Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Acadia Healthcare (ACHC):

• Like DaVita, but for mental health and addiction treatment centers instead of dialysis clinics.
• Encompass Health, but for mental health and addiction treatment instead of physical rehabilitation.
• HCA Healthcare, but focused exclusively on behavioral health services.

• Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment: Provides intensive, short-term care for individuals experiencing acute mental health crises, substance use disorders, and eating disorders within a hospital setting.
• Residential Treatment: Offers longer-term, structured therapeutic environments for individuals needing comprehensive behavioral healthcare services in a non-hospital residential setting.
• Outpatient Behavioral Health Services: Delivers flexible treatment options, including partial hospitalization programs (PHP) and intensive outpatient programs (IOP), for mental health and substance use disorders while allowing patients to live at home.

Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) Major Customers

• Individuals Seeking Mental Health Treatment: This category includes patients of all ages experiencing a wide range of psychiatric conditions, such as depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, trauma-related disorders, and eating disorders, requiring inpatient, residential, or outpatient care.
• Individuals Seeking Substance Use Disorder Treatment: This category encompasses patients battling addiction to alcohol, illicit drugs, or prescription medications. Treatment programs often address co-occurring mental health disorders alongside substance abuse.
• Specific Age-Based Populations with Specialized Needs: Acadia Healthcare operates facilities and programs tailored for distinct age groups, including children and adolescents (e.g., for behavioral issues, eating disorders, and trauma) and geriatric patients (e.g., for age-related mental health challenges, dementia-related behavioral disturbances, and late-life depression).

• McKesson Corporation (MCK)
• Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH)
• AmerisourceBergen Corporation (ABC)

Christopher H. Hunter, Chief Executive Officer

Chris Hunter has served as the CEO of Acadia Healthcare since April 2022. Prior to joining Acadia, he was President of the Group and Military business at Humana, a segment with over $7 billion in revenue. He also held the role of Chief Strategy Officer at Humana from 2014-2018, where he was responsible for corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and partnership activities. Before Humana, Mr. Hunter was President of Provider Markets at TriZetto, a health IT software/services firm that he helped take private in 2008. He also served on the executive leadership team at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

Todd Young, Chief Financial Officer

Todd Young was named Chief Financial Officer of Acadia Healthcare, effective October 27, 2025. He brings nearly a decade of public company CFO experience. Most recently, he served as CFO of Elanco Animal Health, where he was involved in shaping the company's strategic direction following its spin-off from Eli Lilly. Prior to Elanco, he was the CFO of Acadia Pharmaceuticals, a separate entity from Acadia Healthcare.

Tim Sides, Senior Vice President, Operations Finance

Tim Sides has served as the Senior Vice President of Operations Finance since June 2023. In this role, he oversees hospital financial teams, cash management, government reimbursement, revenue cycle, and procurement, and is involved in driving financial and operational improvements. Before this position, he was the Operations Group CFO for Acadia's Specialty line of business. His experience also includes financial leadership roles at Universal Health Services (UHS), Aurora Behavioral Healthcare, and Psychiatric Solutions (PSI).

Brian Farley, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary

Brian Farley joined Acadia in July 2023, overseeing all aspects of the company's legal affairs and serving as a strategic advisor to the executive team and Board of Directors. His responsibilities include securities law, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, litigation, labor and employment, legal compliance, and regulatory matters. Previously, Mr. Farley was Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for GoHealth, a publicly traded Medicare Advantage marketplace company, where he led the legal efforts for its initial public offering in 2020. He also held senior leadership positions at Allscripts, Motorola Mobility, and Level 3 Communications.

Nasser Khan, M.D., Chief Operating Officer

Dr. Nasser Khan is Acadia's Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Dr. Khan oversees all operational functions, including quality and clinical operations, facility operations, and admissions, to ensure patient care and growth objectives are met. He joined Acadia in 2022 as Group President of Comprehensive Treatment Centers (CTC), where he significantly grew the business. Prior to Acadia, he served as Senior Vice President, Operations at Shields Health Solutions and as Head of Program and Chief Medical Officer at Biograph Inc. He also held various operational leadership roles at DaVita, Inc.

