Free cash flow
HCA Healthcare Free cash flow increased by 2.9% to $895.00M in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 35.6%, from $660.00M to $895.00M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 9.3% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $1.41B | $1.39B | $1.25B | $484.00M | $550.00M | $1.89B | $1.20B | $606.00M | $1.23B | $1.33B | $1.52B | $1.35B | $690.00M | $2.32B | $1.27B | $660.00M | $3.03B | $3.13B | $870.00M | $895.00M |
| QoQ Change | — | -1.5% | -9.9% | -61.3% | +13.6% | +243.5% | -36.3% | -49.7% | +103.6% | +7.9% | +13.7% | -10.8% | -48.9% | +236.8% | -45.2% | -48.2% | +359.7% | +3.1% | -72.2% | +2.9% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -61.0% | +36.1% | -3.8% | +25.2% | +124.4% | -29.5% | +25.8% | +122.9% | -44.1% | +74.5% | -15.9% | -51.1% | +339.7% | +34.6% | -31.7% | +35.6% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is HCA Healthcare's free cash flow?
- HCA Healthcare (HCA) reported free cash flow of $895.00M in Q1 2026.
- How has HCA Healthcare's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- HCA Healthcare's free cash flow increased by 35.6% year-over-year, from $660.00M to $895.00M.
- What is the long-term trend for HCA Healthcare's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), HCA Healthcare's free cash flow has grown at a 9.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $5.38B to $7.69B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.