By Nate Wolf
Shares of DaVita soared Tuesday after the kidney dialysis company breezed past quarterly earnings expectations.
The company posted adjusted earnings of $3.40 a share for the fourth quarter, ahead of analysts' consensus estimate of $3.24, according to FactSet. Revenue totaled $3.6 billion, up 9.9% from the year before and above Wall Street's call for $3.5 billion.
DaVita shares jumped 25% to $139.11 on Tuesday. The stock needed a jolt after falling 24% in 2025 as treatment volumes declined and Berkshire Hathaway, DaVita's largest shareholder, sold off shares. Berkshire retains an interest of 43% in DaVita.
Looking ahead, DaVita expects adjusted operating income of $2.16 billion at the midpoint of its guidance range in 2026. That figure is up from $2.09 billion in 2025 and a tick above analysts' forecast of $2.14 billion.
Investors will pay close attention to DaVita's organic volume growth in the year ahead. Normalized treatment volume, excluding acquisitions, fell 0.6% from the prior year each of the last two quarters and hasn't risen since the second quarter of 2024.
"Management continues to see path back to +2% non-acquired volumes growth, a key potential catalyst for DVA," analysts at TD Cowen wrote in a research note. The firm, which has a Hold rating and a $133 price target on DaVita stock, is skeptical the company can achieve that 2% target within the next couple of years.
Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com
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February 03, 2026 11:16 ET (16:16 GMT)
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