Brookdale Occupancy Gain Accelerates After a Slow Quarter
Third-quarter weighted average occupancy reached 83.1%, up 130 basis points from a year earlier, after a 230-basis-point year-over-year lift in the second quarter.
Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (BKD) reported third-quarter 2026 weighted average consolidated occupancy of 83.1%, a 130-basis-point increase from a year earlier.
That year-over-year lift was smaller than the 230-basis-point gain the senior-living operator posted in the second quarter, when occupancy reached 82.4%. Sequentially, however, the pace picked up. Consolidated weighted average occupancy rose 70 basis points from the second quarter, after a 30-basis-point sequential increase in that prior period. Same-community weighted average occupancy also rose 70 basis points sequentially in the third quarter. Both sequential measures outperformed the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care stabilized senior housing market for the same period.
Month-end occupancy stood at 84.6% at the end of September 2026. Same-community month-end occupancy was 84.9%.
The sequential step-up in both consolidated and same-community occupancy is the quarter’s defining turn: after a modest 30-basis-point sequential gain in the second quarter, the operator posted a 70-basis-point sequential increase in both measures in the third. Those sequential results outperformed the NIC stabilized senior housing market for the same period.
The portfolio continued to shrink. As of September 30, 2026, Brookdale operated 529 communities across 41 states with capacity for approximately 45,000 residents, down from 541 communities and about 46,000 residents as of June 30, 2026. In the second-quarter results, total average units were 42,820, down 15.7% from a year earlier.
In that same second-quarter release, consolidated revenue per available unit rose 8.2% year-over-year to $5,497, and adjusted EBITDA was $122 million. Chief Executive Officer Nick Stengle said the company remained on track for 2026 guidance of 8% to 9% RevPAR year-over-year growth and $502 million to $516 million in adjusted EBITDA. The company had also received about $150 million of cash proceeds for communities sold in 2026 to date, refinanced remaining 2027 mortgage maturities, and agreed to acquire 17 currently leased communities for about $157 million.
Occupancy at the end of September left the company with 529 communities and capacity for approximately 45,000 residents. Same-community month-end occupancy was 84.9%. The sequential 70-basis-point lift in both consolidated and same-community weighted average occupancy, after a 30-basis-point sequential gain in the second quarter, is the operating turn highlighted against the NIC stabilized market.