DaVita Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

DaVita reaffirmed its 2026 outlook after reporting second-quarter adjusted operating income of $579 million, adjusted EPS of $4.02 and free cash flow of $256 million. Treatment growth exceeded expectations, helped by lower patient mortality, and full-year nominal volume growth is expected near the top of the company’s 25–50 basis-point range. Revenue per treatment fell sequentially by about $2 due to timing effects, lower phosphate-binder revenue and reduced commercial insurance mix. DaVita still expects full-year revenue-per-treatment growth of 1%–2%, while patient-care costs per treatment declined by about $3.

DaVita plans to broadly deploy expanded hemodialysis using existing machines after securing dialyzer supplies, with management citing clinical results showing non-inferiority to HDF. The company also repurchased shares, completed a $200 million investment in Elara Caring and maintained its guidance midpoint of $2.2 billion in adjusted operating income and $14.65 in adjusted EPS.

DaVita reported second-quarter results that management said were broadly in line with expectations, supported by accelerating treatment-volume growth and lower mortality among patients. The kidney-care company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, while outlining plans to expand access to newer dialysis technology designed to improve clearance of so-called middle molecules.

Second-quarter adjusted operating income was $579 million, adjusted earnings per share were $4.02, and free cash flow totaled $256 million, Chief Financial Officer Joel Ackerman said on the company’s earnings call.

U.S. dialysis treatments increased 56 basis points from the second quarter of 2025, with treatments per normalized day rising by the same amount. Ackerman said volume growth came in slightly above expectations, primarily because mortality was lower than anticipated. That benefit was partly offset by fewer patient admissions from closed Fresenius clinics and a higher-than-expected level of missed treatments. DaVita now expects full-year nominal treatment growth near the upper end of its prior range of 25 to 50 basis points. On a calendar-normalized basis, that would translate to growth of roughly 50 to 75 basis points, according to Ackerman.

Revenue per treatment declined by about $2 from the first quarter. Ackerman attributed the sequential decrease to favorable revenue timing in the first quarter, lower revenue from phosphate binders and a decline in commercial insurance mix related to expired Affordable Care Act subsidies. Although revenue per treatment was up 3.6% in the first half compared with the first half of 2025, the company continues to expect full-year growth of 1% to 2%. The midpoint of that outlook implies slightly negative revenue-per-treatment growth in the second half versus the same period a year earlier, driven by lower commercial mix, lower phosphate-binder revenue and a favorable fourth-quarter 2025 comparison related to aged-claim resolutions.

Patient care costs per treatment fell about $3 sequentially, reflecting labor and fixed-cost leverage from higher treatment volume and lower phosphate-binder costs. Higher benefit costs partly offset those improvements. DaVita expects total cost per treatment to grow between 1.25% and 2.25% for the full year. During the question-and-answer session, Ackerman said U.S. dialysis general and administrative expenses increased 10% in the quarter, while enterprise adjusted operating income increased about 5%.