AdaptHealth Raises 2026 Revenue and EBITDA Guidance After Third-Quarter Revenue Grows 10.9%
Key Facts
AdaptHealth reported third-quarter 2026 results before the market opened on November 3, posting revenue of $745.6 million, up 10.9% year over year from $672.4 million, according to Investing.com. Revenue topped the average analyst estimate of $726.0 million, putting sales growth at the forefront of the results. Shares rose 6.60% in premarket trading after the announcement, the same site reported. But the revenue beat did not extend to earnings per share: the company reported a loss of $1.23 per share, versus an expected loss of $0.03. The company also raised its 2026 ranges for revenue and adjusted EBITDA, while lowering its free cash flow forecast.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $141.9 million in the quarter, down 2.9% from $146.1 million in the same period of 2025, according to Investing.com. Meanwhile, organic revenue grew 12.8% across all the segments for which the company reports results. The divergence puts sales growth alongside pressure on adjusted earnings, while the reported per-share loss was far wider than analysts had estimated. The annual guidance revision higher therefore did not reflect simultaneous improvement across all the financial measures reported by the company. The changes included a higher adjusted EBITDA range, but also a narrower forecast range for free cash flow.
AdaptHealth raised its 2026 revenue guidance for continuing operations to a range of $2.88 billion–$2.90 billion, from a previous range of $2.85 billion–$2.89 billion, according to Investing.com. It also raised its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization forecast to $510 million–$525 million, compared with $490 million–$520 million previously. In the opposite direction, the company cut its free cash flow forecast to $50 million–$75 million, from $80 million–$120 million. The revisions point to different trajectories among the guidance measures: the revenue and adjusted EBITDA ranges increased, while the projected range for free cash flow narrowed. The new figures follow an earlier downward revision to the annual outlook in August.
On August 4, the company cut its 2026 revenue forecast to $2.85 billion–$2.89 billion and its adjusted EBITDA forecast to $490 million–$520 million, according to Investing.com. That followed a second-quarter revenue report of $740.3 million, below analysts’ revenue estimate of $848.9 million. At the time, Chief Executive Susan Foster said, "The complexity of this transition impacted our margins," adding that this, along with an unexpected price increase from one manufacturer, prompted the company to lower its annual outlook. This context identifies the reason for the earlier revision as reported by Foster, before the company announced in its third-quarter results that it was raising its revenue and adjusted EBITDA ranges. The current quarterly figures remain mixed, with revenue beating expectations while adjusted EBITDA declined year over year.
The company’s business reshaping includes the sale of its diabetes health business to Cardinal Health for $235 million in cash, according to AdaptHealth’s July 20 announcement of the agreement. The deal is subject to customary purchase price adjustments and regulatory review. In its update accompanying the November results, the company said the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act had expired and that the deal remained targeted to close in early 2027. Completion remains subject to other regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The sale adds an important future milestone to the company’s outlook, alongside execution of its revised guidance ranges for the rest of 2026.
AdaptHealth management had set November 3, 2026, for a discussion of third-quarter results and business activity with analysts and investors on a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, according to the company’s announcement of the results date. The call follows the release of results before the market opened and comes on a day when the stock recorded the premarket gains reported by Investing.com. The discussion gives management a scheduled opportunity to present the results and business activity to investors, according to the announcement. The reported figures combine revenue growth above estimates, a larger-than-expected per-share loss and a year-over-year decline in adjusted EBITDA. The outlook update also includes higher revenue and adjusted EBITDA ranges and a lower free cash flow range.