SGRY vs THC: How Surgery Partners and Tenet Healthcare Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: THC is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. SGRY and THC share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined SGRY and THC exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Surgery Partners owns or operates a network of about 180 surgical facilities across roughly 30 states, made up of around 161 ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and about 19 short-stay surgical hospitals, plus anesthesia services and affiliated physician practices. Only about 122 of those facilities are consolidated for financial reporting, because the model is a joint venture: physicians, and in some markets health systems, own meaningful stakes in the individual centers alongside Surgery Partners. Revenue comes from orthopedics, spine, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, ENT and other high-volume specialties that can be done safely without an overnight stay, and growth comes from three levers stacked on top of each other: same-facility case volume, higher revenue per case as more complex procedures migrate into the ASC setting, and recruitment of new physicians into existing centers.

Full SGRY guide

Tenet Healthcare is a diversified for-profit healthcare services company that operates through three segments. Hospital Operations runs acute care and specialty hospitals plus affiliated outpatient facilities, imaging centers, and physician practices. United Surgical Partners International (USPI) is the ambulatory segment and operates or holds interests in hundreds of ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals across dozens of states, making it the largest ASC platform in the country. Conifer Health Solutions provides revenue cycle management and value-based care services to hospitals and health systems.

Full THC guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• SGRY drivers: Migration of surgery into the outpatient setting; Physician recruitment into existing centers.
• THC drivers: USPI ambulatory surgery leadership; Business mix shift toward higher-margin services.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Leverage is the dominant risk: with total debt near $3.7 billion, cash near $182 million and quarterly interest expense around $69 million, a modest shortfall in adjusted EBITDA moves the equity a great deal more than it moves the enterprise. For THC, hospital operators face reimbursement pressure from Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers, and changes to Affordable Care Act exchange subsidies could pressure volumes and payer mix.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick SGRY if you believe its drivers more; THC if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the SGRY and THC guides.

SGRY. First quarter 2026 revenue was about $810.9 million, up roughly 4.5%, with adjusted EBITDA of about $102.3 million and a margin near 12.6%, down from about 13.4% a year earlier, and a net loss attributable to shareholders of about $35.9 million. Full year 2026 guidance of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion in revenue and at least $530 million in adjusted EBITDA was reaffirmed in May and again alongside the Idaho Falls announcement in July. Because adjusted EBITDA is presented after the portion attributable to physician and health system partners, the multiple looks reasonable on an operating basis while the equity remains a small residual behind a large debt stack. Second quarter 2026 results were scheduled for August 10, 2026.

THC. Tenet trades at a modest earnings multiple typical of hospital operators, reflecting reimbursement and leverage risk, but the multiple has expanded from prior years as USPI mix shift, margin gains, and deleveraging improved earnings quality. The 2026 outlook calls for net operating revenue of roughly $21.5 to $22.3 billion. Figures are approximate and drawn from reported results and company guidance as of mid 2026.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): SGRY shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.33 billion, fy2025 revenue ~$3.30 billion (up ~6.2%), fy2025 adjusted ebitda ~$526 million, fy2025 net loss attributable to shareholders ~$77.9 million; THC shows revenue (ttm) ~$21.4 billion, fy2025 net operating revenue ~$21.3 billion (up ~3.7%), fy2025 adjusted diluted eps ~$16.78 (up ~41%), ebitda margin ~22-23%.

SGRY and THC are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined SGRY and THC exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.