Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
The business carries its own weight: Aveanna is, by its own account, the largest U.S. provider of home-based pediatric intensive nursing, operating income rose to $256.5 million in fiscal 2025, operating cash flow went from $32.6 million to $125.9 million, and equity is positive again at $240.1 million — no threat to the going concern is documented anywhere. Two operational questions remain open. First, the turn is only a year old and the headline earnings power is flattered: $118.1 million of the $225.0 million of net income came from a one-time tax benefit, leaving $0.60 rather than $1.05 per share on an adjusted basis. Second, the company does not set its own prices — 81.5 percent of fiscal 2025 revenue came from Medicaid, and 11.4 of the 22.4 percentage points of growth in the nursing segment came from higher state rates. On top of that sit $1,483.4 million of debt and a balance sheet in which roughly 60 percent of assets are goodwill and intangibles. That is not a threat to substance, but it is not proven quality either — hence yellow. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Aveanna Healthcare is the gift card trap in pure form: fiscal 2025 net income of $225.0 million looks like a breakthrough, but $118.1 million of it came from a one-time tax benefit on pre-tax income of only $106.9 million — the company itself reports $0.60 rather than $1.05 per share. Underneath sits a documented operating turn all the same: adjusted EBITDA up 74.8 percent to $320.9 million, operating cash flow from $32.6 million to $125.9 million, the average interest rate down from 9.0 to 7.3 percent. Against that stand 81.5 percent of revenue tied to Medicaid, $1,483.4 million of debt against $240.1 million of equity, and 6,513,687 new shares in a single quarter. Not investment advice.
Earnings quality
Of the $225.0 million of fiscal 2025 net income, $118.1 million came from an income tax benefit created by releasing valuation allowances; pre-tax income was $106.9 million. The company itself reports $0.60 adjusted against $1.05 reported per diluted share. In the first quarter of 2026 the effect disappeared — $0.19 reported against $0.18 adjusted.
Operating turnaround
Adjusted EBITDA rose 74.8 percent in fiscal 2025 to $320.9 million (13.2 percent of revenue, up from 9.1 percent), operating cash flow went from $32.6 million to $125.9 million and the operating margin from 6.9 to 10.5 percent. The first quarter of 2026 continued that with 15.9 percent revenue growth and 25.2 percent EBITDA growth.
Payer concentration
81.5 percent of fiscal 2025 revenue came from Medicaid and 91.4 percent from public programs; a year earlier the Medicaid share was 79.9 percent. The annual report cites the Congressional Budget Office projection of $1.15 trillion less federal Medicaid spending over ten years and the 1.3 percent CMS rate cut for 2026.
Balance sheet and funding
$1,483.4 million of debt against $240.1 million of equity and $189.3 million of cash as of April 4, 2026; roughly 60 percent of total assets are goodwill and intangibles. Against that stand real improvements: repayment of the $415.0 million second lien loan in September 2025, a 0.50 percentage point repricing on May 26, 2026, and an average rate of 7.3 percent rather than 9.0 percent.
Dilution
In the first quarter of 2026 the share count rose by 6,513,687 to 217,510,046 for $269,000 of cash received; by May 8, 2026 it stood at 217,755,203. As of January 3, 2026 there were also 12,995,652 options at an average exercise price of $6.41 and 15,617,361 restricted stock units outstanding — a good 13 percent of the count.
Valuation
The headline price-earnings ratio of 7.5 rests on reported trailing twelve-month earnings of $1.26 per share and therefore on the tax benefit; on the adjusted fiscal 2025 basis it is about 16 and on the analyst estimate about 12. Enterprise value of roughly $3.29 billion equals 9.6 to 9.7 times the 2026 EBITDA guidance (as of July 25, 2026).
Worth Noting
Aveanna reached our research list at rank 42 of the U.S. selection in our in-house Big Earnings Surprise ranking (81 hits, RS rating 65, as of July 25, 2026). The filter requires reported earnings per share to have exceeded the analyst estimate by at least 20 percent in each of the last four completed quarters. The lists are recalculated daily, so the rank is a dated snapshot.
An important distinction: the scanner's earnings surprises refer to adjusted earnings per share, while the $118.1 million tax benefit sits only in the reported figure. Metrics from screening tools built on reported trailing twelve-month earnings of $1.26 per share — above all the price-earnings ratio of 7.5 — are distorted as a result.
Fiscal 2025 covered 53 weeks rather than 52 and ended January 3, 2026; the final quarter had 14 weeks rather than 13. Growth rates from that period (20.2 percent for the year, 27.4 percent for the fourth quarter) are therefore not directly comparable with the 15.9 percent of the normal-length first quarter of 2026.