Key Risks to Acadia Healthcare (ACHC)

Acadia Healthcare faces several significant risks to its business operations and financial performance. The most prominent include ongoing governmental investigations and litigation, substantial financial risks due to heavy debt and negative free cash flow, and intense competitive pressures within the behavioral healthcare industry.

1. Government Investigations, Litigation, and Regulatory Actions: Acadia Healthcare is currently under scrutiny from government agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, regarding its admissions, length-of-stay, and billing practices. The company incurred over $30 million in expenses related to government investigations in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Allegations have surfaced of unethical patient retention practices, with reports claiming Acadia has lured patients into its facilities and held them against their will, even when not medically necessary. There are also accusations of the company routinely extending patient stays and exaggerating symptoms to payers to secure greater reimbursement. Historically, Acadia has settled allegations of False Claims Act violations for medically unnecessary inpatient behavioral health services, paying $19.85 million to resolve claims related to improper admissions, inadequate discharges, and insufficient staffing between 2014 and 2017. Furthermore, in 2023, a jury ruled against Acadia in a civil lawsuit concerning sexual abuse at a former facility, resulting in a $405 million judgment, followed by a $400 million settlement for three related abuse cases. These investigations and legal challenges pose significant risks of substantial financial penalties, increased regulatory burdens, potential loss of contracts, and damage to the company's reputation and stock price.
2. Financial Risks (Heavy Debt and Negative Free Cash Flow): Acadia Healthcare's financial stability is challenged by a substantial debt load and negative free cash flow. The company's net leverage stands at 4.26 times EBITDA, significantly higher than the market average of 1.38 times. Its free cash flow is currently negative at -13.62%, a stark contrast to its five-year average of +2.94%. Investors have expressed concerns regarding this heavy debt and negative free cash flow, particularly as the company aggressively invests in expanding its bed capacity. Additionally, startup losses from new facilities and lower-than-expected reimbursements are contributing to shrinking profit margins.
3. Competitive Pressures: Operating in the dynamic and highly competitive behavioral healthcare sector, Acadia Healthcare faces significant competition. Key rivals include large healthcare providers such as Universal Health Services (UHS), Community Health Systems (CHS), Tenet Healthcare, and LifePoint Health. The emergence of large hospital systems and new healthcare delivery models, such as telehealth, could potentially reduce Acadia's market share. Competitors offer a diverse range of services, and larger entities with extensive acute care operations may have the capacity to offer more competitive pricing or additional integrated services.

The rapid expansion and increasing acceptance of digital-first behavioral healthcare providers, offering virtual therapy, telepsychiatry, and increasingly intensive virtual outpatient programs. This trend could fundamentally shift patient preferences and payer reimbursement strategies, potentially diverting a significant portion of the addressable market away from traditional brick-and-mortar facilities that constitute Acadia Healthcare's core business, particularly for less acute but prevalent mental health and substance abuse conditions.

Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) operates primarily within the United States and Puerto Rico, providing a wide range of behavioral healthcare services, including treatment for mental health disorders and addiction. These services are delivered across various settings such as inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics, and comprehensive treatment centers.

The addressable markets for Acadia Healthcare's main products and services in the U.S. are as follows:

• U.S. Behavioral Health Market: The U.S. behavioral health market size was valued at approximately $87.82 billion in 2024. It is projected to grow to around $132.46 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3% during the forecast period. Other estimates place the market at over $89 billion in 2024, expecting it to reach $165.4 billion by 2034 with a CAGR of 6.4%, or $92.2 billion in 2024, anticipated to hit $151.62 billion by 2034 with a CAGR of 5.1%. Another source estimates the market size at USD 64.22 billion in 2024, projected to reach approximately USD 94.83 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of 4%.

