HCA - HCA Healthcare Inc. (HCA) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript
2024-01-30 13:40:19 ET
HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA)
Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call
January 30, 2024 10:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Frank Morgan – Vice President-Investor Relations
Sam Hazen – Chief Executive Officer
Bill Rutherford – Chief Financial Officer
Conference Call Participants
A.J. Rice – UBS
Pito Chickering – Deutsche Bank
Justin Lake – Wolfe Research
Ben Hendrix – RBC Capital Markets
Gary Taylor – TD Cowen
Brian Tanquilut – Jefferies
Ann Hynes – Mizuho
Whit Mayo – Leerink Partners
Kevin Fischbeck – Bank of America
Stephen Baxter – Wells Fargo
Jason Cassorla – Citi Group
Scott Fidel – Stephens
Sarah James – Cantor Fitzgerald
Lance Wilkes – Bernstein
Josh Raskin – Nephron Research
Cal Sternick – JPMorgan
Presentation
Operator
Welcome to the HCA Healthcare Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded.
At this time, for opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to Vice President of Investor Relations, Mr. Frank Morgan. Please go ahead, sir.
Frank Morgan
Good morning, and welcome to everyone on today's call. With me this morning is our CEO, Sam Hazen; and CFO, Bill Rutherford. Sam and Bill will provide some prepared remarks, and then we will take questions. Before I turn the call over to Sam, let me remind everyone that should today's call contain any forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations. Numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those that might be expressed today. More information on forward-looking statements and these factors are listed in today's press release and in our various SEC filings.
On this morning's call, we may reference measures such as adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. A table providing supplemental information on adjusted EBITDA and reconciling net income attributable to HCA Healthcare, Inc. is included in today's release. This morning's call is being recorded and a replay of the call will be available later today.
With that, I'll now turn the call over to Sam.
Sam Hazen
All right. Good morning to everybody, and thank you for joining the call. We finished 2023 better than expected across most dimensions of our business. In the quarter, we experienced strong demand for services across our diversified portfolio of markets, facilities and service lines. This growth, coupled with improved cost trends drove solid financial performance in the fourth quarter. Diluted earnings per share, excluding gains on sales were $5.90, which represented a 27% increase over prior year. We are encouraged by these results and believe the operational momentum we have created should position us well for 2024.
As mentioned at our recent Investor Day, the staying power of HCA Healthcare was on display again throughout the year. Diluted earnings per share excluding gains and losses on sales and debt retirement for the year grew almost 13% as compared to 2022. As a management team, we pride ourselves on the following: first, owning our realities, whatever they are; next, making a big company small so we can adjust timely; and third, being disciplined in thought, resource allocation and execution, helping us to accomplish our mission. Once again, I believe our people have impressively demonstrated these traits in the face of new challenges and delivered positive outcomes for our patients, the communities we serve and our other stakeholders. I often refer to them as can do people. And again, this past year, I think they proved it. I want to thank them for their hard work and everything they do for our company....
HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript