Universal Health Services Reports Strong Q3 Performance, Raises 2025 Forecast

Universal Health Services (UHS), a leading acute and behavioral hospital operator, has reported substantial financial gains in its third-quarter earnings, surpassing Wall Street expectations and prompting an upward revision of its 2025 forecast. The company's impressive performance reflects broader trends in the healthcare sector, with significant revenue increases driven by higher per-patient revenues.

Q3 Financial Highlights

UHS reported a net income of $373 million, or $5.86 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2025, marking a 44.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Net revenues reached approximately $4.5 billion, representing a year-over-year growth of 13.4%. These figures significantly exceeded market expectations, with analysts previously projecting earnings of $4.56 per share and net revenues of $4.31 billion.

The company's acute care segment, comprising 29 hospitals, saw a 12.8% increase in same-facility net revenues. This growth was primarily attributed to a 9.8% rise in same-facility net revenue per adjusted admission and an 11.5% increase in same-facility net revenue per adjusted patient stay. Patient volumes also showed modest growth, with same-facility adjusted admissions up 2% and adjusted patient days increasing by 0.4%.

In the behavioral health segment, which includes 345 inpatient facilities, same-facility net revenues grew by 9.3%. While volume increases were less pronounced in this segment, with adjusted admissions rising by 0.5% and adjusted patient days by 1.3%, revenue per patient metrics showed significant improvement. Net revenue per adjusted admission increased by 8.8%, while net revenue per adjusted patient day grew by 7.9% on a same-facility basis.

Revised 2025 Outlook and Strategic Initiatives

Following the strong third-quarter performance, UHS has revised its 2025 forecast upwards. The company now projects net revenues between $17.3 billion and $17.4 billion, up from the previous estimate of $17.1 billion to $17.3 billion. Adjusted earnings per diluted share are now expected to range from $21.50 to $22.10, an increase from the earlier projection of $20.00 to $21.00.

The revised forecast incorporates $90 million of pre-tax reimbursements related to recently approved Medicaid state directed payments, as well as a $35 million pre-tax charge incurred to increase reserves for liabilities, both recorded in the third quarter.

UHS also reported significant progress in its stock repurchase program. The company has repurchased more than 1.3 million shares at an aggregate cost of about $234.3 million in the third quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to nearly 3.2 million shares for $565.8 million. On October 27, 2025, the board of directors authorized a $1.5 billion increase to the stock repurchase program, signaling confidence in the company's financial position and future prospects.