As the Q3 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the senior health, home health & hospice industry, including Addus HomeCare (NASDAQ:ADUS) and its peers.

The senior health, home care, and hospice care industries provide essential services to aging populations and patients with chronic or terminal conditions. These companies benefit from stable, recurring revenue driven by relationships with patients and families that can extend many months or even years. However, the labor-intensive nature of the business makes it vulnerable to rising labor costs and staffing shortages, while profitability is constrained by reimbursement rates from Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. Looking ahead, the industry is positioned for tailwinds from an aging population, increasing chronic disease prevalence, and a growing preference for personalized in-home care. Advancements in remote monitoring and telehealth are expected to enhance efficiency and care delivery. However, headwinds such as labor shortages, wage inflation, and regulatory uncertainty around reimbursement could pose challenges. Investments in digitization and technology-driven care will be critical for long-term success.

The 7 senior health, home health & hospice stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.8%.

While some senior health, home health & hospice stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 4% since the latest earnings results.

Addus HomeCare (NASDAQ:ADUS)

Founded in 1979, Addus HomeCare (NASDAQ:ADUS) provides personal care services, hospice care, and home health services aimed at supporting individuals with daily living activities, chronic condition management, and end-of-life care.

Addus HomeCare reported revenues of $289.8 million, up 7% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with EPS in line with analysts’ estimates and a slight miss of analysts’ sales volume estimates.

Commenting on the results, Dirk Allison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Addus delivered another strong financial and operating performance for the third quarter of 2024, highlighted by 7.0% top line growth and 11.1% growth in Adjusted EBITDA compared to the third quarter of 2023. These results reflect the consistent favorable growth trends we have delivered to date in 2024, driven by solid organic growth and the contribution from recent acquisitions. Demand for our services continues to fuel our growth, reflecting a greater awareness of the value of home-based care as the preferred and most cost-effective option for many individuals. With our expanding scale and market coverage, Addus is well positioned to meet this demand with our ability to offer home-based services across the care continuum.

The stock is down 9.7% since reporting and currently trades at $116.46.

Read our full report on Addus HomeCare here, it’s free.

Best Q3: Option Care Health (NASDAQ:OPCH)

Founded in 1979, Option Care Health (NASDAQ:OPCH) delivers home and alternate site infusion therapy services, specializing in the administration of medications and care for patients with chronic and acute conditions.

Option Care Health reported revenues of $1.28 billion, up 17% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year revenue guidance beating analysts’ expectations.

However, the results were likely priced into the stock as it’s traded sideways since reporting. Shares currently sit at $30.64.

Is now the time to buy Option Care Health? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: Chemed (NYSE:CHE)

Founded in 1970, Chemed (NYSE:CHE) provides hospice care and plumbing services through its subsidiaries VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter, respectively, focusing on end-of-life care and residential and commercial plumbing solutions.

Chemed reported revenues of $606.2 million, up 7.4% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

Chemed delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The stock is down 10.6% since the results and currently trades at $546.02.

Read our full analysis of Chemed’s results here.

Brookdale (NYSE:BKD)

Founded in 1978, Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD) offers independent living, assisted living, Alzheimer's and dementia care, rehabilitation, and skilled nursing care.

Brookdale reported revenues of $784.2 million, up 3.5% year on year. This result met analysts’ expectations. More broadly, it was a softer quarter as it produced a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

The stock is down 28.2% since reporting and currently trades at $4.64.

Read our full, actionable report on Brookdale here, it’s free.

AdaptHealth (NASDAQ:AHCO)

Founded in 2012, AdaptHealth Corp. (NASDAQ:AHCO) provides home medical equipment and related services, specializing in respiratory therapy, diabetes management supplies, mobility products.

AdaptHealth reported revenues of $805.9 million, flat year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but full-year revenue guidance slightly missing analysts’ expectations.

AdaptHealth had the slowest revenue growth and weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is down 9.8% since reporting and currently trades at $9.15.

Read our full, actionable report on AdaptHealth here, it’s free.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

Join Paid Stock Investor Research

Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here.