EW vs. HCA: Edwards Lifesciences vs. HCA Healthcare Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but EW is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies while HCA is classified in Health Care Providers & Services.

Company profile comparison for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Profile Item	EW	HCA
Name	Edwards Lifesciences Corporation	HCA Healthcare, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Equipment	Health Care Facilities
Market Capitalization	58.73 billion USD	103.40 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 27, 2000	March 10, 2011
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HCA

GSPC

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Metric	EW	HCA
Total Return (1Y)	25.08%	6.56%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	17.28%	31.39%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-2.77%	16.40%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HCA

GSPC

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Metric	EW	HCA
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.58%	32.89%
Beta (5Y)	0.78	1.07
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-54.32%	-39.49%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.69M	1.35M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

EW and HCA are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Metric	EW	HCA
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.81	0.07
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.23	0.11

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) earns 9.33% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; HCA Healthcare (HCA) has no ROE this period.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.33%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
EW: 9.33%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%
HCA: --

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): HCA does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; EW is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 15.30% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of HCA Healthcare (HCA) at 8.61%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.30%

Max: 29.35%
EW: 15.30%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

8.61%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
HCA: 8.61%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 30.15% and HCA Healthcare (HCA) at 14.83% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

30.15%

Max: 35.43%
EW: 30.15%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.83%

Max: 35.43%
HCA: 14.83%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Metric	EW	HCA
ROE (TTM)	9.33%	--
ROA (TTM)	8.77%	12.23%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.30%	8.61%
Operating Margin (TTM)	30.15%	14.83%
Gross Margin (TTM)	78.02%	42.76%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 11.55% and HCA Healthcare (HCA) at 7.08% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

HCA Healthcare (HCA) at 28.77% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at -73.74% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in earnings momentum.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Metric	EW	HCA
Revenue Growth (YoY)	11.55%	7.08%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.77%	7.87%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-73.74%	28.77%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-9.14%	13.94%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 4.60 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while HCA Healthcare (HCA) at 0.82 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.60

Max: 7.59
EW: 4.60
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.82

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
HCA: 0.82
Min: 0.30

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06 against its industry range, while HCA Healthcare (HCA) reports no figure this period.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.06

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
EW: 0.06
Min: 0.00

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00
HCA: --

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): HCA does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; EW is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Metric	EW	HCA
Current Ratio (MRQ)	4.60	0.82
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.06	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.88	3.26

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile HCA Healthcare (HCA) reports a yield of 0.60%, ranking against industry peers normally.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

EW: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.60%

HCA: 0.60%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile HCA Healthcare (HCA) reports a payout of 10.15%, ranking against industry peers normally.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

EW: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

10.15%

HCA: 10.15%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Metric	EW	HCA
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.60%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	10.15%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

HCA Healthcare (HCA) at 16.42 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 59.38 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

59.38

Max: 80.41
EW: 59.38
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

16.42

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
HCA: 16.42
Min: 4.21

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

HCA Healthcare (HCA) at 1.31 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 8.80 sits in the pricier quartile — EW costs more per dollar of sales.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

8.80

EW: 8.80
Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.31

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
HCA: 1.31
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

HCA Healthcare (HCA) reports a negative P/B ratio of -12.92, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Edwards Lifesciences (EW) reports 5.41, ranking against industry peers normally.

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.41

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
EW: 5.41
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

HCA

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-12.92

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31
HCA: -12.92

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) vs. HCA Healthcare (HCA): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Metric	EW	HCA
P/E Ratio (TTM)	59.38	16.42
P/S Ratio (TTM)	8.80	1.31
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	5.41	-12.92
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.95%	3.81%