Overview
In what was a good quarter overall for the publicly traded hospital operators, the midsized urban markets operator Ardent Health bore the brunt of “persistent industry-wide cost pressures, particularly those around professional fees and payer denials.” $ARDT ( ▼ 2.82% ) stock was down nearly 36% on a major EBITDA downward revision, trading significantly lower than that of its peers who overcame similar professional fee and payer denial headwinds:
Ardent’s strategy is to be number 1 and 2 in growing “midsized urban markets.” It seems like a logical thesis, and I’m interested in tracking their performance over the long run as their peers largely focus on different markets. As I discuss in Puts & Takes, I’m curious how much of their underperformance should be attributed to some unexpected derivative of their geographic strategy, their scale (or lack thereof), and issues with management and their ability to execute.
Quarter highlights:
Total revenue was $1.58 billion, 8.8% growth YoY
Net loss attributable to Ardent Health was $23m
Adjusted EBITDA was $143 million, 46.3% growth YoY
Admissions grew 5.8% YoY and Adjusted Admissions growth was 2.9% YoY
Net patient service revenue per adjusted admission grew was 5.8% YoY
Revised 2025 guidance:
Reaffirmed total revenue between $6,200 and $6,450 million
Revised Adjusted EBITDA down between $530 and $555 million (previously between $575 and $615 million)
Links:
Key Metrics
Operating Performance Summary
Revised 2025 Financial Guidance
Earnings Call Discussion:
Here are a few key takeaways from the earnings discussion:
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