Healthcare Services: Weekly Check-Up: Hospitals and Managed Care Outperform; U.S. Health Spending Projections; Rural Health Fund Early Trends

Research evidence excerpt

Healthcare Services: Weekly Check-Up: Hospitals and Managed Care Outperform; U.S. Health Spending Projections; Rural Health Fund Early Trends

right referral sources and

implements new sales strategies. Overall, management characterized 2Q trends as

broadly consistent with the positive trends seen exiting 1Q. Management continues to

look for M&A opportunities. The company noted that the consensus estimate for 2Q

adj. EBITDA of $48 mln appears reasonable, while management expects its margin

profile to remain static from 2Q into 3Q. The fourth quarter will then be the high water

mark for margins as the company benefits from the annual hospice rate update. Looking

to its 10% top line growth target, the company said it feels comfortable with MSD

organic growth this year. It typically expects the remaining 4-5% of growth to come

from inorganic growth. The two smaller Indiana deals should provide some help, but the

company said achieving its inorganic growth objective near-term comes down to its

ability to do some larger deals. The company continues to pursue M&A opportunities

actively, and, in the meantime, is paying down debt, with management calling out

paying off another $30 mln of its revolver this quarter. (Link to Note)

CNC: Intra-Quarter Check-up; Limited Updates Since Q1 (June 22, 2026)

Holding Steady Until Wakely: We had a chance to catch up with Centene prior to the

quiet period. With how important the Wakely risk adjustment data related to the public

exchanges is and since this information will only be available at the end of June, the

company has had little engagement with the investment community since the release of

Q1 results. Given the limited communication intra-quarter, Centene emphasized it has