DaVita China Impairment Cuts Third-Quarter Profit

The Tip Desk · October 30, 2026 · 3 min read

Operating income fell to $499 million as a $62 million China write-down hit the quarter, and diluted earnings were $3.40 a share.

DaVita Inc. (DVA), the kidney-care company, reported operating income of $499 million, or a 14.0% margin, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, down from $579 million, or a 16.3% margin, in the prior quarter. Adjusted operating income was $561 million, or a 15.7% margin.

The dialysis operator recognized a $62 million non-cash goodwill and other asset impairment related to its China business. The charge reduced operating income; after a $1 million tax benefit and a $34 million noncontrolling-interest credit, the net income impact attributable to DaVita was $27 million.

Consolidated revenues were $3.578 billion, up from $3.554 billion in the second quarter. Diluted earnings were $3.40 a share, down from $4.02. Adjusted diluted earnings were $3.82 a share.

U.S. dialysis treatments totaled 7,329,644, or an average of 92,780 per day, a 0.1% per-day increase versus the second quarter. Normalized non-acquired treatment growth was 0.4% versus the year-ago quarter.

Revenue per treatment was $415.25, down $0.62 from $415.87. The company said the quarter-over-quarter revenue change was primarily driven by normal fluctuations, partially offset by an increase in average reimbursement rates and improvements in payor mix.

Patient care costs per treatment rose to $280.22 from $277.40. The company attributed the quarter change primarily to increased medical supplies expenses. General and administrative expense fell to $316 million from $331 million, primarily due to decreased professional fees.

U.S. dialysis operating income was $544 million, up from $538 million. International operations posted a $16 million operating loss, compared with a $25 million profit in the prior quarter. Integrated kidney care revenue was $144 million, down from $162 million. Corporate administrative support expenses were $26 million.

Operating cash flow was $519 million and free cash flow was $276 million, up from $490 million and $256 million in the second quarter.

The company repurchased 0.6 million shares for $111 million at an average price of $186.21 a share, down from 2.2 million shares for $348 million at $154.95 in the prior quarter. After September 30 through October 27, it bought another 0.5 million shares for $87 million at an average of $180.57 a share.

As of September 30, DaVita provided dialysis services to about 298,100 patients at 3,269 outpatient centers, including 2,671 in the United States and 598 in 14 countries. Risk-based integrated care arrangements covered about 80,800 patients and approximately $6.4 billion in annualized medical spend, up from 64,900 patients and $5.8 billion at June 30. An additional 3,100 patients were in other integrated care arrangements not included in that spend estimate.

For full-year 2026, the company raised adjusted operating income guidance to $2,175 million to $2,250 million from $2,150 million to $2,250 million. Adjusted diluted net income per share guidance moved to $14.30 to $15.20 from $14.10 to $15.20. Free cash flow guidance was unchanged at $1,000 million to $1,250 million.

Normalized treatment days for the third quarter were 79.2, versus 78.8 in the year-ago quarter. Average treatments per normalized day were 92,546. U.S. dialysis receivables were $1.684 billion, with days sales outstanding of 51.