By Melanie Evans

HCA Healthcare's stock dropped after the hospital company reported hurricane disruptions dragged on its earnings.

The company's shares slid by about 9% after markets opened Friday.

HCA, the nation's largest and most profitable publicly traded hospital company, reported Hurricane Helene lowered its third-quarter earnings per diluted share by $0.15 to $4.88, below the analyst consensus of $4.96, according to FactSet.

Operations at two of the company's hospitals remain disrupted by the back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton, according to HCA. The company is using tanker trucks to pressurize more than 200,000 gallons of potable water daily for HCA's Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., where repairs continue to the city's storm-damaged infrastructure.

HCA's Florida Largo Hospital, in Largo, Fla., remains closed from flood damage.

The financial hit from the storms could total as much as $350 million through the end of the year, the company said.

Expenses and revenue losses from storm disruption are projected to continue into 2025, Sam Hazen, HCA chief executive officer said on the company's earnings call. HCA's Florida Largo Hospital is seeking to reopen in late December, he said.

More broadly, HCA continued to see growth in demand for hospital stays, surgeries and physician visits. Hospital admissions increased 4.5% from the third quarter a year ago at hospitals owned by the company for at least a year. Demand increased at a similar rate when factoring in medical care outside of hospitals and surgery centers.

HCA's performance is watched as a general indicator of demand for medical services and what is happening to prices for hospital stays, doctor's visits and surgeries, though its operations are concentrated in Florida and Texas and are often in growing markets. The company said it expects strong demand for service to continue in 2025.

HCA isn't the only hospital company to report a financial hit from hurricanes. Community Health Systems stock dropped Thursday after its executives detailed the hit to last quarter's earnings from sparring with insurance companies over bills and disruption from Hurricane Helene.

The Franklin, Tenn.,-based Community Health lowered this year's guidance in response to the pair of hurricanes to a range of $1.5 billion to $1.54 billion. That's down from $1.52 billion to $1.6 billion. The company's hospital in Punta Gorda, Fla., damaged by flooding, is expected to remain closed through the end of the year.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2024 11:32 ET (15:32 GMT)

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