Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (ACHC)

Acadia Healthcare Company is the leading publicly traded pure-play provider of behavioral healthcare services in the United States. Its strategy is to become the indispensable behavioral healthcare provider for patients with high-acuity and complex needs. It pursues five growth pathways: expanding existing facilities, joint ventures, de novo facilities, acquisitions, and expansion across the continuum of care. At December 31, 2024, it operated 262 facilities with approximately 11,850 beds in 39 states and Puerto Rico. During 2024 it added 776 beds, including 312 at existing facilities and 464 through four wholly-owned facilities and one joint venture facility, and opened nine comprehensive treatment centers. It also acquired Turning Point Centers, a 76-bed substance use and mental health provider in Salt Lake City. Revenue was $3,154.0 million in 2024 and $2,928.7 million in 2023.

Its facilities fall into four categories, with outpatient programs included in each. Acute inpatient psychiatric facilities stabilize patients who are a threat to themselves or others, with 24-hour observation and psychiatrist monitoring. Specialty treatment facilities include residential recovery and eating disorder facilities, offering detoxification, inpatient, partial hospitalization, outpatient and medication-assisted treatment for addictive and co-occurring mental disorders. Comprehensive treatment centers (CTCs) provide outpatient medication-assisted treatment, primarily for opioid addiction, combining medication with behavioral therapy. Residential treatment centers treat children and adolescents with behavioral disorders in non-hospital settings, including group homes and therapeutic group homes with accredited educational programs. Excluding CTCs, about 56% of facilities are acute inpatient psychiatric, 35% are specialty treatment and 9% are residential treatment centers. The company operates 163 CTCs, 21 owned and 142 leased.

Patients are served across a diversified payor base. In 2024, 56.5% of revenue came from Medicaid, 26.0% from commercial payors, 14.2% from Medicare and 3.3% from other payors. Medicaid payments come from 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. No facility accounted for more than 4% of revenue and no state or territory for more than 14%. Management cites growing prevalence of mental illness and substance use disorders, mental health parity laws and increased insurance access as favorable demand trends. It pursues a national marketing strategy to attract patients and referral sources, including out-of-state referrals.

For facilities other than CTCs, 91% of beds are in owned properties and 9% in leased ones. Maintenance capital expenditures were about 3% of revenue in 2024, since behavioral care does not require expensive medical equipment. The industry is highly fragmented, and the company says it benefits from its scale and an experienced management team. Its facilities are subject to licensing, certification, certificate of need laws and audits, and most inpatient and residential facilities hold Joint Commission or CARF accreditation. The company is financed through a credit facility with a $600.0 million revolver and a term loan, which was increased by $350.0 million of incremental term loans in 2024. Its stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under "ACHC," and its headquarters are in Franklin, Tennessee.