Sifting through countless of stocks in the Health Care Providers & Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in HCA Healthcare, Inc. or CVS Health Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation

HCA Healthcare, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides health care services in the United States. The company owns, manages, and operates hospitals, ASCs, freestanding emergency care facilities, urgent care facilities, walk-in clinics, diagnostic and imaging centers, radiation and oncology therapy centers, as well as rehabilitation and physical therapy centers, physician practices, home health agencies, hospices, outpatient physical therapy providers, home and community-based services providers, and various other facilities. Its general and acute care hospitals offer medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic services, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy. The company was formerly known as HCA Holdings, Inc. HCA Healthcare, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, and behavioral health plans; medical management capabilities; Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans; prescription drug plans (PDPs); and Medicaid health care management services. It serves employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and expatriates. The Health Services segment offers pharmacy benefit management solutions, including plan design and administration, formulary management, retail pharmacy network management, specialty and mail-order pharmacy, clinical services, disease management, medical spend management services, and pharmacy and other administrative services. It serves employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, health plans, PDPs, Medicaid managed care plans, CMS, plans offered on public health insurance exchanges, and other sponsors of health benefit plans. The Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment sells prescription and over-the-counter drugs, consumer health and beauty products, personal care products, and other general merchandise products. This segment also distributes prescription drugs; and provides related pharmacy consulting and other ancillary services to care facilities and other care settings. It operates online retail pharmacy websites, retail specialty pharmacy stores, and compounding pharmacies, as well as branches for infusion and enteral nutrition services. The company was formerly known as CVS Caremark Corporation and changed its name to CVS Health Corporation in September 2014. CVS Health Corporation was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Latest Health Care Providers & Services and HCA Healthcare, Inc., CVS Health Corporation Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, HCA Healthcare, Inc. had a $87.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Providers & Services median of $1.8 million. HCA Healthcare, Inc.’s stock is down 13.3% in 2026, down 3.1% in the previous five trading days and down 1.6% in the past year.

Currently, HCA Healthcare, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 13.6. HCA Healthcare, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $78.0 billion with a 8.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 8.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $29.491 per share for the current fiscal year. HCA Healthcare, Inc. currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.

As of September 4, 2026, CVS Health Corporation had a $123.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 97th percentile of all stocks. CVS Health Corporation’s stock is up 21.9% in 2026, up 4% in the previous five trading days and up 31.28% in the past year.

Currently, CVS Health Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 25.4. CVS Health Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $412.6 billion with a 1.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.971 per share for the current fiscal year. CVS Health Corporation currently has a 2.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
HCA Healthcare, Inc.	HCA	A
CVS Health Corporation	CVS	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. CVS Health Corporation has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
HCA Healthcare, Inc.	HCA	A
CVS Health Corporation	CVS	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a Quality Score of 92, which is Very Strong. CVS Health Corporation has a Quality Score of 81, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
HCA Healthcare, Inc.	HCA	C
CVS Health Corporation	CVS	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 52, which is Average. CVS Health Corporation has a Momentum Score of 58, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither HCA Healthcare, Inc. or CVS Health Corporation has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if HCA Healthcare, Inc. or CVS Health Corporation is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation Grades

In addition to Quality, Momentum and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, HCA Healthcare, Inc. or CVS Health Corporation Stock?

Overall, HCA Healthcare, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 100, Momentum Score of 52 and Quality Score of 92.

CVS Health Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 100, Momentum Score of 58 and Quality Score of 81.

Comparing HCA Healthcare, Inc. and CVS Health Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.