HCA Healthcare, Inc.’s HCA third-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of $1.92 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 28.6%. Further, the bottom line declined 13.9% year over year due to lower patient admissions and higher costs.Quarterly DetailsHCA Healthcare’s revenues of $13.3 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.1%. The top line also improved 4.9% from the year-ago period.Same facility equivalent admissions declined 9% year over year, while same facility admissions tumbled 3.8% year over year. However, same facility revenue per equivalent admission grew 14.8% year over year on account of higher acuity of patients treated and favorable payer mix witnessed in the third quarter.Same facility inpatient surgeries and same facility outpatient surgeries slid 6.8% and 6.3%, respectively, year over year.Salaries and benefits, supplies and other operating expenses inched up 0.6% year over year to $10.5 billion.Adjusted EBITDA totaled $2.1 billion, down 10.2% year over year.As of Sep 30, 2020, HCA Healthcare operated 187 hospitals.HCA Healthcare, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise HCA Healthcare, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | HCA Healthcare, Inc. QuoteFinancial UpdateAs of Sep 30, 2020, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $6.6 billion, comparing favorably from the 2019-end figure of $621 million. Total assets came in at $51.02 billion as of Sep 30, 2020, up 13.2% from 2019-end level.Total debt of nearly $31 billion as of Sep 30, 2020 decreased 8.2% from 2019-end level.In the reported quarter, capex came in at $489 million minus acquisitions.Cash flows provided by operating activities were $2.7 billion, up 27.8% year over year.Zacks Rank & Peer ReleasesHCA Healthcare currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Among other players from the medical space that have reported third-quarter earnings so far, the bottom-line results of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH and Tenet Healthcare Corporation THC beat estimates.Upcoming Q3 ReleaseAlexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALXN has an Earnings ESP of +0.84% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to release third-quarter 2020 earnings on Oct 29.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2021.Click here for the 6 trades >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis Report Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report Tenet Healthcare Corporation (THC): Free Stock Analysis Report HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research