Two events have occurred since the last quarterly report and are reflected in this article: the repricing of May 26, 2026 ($1,318.375 million of term loans at Term SOFR plus 3.25 percent) and the completion of the Family First Homecare acquisition on June 1, 2026 for $175.5 million in cash.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at AVAH since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 6.20 $ to 14.40 $ · Last price: 14.00 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Medical Care Facilities
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc AVAH | 3.0 | 10.7 | 14.9 | 32.0 | 11.2 | 20.2 | 72.9 |
| HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA | 95.2 | 15.2 | 9.0 | 42.6 | 15.0 | 7.1 | 8.2 |
| Tenet Healthcare Corporation THC | 22.6 | 14.0 | 5.8 | 41.7 | 17.9 | 3.1 | 42.8 |
| Encompass Health Corp EHC | 12.2 | 21.3 | 9.8 | 43.9 | 19.0 | 10.5 | -0.2 |
| DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc DVA | 11.7 | 18.1 | 8.9 | 32.4 | 13.9 | 6.5 | 43.0 |
| Universal Health Services Inc UHS | 10.9 | 7.9 | 5.5 | 44.6 | 11.2 | 9.7 | -3.1 |
| The Ensign Group Inc ENSG | 10.2 | 29.2 | 19.3 | 16.6 | 9.0 | 18.7 | 5.6 |
| Chemed Corp CHE | 6.7 | 29.8 | 15.7 | 33.1 | 12.9 | 4.1 | 11.2 |
| PACS Group, Inc. PACS | 6.5 | – | 20.3 | 17.3 | 8.5 | 29.3 | 274.9 |
| Median of companies shown | 10.9 | 16.7 | 9.8 | 33.1 | 12.9 | 9.7 | 11.2 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1,254 | 39 | -47 | -0.26 | 22 | 345 | 1,551 |
| 2019 | 1,384 | 39 | -77 | -0.41 | -9 | 271 | 1,578 |
| 2020 | 1,495 | -3 | -57 | -0.31 | 117 | 267 | 1,844 |
| 2021 | 1,679 | -36 | -117 | -0.63 | -11 | 638 | 2,334 |
| 2022 | 1,788 | -642 | -662 | -3.57 | -48 | -4 | 1,712 |
| 2023 | 1,895 | 8 | -135 | -0.71 | 23 | -127 | 1,613 |
| 2024 | 2,025 | 140 | -11 | -0.06 | 33 | -122 | 1,663 |
| 2025 | 2,433 | 265 | 225 | 1.05 | 122 | 194 | 2,026 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | 0.01 | 150.00 | 505 | 7.00 | 2.80 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024: Q3 | 0.02 | 166.70 | 509 | 6.50 | -8.40 | 29 | 27 |
| 2024: Q4 | 0.05 | 350.00 | 520 | 8.60 | 5.60 | 13 | 12 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.10 | 433.30 | 559 | 14.00 | 0.90 | -9 | -11 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.16 | 1,500.00 | 590 | 16.80 | 4.60 | 52 | 50 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.06 | 200.00 | 622 | 22.20 | 2.30 | 33 | 31 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.17 | 240.00 | 663 | 27.40 | 27.00 | 50 | 44 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.18 | 80.00 | 648 | 15.90 | 6.40 | 4 | 0 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.18 | 12.50 | 671 | 13.70 | 6.00 | 81 | 81 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 14 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Backtested Scanners
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
Momentum & Trend
- Above the 50- & 200-SMA
- Gary Antonacci: Dual Momentum (Stock Adaptation)
- Power Trend
- Strength on Stress Days
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 0.82 | 0.78 – 0.86 | 2,693 | 37.3% | 11 |
| 12/31/2027 | 0.91 | 0.82 – 0.96 | 2,899 | 10.1% | 11 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 6.2% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $165.8M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.97B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $302.7M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 53.7% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 2.5% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Kein wesentlicher KI-Bezug: In den sechs ausgewerteten Filings (2 × 10-K, 4 × 10-Q) kommt künstliche Intelligenz ausschließlich als allgemeiner Risikohinweis auf die Nutzung generativer KI durch Beschäftigte und Dienstleister vor — kein KI-Produkt, keine KI-Umsatzquelle, kein belegter operativer KI-Einsatz und keine konkrete Bedrohung des eigenen Geschäftsmodells (häusliche Kranken- und Kinderpflege).
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„As with many technological innovations, artificial intelligence (“AI”) presents opportunities but also risks and challenges that could adversely affect our business."
