Universal Health Services beats quarterly profit estimates on medical care demand

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(Reuters) -U.S. hospital operator Universal Health Services beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Monday, driven by sustained demand for medical care.

A post-pandemic trend of Americans, especially older adults, opting for elective surgeries have bolstered the sector while weighing on health insurers.

Larger peer HCA Healthcare on Friday beat estimates for quarterly profit, while health insurance bellwether UnitedHealth shocked investors with dour earnings on April 17.

Same-facility adjusted admissions increased by 2.4% at acute care hospitals during the quarter, while those at behavioral healthcare facilities fell by 1.6%, Universal Health Services said.

Quarterly revenue came in at $4.10 billion, missing estimates of $4.16 billion.

Shares of the company fell 3.1% to $167.56 in extended trading.

The company did not share any comments on its annual revenue forecast. Last quarter, it had forecast net revenue for 2025 to be between $17.02 billion and $17.36 billion.

On average, analysts expect 2025 revenue to be $17.17 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

For the quarter ended March 31, the King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company reported quarterly adjusted profit of $4.84 per share, beating estimates of $4.35 per share.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)