DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.54 EPS

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.54, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. DaVita had a net margin of 5.65% and a negative return on equity of 325.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. DaVita updated its FY 2026 guidance to 14.100-15.200 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from DaVita’s conference call:

• DaVita raised and narrowed its 2026 guidance — adjusted operating income to $2.15B–$2.25B and adjusted EPS to $14.10–$15.20 — attributing the increase mainly to higher volume and lower patient-care costs.
• Treatment volume guidance was lifted to +25–50 bps (≈+50–75 bps normalized treatments per day) driven by better-than-forecast mortality and patient transfers from Fresenius clinic closures.
• Q1 results beat expectations with adjusted operating income of $482M, adjusted EPS of $2.87, and free cash flow of $140M; the company repurchased ~5M shares and ended the quarter with leverage at 3.34x EBITDA.
• Management is investing in data, a proprietary EMR, and AI applications (e.g., Schedule Hub) to boost productivity and clinical outcomes, but benefits are early and contributed to a ~13% increase in G&A versus prior year.
• ACA open-enrollment is trending slightly more favorable than the prior ~$40M headwind estimate, but a shift toward lower-tier bronze plans could raise patient out-of-pocket costs and modestly pressure revenue per treatment.

DaVita Stock Performance

DVA stock traded down $1.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $192.15. 805,960 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,445. DaVita has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $195.59. The firm has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.20.

Institutional Trading of DaVita

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of DaVita by 2.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,679,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,122,000 after purchasing an additional 32,358 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of DaVita by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,477,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,807,000 after purchasing an additional 71,156 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of DaVita by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,089,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,733,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of DaVita by 109.7% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 553,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,585,000 after purchasing an additional 289,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of DaVita by 1,493.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 358,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,706,000 after purchasing an additional 335,809 shares during the last quarter. 90.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of DaVita from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Truist Financial set a $158.00 price objective on shares of DaVita in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of DaVita from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of DaVita in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of DaVita from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.50.

Key Headlines Impacting DaVita

Here are the key news stories impacting DaVita this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and guidance raise — DaVita beat EPS and revenue expectations and raised FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $14.10–$15.20, which underpins the recent rally. DaVita lifts annual profit forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and bullish notes — brokers upgraded DVA (including a recent Buy) after the quarter, supporting near-term sentiment and price targets above current levels. Rating upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Buybacks and cash flow profile — management highlighted share repurchases during the quarter and strong free‑cash‑flow metrics, which help EPS upside and justify multiple expansion. Q1 results and buybacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events upcoming — CFO and IR will speak at the BofA Health Care Conference next week; useful for additional color but not a catalyst by itself. BofA conference participation
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity spiked — unusually large call volume was reported after the print, indicating elevated short‑term speculative positioning which can amplify volatility. (internal options volume report)
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q1 transcript/management commentary available — read for specifics on volume trends, reimbursement and cost outlook. Earnings transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Accounting/returns quirks — reported negative return on equity and margin metrics may concern some fundamental investors; these items add complexity when valuing the business. Market data and metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/institutional flows — recent large institutional reductions (including notable sales flagged in filings) are a potential headwind for near‑term price momentum. Institutional and insider activity

DaVita Company Profile

DaVita Inc (NYSE: DVA) is a leading provider of kidney care services, specializing in the management and operation of outpatient dialysis centers for patients with chronic kidney failure and end-stage renal disease. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the company offers a comprehensive suite of treatment modalities, including in-center hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and home dialysis therapies. In addition to its core dialysis services, DaVita provides patient education, nutritional counseling, vascular access management and related laboratory services to support kidney health and overall patient well-being.

Since its formation in the mid-1990s through a clinical management services spin-off, DaVita has expanded both organically and through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.