Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold42 ratings
Bullish1638.1%
Neutral2457.1%
Bearish24.8%
Universal Health Services, Inc. · UHS · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
UHS Q1 2026: EPS and Revenue Beat Overshadowed by 9.5% Stock Decline
UHS delivered a Q1 earnings beat with EPS of $5.62 (vs $5.41 estimate, +3.9% surprise) and revenue of $4.50B (vs $4.39B estimate, +2.5% surprise). Despite the beat, the market response was sharply negative: shares declined 9.5% on 2.7x baseline volume in the session following the report and continued to drift lower by an additional 5.1% over subsequent sessions. The call highlighted acute care volume pressures from seasonal flu and weather, the newly announced Talkspace acquisition and its implications for the behavioral health continuum and balance sheet, and persistent regulatory headwinds including California staffing requirements and HIX subsidy expirations. Management maintained full-year 2026 guidance targeting approximately 5% core EBITDA growth, and the capex outlook shifted from stable to increasing. The bullish score from transcript analysis moderated from 78 in the prior…
Reported After market closeNYSEHealthcare
$9.88B market cap
100quality score
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationUniversal Health Services, Inc. (UHS), operating through its various divisions, is a healthcare entity that both owns and manages a network of acute care hospitals, along with outpatient and specialized behavioral health treatment centers. Its business operations are strategically bifurcated into two main segments: Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services. The hospitals under its management provide a comprehensive spectrum of medical provisions, encompassing general and specialty surgical interventions, internal medicine, obstetrics, urgent and emergency department services, diagnostic imaging (radiology), cancer therapy (oncology), advanced diagnostic procedures, cardiac care, pediatric medicine, pharmaceutical services, and mental health support.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$5.62
Consensus $5
EPS surprise
+3.9%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$4.50B
Consensus $4.39B
Revenue surprise
+2.5%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$168.09Current
$121Low
$191.62Average
$290High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 31, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Guggenheim | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Baird | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jul 13, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 22, 2026 |
| UBS | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 30, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Apr 29, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Aug 4, 2025 |
| B of A Securities | Underperform | Neutral | Downgrade | Jul 16, 2025 |
| Stephens & Co. | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Feb 28, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 30, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 12, 2024 |
| Mizuho | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Mar 6, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 29, 2024 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 27, 2023 |
| SVB Securities | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | May 26, 2023 |
| Wolfe Research | Peer Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Mar 1, 2023 |
| SVB Leerink | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Oct 27, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Underperform | Market Perform | Downgrade | Jul 6, 2022 |
| Loop Capital | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jun 17, 2022 |
| Seaport Global | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 28, 2022 |
| Piper Sandler | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Feb 28, 2022 |
| Bank of America | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Sep 18, 2018 |
| PiperJaffray | Neutral | Overweight | Downgrade | Jan 3, 2018 |
| Leerink Swann | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Sep 22, 2017 |
| Raymond James | Market Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Dec 14, 2016 |
| Avondale Partners | Market Perform | Market Outperform | Downgrade | Nov 9, 2016 |
| Wallachbeth | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Oct 11, 2016 |
| Sterne Agee CRT | Neutral | Underperform | Upgrade | Mar 2, 2016 |
| Sterne Agee | Neutral | Underperform | Upgrade | Mar 2, 2016 |
| Standpoint Research | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Feb 10, 2016 |
| KeyBanc | Overweight | Sector Weight | Upgrade | Oct 1, 2015 |
| Janney Capital | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jun 10, 2015 |
| FBR Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Monness Crespi Hardt | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Mar 31, 2014 |
| Susquehanna | Neutral | Positive | Downgrade | May 17, 2013 |
| WallachBeth Capital | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 4, 2013 |
| Imperial Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Sep 13, 2012 |
| Jefferies | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Apr 27, 2012 |
| Auriga | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 28, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $168.09. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $168.16 | +13.0% | Jul 30, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $290 | $166.22 | +72.5% | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Guggenheim | Jason Cassorla | $189 | $166.22 | +12.4% | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $166 | $166.22 | -1.2% | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Craig Hettenbach | $191 | $166.22 | +13.6% | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $168 | $159.31 | -0.1% | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Guggenheim | Analyst unavailable | $195 | $151.16 | +16.0% | Jul 20, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $166 | $155.57 | -1.2% | Jul 13, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $179 | $161.26 | +6.5% | Jul 8, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $165 | $146.11 | -1.8% | Jun 1, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $310 | $167.86 | +84.4% | Apr 30, 2026 |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Analyst unavailable | $194 | $167.51 | +15.4% | Apr 29, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $162.54 | +13.0% | Apr 29, 2026 |
| Guggenheim | Analyst unavailable | $211 | $162.54 | +25.5% | Apr 29, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Michael Ha | $204 | $162.54 | +21.4% | Apr 29, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $238 | $179.51 | +41.6% | Apr 28, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $262 | $203.68 | +55.9% | Jan 22, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $245 | $214.97 | +45.8% | Jan 7, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $235 | $221.74 | +39.8% | Jan 7, 2026 |
