Universal Health Services (UHS)
Health Care · $11.5B market cap · SEC CIK 0000352915
ahead of 76% of the S&P 500 · #15 of 59 in Health Care
Next reports on Feb 23, 2027, after the close, with analysts expecting $5.69 in earnings per share.
52-week range $140.08 to $246.33. 21% below its 52-week high and 39% above its low.
The case for UHS
- Cheap for its growth: 7.9× earnings, where 11% a year of growth plus a 0.6% dividend would justify about 25×.
- Free cash flow of 7.4% of its market value a year: a lot of cash for the price.
- Revenue growing 8.0% year over year.
- Return on equity of 20%.
- Price/sales of 0.6× is lower than 86% of Health Care companies.
The case against
- Long-term debt of $4.0B against $138M of cash.
- Trailed the S&P 500 by 26 points over the past year.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Health Care companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings and cash, against the growth you get | 92 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 64 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 49 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 53 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 53 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 59 Health Care companies.
The financials
Revenue growth
Is the business growing? Yes
| Last 12 months | +8.0% |
|---|---|
| Over 5 years | +8.5% a year |
| FY2025 revenue | $17.4B (+10%) |
Free cash flow
Is it generating real cash? A little
| FY2025 free cash flow | $849M |
|---|---|
| Of revenue | 5% |
| Of profit | 57% |
Profit margins
Is profitability improving? Holding steady
| Gross margin | n/a |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 11% |
| Net margin, FY24 → FY25 → now | 7.2% → 8.6% → 8.0% |
Debt vs. cash
Is the balance sheet healthy? Yes, the debt is manageable
| Cash | $138M |
|---|---|
| Long-term debt | $4.0B |
| Net debt | $3.9B |
| Years to repay | 2.1 yrs |
Valuation
Is the stock price reasonable? Yes, it looks cheap
| P/E | 7.9× |
|---|---|
| Fair P/E for its growth | 25× |
| P/FCF | 13.6× |
| Forward P/E | 7.7× |
| EV / EBITDA | 6.4× |
At 7.9× earnings it trades well below the 25× that 11% a year of growth plus a 0.6% dividend would justify. At 13.6× free cash flow it trades well below that same mark.
The financials, five years deep
Pulled from Universal Health Services's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | |||||
| Revenue | $17.4B | $15.8B | $14.3B | $13.4B | $12.6B |
| Change on the year | +10% | +11% | +7% | +6% | — |
| Free cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow | $849M | $1.1B | $525M | $262M | $28.0M |
| Of revenue | 5% | 7% | 4% | 2% | 0% |
| Profit margins | |||||
| Operating margin | 11.5% | 10.6% | 8.2% | 7.5% | 10.8% |
| Net margin | 8.6% | 7.2% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 7.8% |
| Debt vs. cash | |||||
| Cash | $138M | $126M | $119M | $103M | $115M |
| Long-term debt | $4.0B | $4.5B | $4.8B | $4.7B | $4.1B |
| Net cash (debt) | −$3.9B | −$4.3B | −$4.7B | −$4.6B | −$4.0B |
What Universal Health Services says it does
—Self-Referral and Anti-Kickback Legislation . If we are deemed to have failed to comply with the anti-kickback statute, the Stark Law or other applicable laws and regulations, we could be subjected to liabilities, including criminal penalties, civil penalties (including the loss of our licenses to operate one or more facilities), and exclusion of one or more facilities from participation in the Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state healthcare programs. The imposition of such penalties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We also operate health care facilities in the United Kingdom and have operations and commercial relationships with companies in other foreign jurisdictions and, as a result, are subject to certain U.S. and foreign laws applicable to businesses generally, including anti-corruption laws. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act regulates U.S. companies in…