LifeStance Raises Full-Year Outlook After Third-Quarter Profit

The Tip Desk · November 7, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter revenue was $455.9 million, up 25%, and the company lifted full-year revenue guidance to $1.741 billion to $1.761 billion.

LifeStance Health Group (LFST), one of the nation’s largest providers of outpatient mental healthcare, reported third-quarter revenue of $455.9 million, up 25% from $363.8 million a year earlier, and raised its full-year 2026 outlook across revenue, Center Margin and Adjusted EBITDA.

Net income was $22.4 million, or $0.06 a share, compared with $1.1 million, or $0.00 a share, a year earlier. Income from operations was $33.1 million, or 7.3% of revenue, versus $7.4 million, or 2.0% of revenue.

The company said revenue growth was driven primarily by higher visit volumes from net clinician growth, improved clinician productivity, and higher total revenue per visit. Visit volumes increased 17% to 2.7 million. The clinician base rose 11% to 8,863 clinicians, a sequential net increase of 321 in the third quarter.

Center Margin grew 38% to $161.4 million, or 35.4% of total revenue, from $116.6 million, or 32.0% of revenue. Adjusted EBITDA increased 70% to $68.4 million, or 15.0% of revenue, from $40.2 million, or 11.1% of revenue. The company said Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue increased as a result of higher total revenue per visit, lower center costs as a percentage of revenue, and improved operating leverage from revenue growing faster than general and administrative expenses.

Year-over-year revenue growth eased from 26% in the second quarter, when revenue was $435.4 million, and accelerated from 21% in the first quarter, when revenue was $403.5 million. Visit-volume growth also eased from 19% in the second quarter. Sequential net clinician adds of 321 compared with 193 in the second quarter.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, LifeStance generated $170.0 million of cash flow from operations, including $37.0 million in the third quarter. Free cash flow was $22.4 million in the third quarter. The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $218.8 million and net long-term debt of $255.5 million.

LifeStance is raising full-year 2026 revenue expectations to $1.741 billion to $1.761 billion, Center Margin to $599 million to $613 million, and Adjusted EBITDA to $242 million to $250 million. Those ranges sit above the $1.685 billion to $1.725 billion revenue outlook, $570 million to $594 million Center Margin outlook, and $215 million to $235 million Adjusted EBITDA outlook issued after the second quarter.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, the company expects total revenue of $446 million to $466 million, Center Margin of $149 million to $163 million, and Adjusted EBITDA of $56 million to $64 million.

Chief Executive Dave Bourdon said the team delivered a quarter in which execution across the business drove results that exceeded the company’s expectations, and that the momentum gives the company confidence to further raise its full-year 2026 outlook across all financial metrics. He said investments in the platform, including implementation of a new EHR, are positioning LifeStance for continued success and scale.

The company opened eight new centers in the third quarter and 20 year to date, and completed one tuck-in acquisition in the third quarter and four year to date. Planning assumptions for 2026 include 20 to 30 new center openings.