| Guggenheim | Jason Cassorla | $274 | $239.43 | +63.0% | Dec 2, 2025 |
| Raymond James | John Ransom | $270 | $217.01 | +60.6% | Nov 3, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $231 | $225.3 | +37.4% | Oct 30, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Ben Hendrix | $231 | $223.61 | +37.4% | Oct 30, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $302 | $219.32 | +79.7% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Guggenheim | Jason Cassorla | $253 | $219.32 | +50.5% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Craig Hettenbach | $233 | $219.32 | +38.6% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $263 | $214.03 | +56.5% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | Ann Hynes | $242 | $214.03 | +44.0% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $219 | $197.76 | +30.3% | Oct 14, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $249 | $209.11 | +48.1% | Oct 7, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Michael Ha | $203 | $177.91 | +20.8% | Aug 14, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $227 | $165.44 | +35.0% | Jul 30, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $184.46 | +19.0% | Mar 26, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Michael Ha | $274 | $236.47 | +63.0% | Sep 4, 2024 |
| Raymond James | Sarah James | $219 | $204.99 | +30.3% | Jul 26, 2024 |
| Barclays | Andrew Mok | $256 | $210.68 | +52.3% | Jul 26, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Michael Ha | $236 | $187.7 | +40.4% | Jun 26, 2024 |
| HSBC | Sidharth Sahoo | $290 | $94 | +72.5% | Jun 5, 2024 |
| UBS | AJ Rice | $226 | $177.7 | +34.5% | May 20, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Frank Morgan | $189 | $169.15 | +12.4% | May 7, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Pito Chickering | $203 | $168.4 | +20.8% | Apr 12, 2024 |
| Stephens | Scott Fidel | $185 | $182.46 | +10.1% | Apr 1, 2024 |
| Barclays | Steven Valiquette | $142 | $140.7 | -15.5% | Apr 25, 2023 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $132 | $152.21 | -21.5% | Jan 9, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Stephen Baxter | $154 | $142.04 | -8.4% | Jan 3, 2023 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $110 | $102.03 | -34.6% | Jul 12, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $141 | $102.24 | -16.1% | Jul 1, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $121 | $102.07 | -28.0% | Jul 1, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $153 | $124.98 | -9.0% | May 3, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $118 | $124.16 | -29.8% | Apr 28, 2022 |
| Stephens | Analyst unavailable | $135 | $124.32 | -19.7% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $158 | $125.32 | -6.0% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $130 | $125.32 | -22.7% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Ann Hynes | $145 | $69.38 | -13.7% | Apr 26, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Jamie Perse | $135 | $128.04 | -19.7% | Nov 9, 2021 |
| Stephens | Scott Fidel | $142 | $124.54 | -15.5% | Oct 27, 2021 |
| BMO Capital | Matthew Borsch | $145 | $124.54 | -13.7% | Oct 27, 2021 |
| Bank of America Securities | Kevin Fischbeck | $153 | $125.79 | -9.0% | Oct 26, 2021 |
| Credit Suisse | A.J. Rice | $181 | $158.43 | +7.7% | Jul 27, 2021 |
| Wolfe Research | Justin Lake | $171 | $151.2 | +1.7% | Jun 21, 2021 |
Track every rating change on UHS the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
event-close to next-session close
Stock move
-9.5%
Event window
SPY move
-0.5%
Same window
Abnormal move
-9.0%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
2.7×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
-5.1%
Up to 20 sessions
UHSSPY benchmark
Follow UHS with an agent that reads every filing, transcript, and price print. Free to start.
Try FN2 freeTranscript intelligence
What changed
The most significant change from the prior quarter is the Talkspace acquisition, which expands UHS into virtual behavioral health and is expected to be earnings-accretive within the first year. The company expanded credit facilities by $900 million to support the deal. Operationally, acute care volumes declined due to seasonal flu and weather, a shift from the prior quarter's volume-driven growth narrative. AI deployment advanced from Agentic AI pilots to eight production use cases in revenue cycle, with new clinical AI projects alongside Hippocratic AI. The 2026 guidance was maintained at approximately 5% core EBITDA growth, while the capex outlook moved from stable to increasing, reflecting the Talkspace acquisition and continued de novo hospital investments.
Guidance delta
Management maintained full-year 2026 guidance, consistent with the prior quarter's maintained stance. The prior quarter introduced 2026 expectations of 6-8% revenue growth with downside risks from exchange volume declines and California staffing regulations. The current quarter reaffirmed these projections with a specific emphasis on roughly 5% core EBITDA growth. The capex outlook shifted from stable to increasing, reflecting the Talkspace acquisition and continued de novo hospital investments.
Key takeaways
- Q1 revenue grew 9.6% and adjusted EPS rose 16.1% year over year, beating consensus on both metrics.
- Talkspace acquisition announced to build a full behavioral health continuum, expected to be earnings-accretive within the first year.
- Acute care volumes were pressured by seasonal flu and weather, but pricing strength and specialty line growth offset the impact.
- Capital expenditures of $217 million funded new hospitals and outpatient sites; share buybacks remain active.
- Full-year 2026 guidance reaffirmed with approximately 5% core EBITDA growth expectation.
Management priorities
- Integrate Talkspace clinicians into UHS virtual intensive outpatient programs
- Develop additional clinical AI solutions with Hippocratic AI
- Open new de novo hospitals in Florida, Missouri, and additional outpatient sites
- Continue active share repurchase program alongside growth investments
- Scale AI use cases across clinical operations to boost efficiency and patient experience
Related earnings events
HealthcareHCA · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026HCA Q2 2026: Payer-Mix Shift Hits EBITDA, Florida Medicaid Boosts, $7B Capex UnveiledMOH · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026Molina Healthcare Raises 2026 EPS Guidance on Duals Strength Despite Marketplace LossesWST · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026West Pharmaceutical Q2 2026: EPS and Revenue Beat, Guidance Raised Again
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-31T18:32:20.574952+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-31T18:32:20.572042+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.