DaVita beats third-quarter earnings forecasts and lifts the floor of its 2026 guidance
Revenue of $3.58B topped the $3.54B expected, but the ceilings on profit guidance and the free cash flow range were left as they were.
Chart: DVA, one-minute prices, three sessions
DaVita beat third-quarter forecasts and raised the bottom of its 2026 profit guidance, but left the top where it was, so the outlook has tightened rather than risen. Earnings per share came in at $3.82, $0.18 above expectations, on revenue of $3.58B against the $3.54B analysts had expected.
The guidance changes are modest. Adjusted operating income is now expected at $2,175 million to $2,250 million, against $2,150 million to $2,250 million before. Adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance moved to $14.30 to $15.20 from $14.10 to $15.20. Each range gained $25 million or $0.20 at the low end and nothing at the high end.
That is a narrowing toward the upper half, and it is a more cautious message than a raise across the range would have been. Management has taken the weaker outcomes off the table without committing to a stronger one. A raised outlook matters more than a quarter that beat, and this one is raised only at its edge.
Free cash flow guidance did not move at all. It stays at $1,000 million to $1,250 million, so the beat has not yet fed into the company's cash outlook. It is the one guidance line left untouched, and whether it is lifted later in the year is the question to watch.
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