DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) stock surged on Tuesday after the company reported upbeat fourth-quarter earnings and fiscal 2026 guidance.
Earnings Summary
The kidney care provider reported adjusted earnings of $3.40 per share, beating the consensus of $3.16.
Sales came in at $3.62 billion, up 5.8% year over year, beating the consensus of $3.497 billion.
Revenue per treatment jumped from $410.59 to $422.60.
The quarter change was primarily driven by increases in average reimbursement rates and other normal fluctuations, as well as a slight improvement in mix and the seasonal impact of flu vaccines.
The year-to-date change was driven by the incorporation of phosphate binders into the ESRD Prospective Payment System bundle and an increase in average reimbursement rates from normal annual increases, including the Medicare base rate.
Total U.S. dialysis treatments for the fourth quarter of 2025 were 7,264,520, or an average of 91,608 treatments per day, representing a per-day decrease of (0.1)% compared to the third quarter of 2025.
Normalized non-acquired treatment growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 was (0.6)%.
Patient care costs per treatment increased from $273.54 to $279.60, primarily due to increased health benefit expense as well as increased medical supply costs.
Guidance
DaVita expects fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of $13.60-$15.00 per share versus the consensus of $12.65, with adjusted operating income expected between $2.09 billion-$2.24 billion.
The guidance assumes treatment volume will be approximately flat to 2025.
The company expects revenue per treatment to grow by around 1%-2%, and cost growth to be 1.25%-2.25%.
CFO Joel Ackerman told investors in an earnings call, “We also expect an estimated $40 million headwind from the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits for exchange plans, which is largely offset by the elimination of the $45 million headwind in 2025 from the cyber incident.”
Minority Investment
Concurrently, Elara Caring, a provider of skilled home health, hospice, behavioral health, and personal care services, announced investment from Ares' Private Equity Group and DaVita.
The approximately $200 million minority investment is expected to contribute positively to other income lines, Ackerman said.
The transaction is expected to close later in 2026.
Analyst View
Barclays maintains DaVita with an Equal-Weight and raises the price forecast from $143 to $158.
Price Action: DVA stock is up 21.69% at $135.31 at the last check on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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