By Emily Dattilo

Shares of Acadia Healthcare were plunging after the healthcare provider turned in disappointing quarterly results and guidance after markets closed Thursday.

Acadia stock dropped 21% to $31.70 in premarket trading Friday. Healthcare peers also traded lower, with Universal Health Services down 3% and HCA Healthcare falling 3.6%.

For its fourth quarter, Acadia reported adjusted earnings of 64 cents a share, missing Wall Street's call for 71 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue of $774.2 million was below the consensus estimate of $779 million.

"The continued momentum in our business allowed us to achieve record annual revenue of $3.2 billion," said CEO Chris Hunter in the earnings release. "These results reflect the robust demand for our behavioral healthcare services and our ability to expand our capacity and meet this demand across the care continuum."

For its first quarter, the company expects revenue of $765 million to $775 million, while analysts had forecast $822.6 million.

For 2025, the company anticipates revenue of $3.3 billion to $3.4 billion, while analysts had penciled in $3.44 billion.

For the three-year period beginning in 2026, the company forecasts 7% to 9% average annual revenue growth.

Write to Emily Dattilo at emily.dattilo@dowjones.com

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February 28, 2025 09:10 ET (14:10 GMT)

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