Key Highlights

● Third-quarter Revenue rose 26% to $4.21 billion, and adjusted EBITDA climbed 42%.

● Adjusted EPS nearly doubled to $0.54 from $0.30 a year earlier.

● The 2026 revenue outlook was raised to $15.9 billion to $16.125 billion.

● Leverage fell to 1.79 times at Sept. 30 from 2.15 times at June 30.

BrightSpring Health Services (NASDAQ:BTSG) shares were indicated at $64.06 as of 8:23 a.m. ET Friday, up 6.38%, according to a premarket movers table, and another market report listed it among the morning's premarket gap-ups. The company filed its third-quarter results at 6:05 a.m. ET Friday, ahead of an 8:30 a.m. ET conference call.

Revenue rose 26% to $4.21 billion from $3.33 billion a year earlier, according to the 8-K. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 42% to $227.8 million, income from continuing operations rose to $100.8 million from $37.5 million, and adjusted EPS nearly doubled to $0.54 from $0.30. Operating Cash Flow was $204.3 million, versus $107.9 million a year earlier.

BrightSpring also raised its 2026 guidance. It now expects revenue of $15.9 billion to $16.125 billion, growth of 23.2% to 24.9% excluding the divested Community Living business, and adjusted EBITDA of $850 million to $860 million, growth of 37.6% to 39.3%. The filing did not restate the prior ranges; in July, the company had guided to revenue of $15.1 billion to $15.425 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $820 million to $845 million.

The nine-month figures show the same trend. Revenue reached $11.7 billion, up 25%, and adjusted EPS was $1.37 versus $0.69 a year earlier. Gross Profit in the quarter rose 32% to $519 million, while corporate costs increased to $53 million from $41 million. The company completed the divestiture of its Community Living Business on March 30, and nine-month proceeds from discontinued operations totaled $810.9 million, which helped bring Leverage down.

Pharmacy is doing the heavy lifting

BrightSpring, based in Louisville, Kentucky, runs pharmacy services, including specialty and infusion pharmacy, alongside home health, hospice and other provider services. Pharmacy Solutions revenue rose 26% to $3.73 billion and segment EBITDA rose 43% to $202 million. Provider Services revenue grew 31% to $481 million, with home health average daily census rising to 47,256 from 29,980.

Prescriptions dispensed rose just 2%, to about 10.95 million, but revenue per script climbed 24% to $340.86 and gross profit per script rose 27% to $28.86, reflecting a shift toward higher-value specialty drugs. An auto-generated market note also cites seven new Limited Distribution Drug contracts, which give specialty pharmacies exclusive or narrow access to certain therapies, and an Outperform rating from a brokerage with a $70 target. Those items could not be confirmed in the company's filing.

"Our third quarter results again reflect the commitment of our team to patient care and operational execution," Chairman and Chief Executive Jon Rousseau said in the release. Leverage fell to 1.79 times at Sept. 30 from 2.15 times at June 30.

Risks and what to watch

The company expects the Acquisition of Amedisys and LHC home-health branches to add about $35 million to 2026 adjusted EBITDA. Risks include reimbursement changes in Medicare home health and hospice, pricing pressure in specialty pharmacy, and the thin gross profit per script that leaves little room for error.

BrightSpring trades on the Nasdaq and is part of the Nasdaq Composite. Its gain runs against the market: Nasdaq-100 futures were down about 2.6% as of roughly 7:56 a.m. ET, according to market quotes, on AI-spending fears tied to Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). Health-care services with company-specific news are a natural place for money rotating out of tech.

What to watch: management's commentary on the 8:30 a.m. call about specialty pharmacy launches and 2027, whether the premarket gain holds into the open, and analyst target changes after the raise.