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Here are 1-2 brief analogies to describe Ardent Health:

• Like Marriott, but for hospitals.
• A smaller, regional version of HCA Healthcare.

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• Acute Care Hospital Services: Providing a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical care through their network of hospitals.
• Physician Services: Offering primary and specialty care, including consultations, diagnostics, and treatments, through employed and affiliated physician practices.
• Emergency Services: Delivering immediate medical attention for urgent and critical conditions via hospital emergency departments.

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Ardent Health (symbol: ARDT) primarily sells its healthcare services directly to individuals. As a hospital operator and healthcare provider, its major customers are the patients who receive medical care through its network of hospitals, physician clinics, and urgent care centers. These customers can be broadly categorized as:

• Patients Requiring Acute and Inpatient Hospital Care: These include individuals admitted to Ardent's hospitals for serious illnesses, injuries, complex surgeries, emergency medical conditions, or other treatments that necessitate an overnight stay and intensive medical attention.

• Patients Utilizing Outpatient and Ambulatory Services: This category encompasses individuals who visit Ardent's facilities for services that do not require an overnight hospital stay. This includes appointments at physician clinics, urgent care visits, diagnostic imaging (e.g., X-rays, MRIs), laboratory tests, physical therapy, and various other specialized outpatient procedures and consultations.

• Patients Seeking Specialized Programs and Chronic Disease Management: This group includes individuals participating in specific health programs such as maternity care, behavioral health services, rehabilitation, or those receiving ongoing, coordinated care for chronic medical conditions through Ardent's integrated health systems.

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Marty Bonick, President & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Bonick has served as President and CEO of Ardent Health Services since 2020. He has nearly 25 years of healthcare leadership experience across for-profit, non-profit, public, and privately held companies. Prior to Ardent, he was CEO of PhyMed Healthcare Group, a national provider of anesthesia and pain management services, where he drove significant growth organically and through acquisitions. He also served as a Division President at Community Health Systems (CHS), overseeing a $4.5 billion portfolio of 36 hospitals, and was CEO of Jewish Hospital and Senior Vice President of Operations for Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Healthcare. Mr. Bonick began his career at Hillcrest HealthCare System, which Ardent Health Services acquired in 2004 during his tenure. Ardent Health Services is one of the largest private health systems in the U.S. and was backed by Equity Group Investments and Ventas Inc. at the time of his appointment, indicating a pattern of managing companies with private equity involvement.

Alfred Lumsdaine, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Lumsdaine joined Ardent Health Services as CFO in 2021. With over 30 years of healthcare finance experience, he provides financial oversight and develops long-range financial plans. Before Ardent, he was Executive Vice President and CFO for Quorum Health from 2018 to 2021, where he oversaw financial operations for 22 acute care hospitals and led a major financial restructuring that significantly reduced company debt. Prior to Quorum Health, he was President of Population Health for Sharecare and spent five years as CFO for Tivity Health (formerly Healthways) before its acquisition by Sharecare, demonstrating experience with companies involved in acquisitions. He began his career at Ernst & Young, focusing on healthcare in the external audit practice. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

FJ Campbell, MD, Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Campbell has been with Ardent since 2017. Prior to joining Ardent, he served as the Vice President of Chief Medical Services at Community Health Systems (CHS) from 2014 to 2017. He also previously held the role of Chief Medical Officer for CareSpot Express Healthcare.

Steve Petrovich, Chief Legal Officer

Mr. Petrovich has been with Ardent since its formation in 2001 and previously served as general counsel for its predecessor company, Behavioral Health Corporation. Before that, he was chief litigation counsel for Charter Behavioral Health Systems and maintained a private legal practice specializing in general litigation, anti-trust, employment, and healthcare regulatory matters.

Carolyn Schneider, Chief Human Resources Officer

Ms. Schneider joined Ardent in 2021. She previously served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Corizon Health, a prison healthcare contractor. Ms. Schneider has extensive experience working in the private equity-backed and investor-owned health system sectors.

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• Accounting Adjustments and Legal Scrutiny: Ardent Health recently disclosed significant adverse accounting adjustments in Q3 2025, including a $43 million reduction in revenue and a $54 million increase in professional liability reserves related to prior period claims and ongoing litigation. These revelations led to a substantial decline in the company's stock price and prompted investigations by shareholder rights law firms into potential securities law violations and material weaknesses in internal controls regarding revenue recognition and liability reserves. This situation has also brought to light concerns about payer denials and reimbursement pressure.

• Legislative and Reimbursement Risks: The company is exposed to significant legislative risks, particularly concerning potential cuts to government healthcare programs like Medicaid and Medicare. A substantial portion of Ardent Health's net patient service revenue is derived from these programs (40.5% from Medicare and 10.2% from Medicaid in Q1 2025). Legislative changes, such as proposed spending bills impacting Medicaid funding, introduce considerable uncertainty and can negatively affect the company's financial performance.