• U.S. Substance Abuse Treatment Market / Substance Use Disorder Treatment Market: The U.S. substance use disorder treatment market was valued at $35.14 billion in 2021 and is projected to increase to $60.18 billion by 2029, with a CAGR of 7.1%. More recent figures for the U.S. substance abuse treatment market indicate a value of $3.82 billion in 2024, with an estimated growth to $10.01 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of 10.11%. The U.S. addiction treatment market specifically was valued at $2.44 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach approximately $4.31 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 5.85%. Another estimate places the U.S. addiction treatment market at $1.7 billion in 2024, anticipating it to reach $4.35 billion by 2035 with a CAGR of 8.92%.
• U.S. Mental Health Services Market: The mental health services market in the U.S. generated an estimated revenue of $0.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $0.7 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 4.1%. North America, including the U.S., held over 56.4% of the global mental health market share in 2024, with the global market reaching $448.23 billion in the same year. The United States alone accounted for over 91.80% of the North American mental health market in 2024.

1. Expansion of Bed Capacity and New Facilities: Acadia Healthcare consistently focuses on increasing its bed count through various initiatives. This includes adding new beds to existing facilities, opening new wholly-owned facilities, and developing new joint venture hospitals and Comprehensive Treatment Centers (CTCs). For instance, the company expects to add 500 to 700 new beds in 2026, with average annual bed additions of 600 to 800 beds per year starting in 2026. This expansion directly increases the company's capacity to serve more patients and generate higher revenue.

2. Increased Patient Volume and Demand for Behavioral Healthcare Services: Growth in patient days and overall volume is a significant driver, stemming from the sustained demand for behavioral healthcare services across various treatment settings. The company's acute inpatient psychiatric facilities and comprehensive treatment centers have shown strong contributions to revenue growth. Management remains optimistic about strong patient demand, despite some pressures on Medicaid volumes.

3. Increases in Revenue per Patient Day and Strategic Pricing: Acadia Healthcare has successfully implemented rate improvements and price increases, which have contributed to its same-facility revenue growth. This focus on optimizing revenue per patient day is a consistent factor in the company's financial performance.

4. Improved Operational Efficiencies and Optimization of Existing Facilities: While not a direct revenue driver, efforts to enhance operational efficiencies, improve recruitment and retention of talent, and optimize the performance of existing facilities are crucial for sustaining revenue growth. The company is implementing strategic measures to address operational challenges and improve overall performance, which indirectly supports increased patient volumes and profitability.

Share Repurchases

• Acadia Healthcare's Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for up to $300 million of its outstanding common stock on February 28, 2025.
• In the second quarter of 2025, the company repurchased 103,939 shares for $3.2 million, bringing year-to-date repurchases to 1,706,625 shares for a total of $50.4 million.

Share Issuance

• There have been no significant share issuances reported in the last 3-5 years. The number of common shares outstanding has seen a slight decrease, from 92,289,068 as of February 28, 2024, to 92,258,166 as of November 4, 2025, likely influenced by share repurchases.

Outbound Investments

• In October 2024, Acadia Healthcare acquired three opioid treatment program clinics in South Carolina, marking its debut in the state's opioid treatment landscape.
• In March 2024, the company completed the acquisition of three comprehensive treatment centers in North Carolina.
• In January 2021, Acadia completed the sale of its U.K. operations, which included 345 facilities, allowing the company to focus solely on its U.S. operations.

Capital Expenditures

• Acadia Healthcare's capital expenditures (LTM - Last 12 Months) were $66.5 million as of May 1, 2024.
• The company's revised capital expenditure guidance for 2025 is $610-$630 million, with a focus on expansion (expected $495-$535 million) and maintenance/IT (expected $105-$115 million).
• Acadia plans to reduce its capital expenditures by at least $300 million in 2026 compared to the revised 2025 guidance, as part of a strategy for more disciplined growth and capital efficiency. The company added over 1,700 beds across 2024 and 2025 year-to-date and plans to add another 500 to 700 beds in 2026.