Community Health Systems owns and leases over a hundred hospitals in 28 states, primarily in rural communities. Revenues have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 30% from 2003-2007. While this is partially due to organic growth, the bulk of revenue increases have resulted from acquisitions, such as the 2007 purchase of Triad Hospitals Inc. which doubled the size of the CYH network, in terms of beds, and made it the largest publicly traded hospital operator chain in the country.

While the Triad acquisition helped CYH double its revenues in 2007, the company spent more as it added resources and integrated Triad’s facilities and staff into Community Health’s network; as a result, operating income rose only 26% in 2007.

As U.S. demographics change - and trend toward urban or rural relocations - so do CYH's revenues. Population size and economic cycles help determine the number of potential patients living close to CYH's hospitals and the amount of healthcare they need. Medicare and Medicaid laws also impact the company's operating income, and the growing quantitative gap between insured and uninsured and/or underinsured patients are concerns as more private clinics and physician-owned hospitals attract the most expensive and specialized medical procedures funded by private insurance. To stave off competition from these smaller, more nimble providers, the firm often forms partnerships with them.

(Read more at Wikinvest )