New York, Feb 12, 2026, 08:41 EST — Premarket
- Shares of Tenet Healthcare hovered around $226 in early premarket trading after a sharp jump the day before
- KeyBanc raised its price target to $250 from $225, keeping its Overweight rating intact
- After Tenet flagged hurdles tied to the ACA exchange, investors are diving into its 2026 forecast.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation (THC) shares were flat in premarket trading Thursday, after surging roughly 17% the previous day. KeyBanc raised its price target on the hospital operator to $250 from $225, keeping an Overweight rating intact. (Streetinsider)
Tenet’s move is notable as it seeks to hold onto its margins through 2026, despite steady demand for higher-acuity care and outpatient surgery. Instead of counting solely on volume, hospitals are increasingly leaning on payer mix and reimbursement rates to keep profits afloat.
Tenet is grappling with a big unknown: what happens to Affordable Care Act exchange coverage if subsidies vanish. This change could reshape enrollment patterns, affect insurer payouts, and increase the bad debt hospitals must shoulder.
Tenet posted Q4 net income available to common shareholders of $371 million, or $4.22 per share. Revenue rose 8.9% to $5.53 billion. Adjusted earnings per share surged to $4.70, up from $3.44 a year earlier. (RTTNews)
Tenet posted operating cash flow of $3.54 billion for 2025, while free cash flow came in at $2.53 billion. The company spent $1.386 billion repurchasing 8.8 million shares over the year. It ended 2025 with net debt at 2.25 times adjusted EBITDA, a crucial measure comparing debt to operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. (SEC)
On Jan. 27, Tenet finalized a deal with CommonSpirit Health centered on its Conifer Health Solutions unit. CommonSpirit will shell out $1.9 billion in annual payments to Tenet over three years. Meanwhile, Conifer is set to pay CommonSpirit $540 million to buy back its 23.8% stake in Conifer. Despite this change, Conifer will keep supporting CommonSpirit through the end of 2026. (Tenet Healthcare)
Tenet projects net operating revenues for 2026 to land between $21.5 billion and $22.3 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is forecasted from $4.485 billion up to $4.785 billion. Adjusted earnings per share should range from $16.19 to $18.47. The company expects to spend $700 million to $800 million on capital expenditures and anticipates adjusted free cash flow between $2.5 billion and $2.8 billion. (Business Wire)
Wall Street expected earnings close to $16.46 per share and revenue around $22.21 billion, based on analyst estimates from Investing.com. (Investing.com South Africa)
The bigger question on the call might be what Tenet reveals about its payer mix guidance. On Feb. 11, CEO Saum Sutaria said the company anticipates a 20% drop in ACA exchange enrollment this year as enhanced premium tax credits expire. CFO Sun Park put that impact at roughly $250 million to 2026 adjusted EBITDA, mostly affecting the hospital segment, though he warned there’s a “wide range of potential outcomes.” (Becker’s Hospital Review)
Investors are zeroing in on early-quarter enrollment figures and “effectuation”—meaning if people keep paying their premiums—as well as whether Tenet’s forecasts about shifting into other coverage hold true. The next key event is the company’s quarterly report, set for May 5, according to Investing.com’s earnings calendar. (Investing)
