ACHC vs ARDT vs FMS Stock Comparison

Acadia Healthcare Company, Ardent Health and Fresenius Medical Care AG Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ARDT Ardent Health, Inc.
$15.89 +48.8% 1M +8.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.45B
P/E
16.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.45B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Fresenius Medical Care AG leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Fresenius Medical Care AG 6, Acadia Healthcare Company 3, Ardent Health 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACHCARDTFMSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.35B $2.45B $6.83B FMS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -3.0x 16.8x 7.1x FMS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.1x 17.3x 10.0x FMS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% +2.0% -49.1% ACHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -33.1% 2.3% 8.7% FMS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -24.6% 9.5% 0.2% ARDT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.5x 0.6x 2.6x ACHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +68.0% +8.3% -2.5% ACHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.6%/yr — -7.8%/yr FMS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 65.0% 64.0% 31.2% FMS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 25/100 65/100 49/100 ARDT

Percentile Scorecard

ACHCARDTFMS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACHCARDTFMS
Valuation 44 #54 of 95 99 #2 of 95 97 #4 of 95
Growth 3 #85 of 88 33 #59 of 88 13 #77 of 88
Profitability 19 #71 of 87 71 #26 of 87 63 #33 of 87
Financial Health 33 #67 of 100 60 #41 of 100 35 #65 of 100
Shareholder Returns – 64 #22 of 60 39 #37 of 60
Overall 25 65 49
  • ACHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ARDT ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • FMS ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACHCARDTFMSSPY
1 month +19.6%+48.8%+5.4% -5.9%
3 months +13.1%+37.2%-1.9% -4.6%
6 months +42.0%+60.5%+9.2% +0.2%
Year to date +144.8%+80.0%-0.8% +7.5%
1 year +68.0%+8.3%-2.5% +8.2%
3 years -52.7%—+39.4% +68.3%
3 years, per year -22.1%—+11.7% +19.0%
5 years -45.9%—-33.4% +56.5%
5 years, per year -11.6%—-7.8% +9.4%
10 years -6.9%—-41.9% +251.5%
10 years, per year -0.7%—-5.3% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureACHCARDTFMSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 65.0%64.0%31.2% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.2%74.6%36.1% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.660.570.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.050.13-0.08 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -86.9%-61.2%-63.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.4%0.0%-8.1% -5.9%
52-week high $35.61$15.89$25.71 $779.14
52-week low $11.68$7.83$20.19 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACHCARDTFMS
P/E now vs peer median -2.8xmedian 24.8x 15.3xmedian 24.8x 7.2xmedian 24.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.6x 0.3xmedian 1.6x 0.6xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -6.2xmedian 15.9x 5.0xmedian 15.9x 5.1xmedian 15.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median -135.3xmedian 20.9x 7.9xmedian 20.9x 1.8xmedian 20.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 3.3x 1.3xmedian 3.3x 0.4xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.01median 0.88 —median 0.88 0.28median 0.88

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACHCARDTFMS
Revenue $3.41B $6.45B $11.04B
Gross profit – – -$5.60B
Operating income – – $764.13M
Net income -$1.12B $194.40M $1.26B
Free cash flow -$23.86M $282.30M $3.62B
R&D – – $183.51M
EPS (diluted) $-12.29 $1.03 $3.12
Cash & equivalents $163.31M $766.24M $1.25B
Total debt $2.35B $1.10B $8.69B
Shares (diluted) 91.75M 141.70M 306.26M
Enterprise value $2.73B -$355.25M -$773.85M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACHCARDTFMS
P/E -2.8x 15.3x 7.2x
P/FCF -135.3x 7.9x 1.8x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 4.6x 2.0x
P/S 0.9x 0.3x 0.6x
P/B 1.6x 1.3x 0.4x
P/Tangible book 1.7x 1.3x 0.5x
EV/EBITDA -6.2x 5.0x 5.1x
EV/EBIT -5.0x 7.5x 17.8x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 0.4x 1.2x
EV/FCF -227.1x 9.1x 3.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.0x 5.3x 4.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.01 – 0.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACHCARDTFMS
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% 2.0% -49.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.0% – -19.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – -203.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – -45.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) – – -54.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – -17.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -1,044% -16.1% 24.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -350.5% – 20.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -1,137% -28.9% 18.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -294.4% – 25.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -29.8% 31.4% 19.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -20.0% – 7.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 93.1% 79.3% 81.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -31.5% – 22.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACHCARDTFMS
Gross margin – – -50.7%
EBITDA margin -25.6% 8.0% 24.0%
Operating margin – – 6.9%
Pretax margin -31.7% 4.5% 14.7%
Net margin -33.1% 2.3% 8.7%
FCF margin -0.7% 4.4% 32.8%
Operating cash flow margin 6.9% 7.5% 30.3%
Return on equity -56.1% 13.1% 2.0%
Return on assets -20.2% 4.3% 0.9%
Return on invested capital -24.6% 9.5% 0.2%
Return on capital employed -21.6% 8.0% 2.9%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.2x 2.5x 2.7x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACHCARDTFMS
Debt / assets 42.3% 20.5% 24.4%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.6x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.5x 0.6x 2.6x
Debt / FCF -98.6x 3.9x 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 63.6% 66.6% 56.3%
Equity / assets 36.4% 33.4% 43.7%
Interest coverage – 6.5x 1.7x
Current ratio 1.6x 2.1x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.4x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.8x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.41 2.21 1.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACHCARDTFMS
Dividend yield – – 3.6%
Net buyback yield – 0.5% -5.7%
Shareholder yield – 0.5% -2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACHCARDTFMS
Forward P/E 22.1xFY2026 17.3xFY2026 10.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.57FY2026 $0.92FY2026 $2.36FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -21.5%FY2026 -4.2%FY2026 -6.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.3% +19.6% +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.53BFY2026 $6.84BFY2026 $21.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.5%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 -7.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.9% +1.4% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACHCARDTFMS
Held by institutions 100.0% 76.4% 14.0%
Institutions holding 314 137 237
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +1.4% -2.9%
Institutions buying 165 87 153
Institutions selling 98 36 41
Buyers to sellers 1.68 2.42 3.73

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACHCARDTFMS
ACHC 1.00 0.27 0.12
ARDT 0.27 1.00 0.18
FMS 0.12 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACHC, ARDT and FMS?

Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) $3.35B, Ardent Health (ARDT) $2.45B, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) $6.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACHC, ARDT and FMS?

Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -3.0x, Ardent Health (ARDT) 16.8x, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) 7.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) is cheapest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) 22.1x, Ardent Health (ARDT) 17.3x, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) 10.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) +4.5%, Ardent Health (ARDT) +2.0%, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) -49.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) has the highest net margin (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -33.1%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 2.3%, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) 8.7%). On return on invested capital, Ardent Health (ARDT) leads (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -24.6%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 9.5%, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) 0.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) returned the most: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) +68.0%, Ardent Health (ARDT) +8.3%, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) -2.5%. Over five years, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) compounded fastest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -11.6%/yr, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) -7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) has been the steadiest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) 65.0%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 64.0%, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) 31.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACHC, ARDT and FMS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Fresenius Medical Care AG (FMS) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.