.90 | 365.54 | 388.23 |
Does HCA’s dividend come from free cash flow?
Free cash flow was $7,692 million, while repurchases cost $10,067 million and dividends cost $679 million. Distributions therefore exceeded free cash flow by roughly $3,054 million before acquisitions and minority distributions. Debt increased and cash fell, so the gap was a financing choice rather than a cash surplus.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 7,692 | 5,639 | 4,687 | 4,127 | 5,382 |
| − Dividends paid | 679 | 690 | 661 | 653 | 624 |
| − Share buybacks | 10,067 | 6,042 | 3,811 | 7,000 | 8,215 |
| = Paid out more than the free cash flow | 3,881 | 1,804 | 425 | 4,551 | 4,206 |
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 139.7% | 119.4% | 95.4% | 185.4% | 164.2% |
What this means. The company paid shareholders more than the cash its business made, so it had to use savings or borrow money to cover the difference.
What could change HCA’s dividend?
The forecast would move toward the bear case if uninsured patients continued reducing margins through 2027, or if supplemental-payment approvals were delayed or capped in 2028 and 2029. Debt and construction spending that constrained buybacks would reinforce that move.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 6,883 (5,966 / 7,172) | 7,308 (5,998 / 7,740) | 7,726 (5,960 / 8,372) |
| Shares (millions) | 204 (211 / 200) | 191 (204 / 183) | 178 (197 / 166) |
| Dividends per share | 3.30 (3.12 / 3.36) | 3.54 (3.12 / 3.72) | 3.78 (3.24 / 4.08) |
| Price to earnings | 14.50 (12.50 / 16.50) | 14.00 (11.50 / 17.00) | 13.50 (10.50 / 17.50) |
What is HCA’s dividend yield today?
At $469.91, HCA trades at 15.7 times trailing earnings. P/E, or price-to-earnings ratio, tells investors how many dollars they pay for each dollar of annual profit per share. Its 14.6 times forward P/E implies about $32.19 of earnings per share over the next twelve months, above the revised 2026 guidance of $28.70 to $30.50. Because that forward period reaches into 2027, the price assumes earnings recover beyond the weaker current-year outlook.