Wie viele technische Neuerungen bringt künstliche Intelligenz („KI“) Chancen mit sich, aber auch Risiken und Herausforderungen, die unser Geschäft beeinträchtigen könnten.
10-K · 2026-03-19 · View SEC filing
„These obligations may prevent or limit our ability to use systems that have integrated AI features, lead to regulatory fines or penalties, or require us to change our business practices."
Diese Pflichten können unsere Möglichkeit einschränken oder verhindern, Systeme mit eingebauten KI-Funktionen zu nutzen, zu Bußgeldern oder Strafen der Aufsicht führen oder uns zwingen, unsere Geschäftspraktiken zu ändern.
10-K · 2026-03-19 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-05-14 · 10-K 2026-03-19 · 10-Q 2025-11-06 · 10-Q 2025-08-07 · 10-Q 2025-05-08 · 10-K 2025-03-13
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 10.8%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -72.7%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year 5.0%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 24.9%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 33.1%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 55.3%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 4.8 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 98 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 16.6%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 5.8%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
4/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 9.9%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 9.2%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 31.5%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% -6.9%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 5.0x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 5
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
- Return on equity > 15% –
- ROCE > 15% 16.6%
- Expected return > 10% -3.3%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2026 | J.H. Whitney Equity Partners VII, LLC | 10% Owner | Sell | 2,250,000 | 11.50 | 25,875,000 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | Williams Robert M Jr | 10% Owner | Sell | 2,250,000 | 11.50 | 25,875,000 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | Vigano Paul R | 10% Owner | Sell | 2,250,000 | 11.50 | 25,875,000 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | J.H. Whitney Equity Partners VII, LLC | 10% Owner | Sell | 1,426,034 | 11.50 | 16,399,391 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | J.H. Whitney Equity Partners VII, LLC | 10% Owner | Sell | 957,918 | 11.50 | 11,016,057 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | J.H. Whitney Equity Partners VII, LLC | 10% Owner | Sell | 10,112,125 | 11.50 | 116,289,438 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Williams Robert M Jr | 10% Owner | Sell | 190,130 | 11.50 | 2,186,495 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Williams Robert M Jr | 10% Owner | Sell | 1,426,034 | 11.50 | 16,399,391 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Williams Robert M Jr | 10% Owner | Sell | 1,813,795 | 11.50 | 20,858,643 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Williams Robert M Jr | 10% Owner | Sell | 957,918 | 11.50 | 11,016,057 |
The company
About the Company
Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc., a diversified home care platform company, provides pediatric and adult healthcare services in the United States. Its patient-centered care delivery platform allows patients to remain in their homes and minimizes the overutilization of high-cost care settings, such as hospitals or skilled nursing facilities. The company operates through three segments: Private Duty Services (PDS), Home Health & Hospice (HHH), and Medical Solutions (MS). The PDS segment offers private duty nursing (PDN) services, which include in-home skilled nursing services to medically complex children and adults; nursing services in school settings in which its caregivers accompany patients to school; services to patients in its pediatric day healthcare centers; and non-clinical care, including support services and personal care services; and in-clinic and home-based therapy services, such as physical, occupational, and speech services. The HHH segment provides home health services, including in-home skilled nursing services; physical, occupational, and speech therapy services; and medical social and aide services, as well as hospice services for patients and their families when a life-limiting illness no longer responds to cure-oriented treatments. The MS segment offers enteral nutrition supplies and other products, including formulas, supplies, and pumps to adults and children delivered on a periodic or as-needed basis. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Employees
- 3,500
- Headquarters
- Atlanta, GA
- Address
- 400 Interstate North Parkway SE, 30339 Atlanta, United States
- Phone
- 770 441 1580
- Website
- aveanna.com
- IPO Date
- 04/28/2021
- ISIN
- US05356F1057
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Rodney D. Windley | Executive Chairman | 1948 |
| Jeffrey S. Shaner | President, CEO & Director | 1973 |
| Matthew Buckhalter | CFO & Principal Financial Officer | 1989 |
| Ed Reisz | Chief Administrative Officer | 1959 |
| Kristy Rohwedder | Chief Operating Officer | – |
| Deborah Stewart | Senior VP & Principal Accounting Officer | 1984 |
| Patrick A. Cunningham | Chief Compliance Officer | 1956 |
| Jerry Perchik | Chief Legal Officer & Secretary | 1958 |
| Shane Brinkerhoff | President of Home Health & Hospice | – |
| Rachel Witt | Chief Clinical Officer | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/24/2026 Aveanna Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AVAH): Other Events; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/13/2026 Aveanna Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AVAH): Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/13/2026 Aveanna Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AVAH): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/07/2026 Aveanna Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AVAH): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.