• Staffing and Labor Shortages: Ardent Health faces ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified healthcare professionals, including nurses, physicians, and management personnel. Increased competition for skilled labor and a general shortage of experienced nurses could adversely impact the company's ability to operate efficiently and deliver services.

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Clear Emerging Threats for Ardent Health (ARDT):

• Accelerated Shift to Lower-Cost, Outpatient Care Settings: Advances in medical technology, less invasive procedures, and persistent payer pressures for cost containment are driving a significant and growing migration of procedures, diagnostics, and even certain types of surgeries from traditional, expensive inpatient hospital settings to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), outpatient clinics, and physician offices. This trend directly threatens the utilization and revenue streams of Ardent's core business of acute care hospitals, as patients and payers increasingly favor the convenience and lower cost of these alternative sites of care where clinically appropriate.
• Expansion of Integrated Retail and Payer Health Ecosystems: Major retail corporations (e.g., CVS Health, Walgreens, Walmart) and large health insurers (e.g., UnitedHealth Group's Optum) are aggressively building and acquiring extensive direct-to-consumer health services networks. These ecosystems encompass primary care clinics, urgent care centers, specialty practices, and home health services, aiming to manage patient care comprehensively within their own integrated systems. This development introduces powerful new competitors that can divert patient volume, referrals, and market share away from independent hospital systems like Ardent, particularly for less acute conditions, primary care, and ongoing chronic disease management.

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Ardent Health (symbol: ARDT) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key strategies:

1. Increased Patient Volumes: Ardent Health anticipates continued growth in patient volumes, specifically through adjusted admissions and surgeries. The company reported a 3.8% year-over-year increase in adjusted admissions in Q3 2024 and a significant 9.0% increase in Q4 2024. In Q2 2025, admissions grew 6.6% year-over-year, driven by a 9.2% increase in inpatient surgeries. For the full year 2025, Ardent Health projects adjusted admissions growth between 2.0% and 3.0%. This growth is supported by Ardent's strong positions in growing mid-sized urban markets and an aging patient population, which is expected to continue driving demand for healthcare services.

2. Higher Net Patient Service Revenue per Adjusted Admission: The company expects to increase revenue through improved pricing and reimbursement rates. Ardent Health's full-year 2024 guidance projected net patient service revenue per adjusted admission growth of 2.3% to 4.4%. In Q2 2025, the company saw a 10.2% year-over-year growth in net patient service revenue per adjusted admission. This trend is expected to continue, with full-year 2025 guidance forecasting an increase between 2.1% and 4.4% in net patient service revenue per adjusted admission. Strategic initiatives also include optimizing payer contracts to enhance margins.

3. Strategic Expansion of Outpatient Services and Acute Care Facilities: Ardent Health is actively pursuing an ambulatory growth strategy and opportunistic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to expand its footprint and service offerings. The company plans to open additional urgent care and imaging centers, complementing recent acquisitions. This expansion beyond traditional hospital settings, particularly in outpatient services, is aimed at generating new revenue streams and positioning the company for value-based care. Ardent's strategic priorities emphasize driving market share within its existing footprint and expanding its outpatient and acute care hospital presence.

4. State Directed Payment Programs and Operational Efficiencies: The approval and renewal of state-directed payment programs, such as the New Mexico Directed Payment Program (DPP), are significant contributors to revenue. The New Mexico DPP was retroactively approved in November 2024 for the second half of 2024, providing a substantial benefit to total revenue. Its renewal for the full calendar year 2025 is a positive development that will continue to support revenue. Additionally, Ardent Health is focused on operational excellence and margin improvement initiatives, including supply chain optimization and cost management, which are expected to lead to sustainable profitable growth and free up resources for further investment.

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Share Issuance

• Ardent Health went public in July 2024, raising $192 million in its initial public offering (IPO) by selling 12 million shares at $16 each.
• After accounting for options granted to underwriters, the proceeds generated $209 million.
• The proceeds from the IPO are expected to be allocated towards debt repayment and future acquisitions, with a particular focus on expanding ambulatory services and outpatient sites of care.

Inbound Investments

• Equity Group Investments (EGI) remains a significant shareholder following Ardent Health's IPO in July 2024, having acquired a majority stake in the company in 2015.
• In February 2022, Ardent completed a sale-leaseback transaction with Ventas, a related party REIT shareholder, selling 18 medical office buildings for $204 million.
• Ardent Health has leveraged capital from private investors, public markets, a UAE minority investment, and a real estate investment trust.

Outbound Investments

• In January 2025, Ardent Health acquired 18 urgent care clinics across New Mexico and Oklahoma from NextCare Urgent Care.
• The company acquired nine additional urgent care centers in its East Texas and Topeka, Kansas, markets in 2024.
• Ardent's strategy includes expanding its footprint in ambulatory care through acquisitions and growing its portfolio of joint ventures.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures are expected to range from $215 million to $235 million for the full year 2025.
• A primary focus for capital expenditures is investing in ambulatory assets, including both mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and de novo developments, to increase outpatient access points.
• Capital investment also targets new service lines, equipment, and technology to expand offerings.