Chemed sees FY25 EPS $24.95-$25.45, consensus $24.89

VITAS 2025 revenue, prior to Medicare Cap, is estimated to increase 10.5% to 11.3% when compared to 2024. ADC is estimated to increase 8.5% to 9.0%. Full year adjusted EBITDA margin, prior to Medicare Cap, is estimated to be 18.4% to 18.9%. Medicare Cap billing limitations are estimated to be $9.5 million in calendar year 2025. Roto-Rooter is forecasted to achieve full-year 2025 revenue growth of 2.4% to 3.0%. Roto-Rooter’s adjusted EBITDA margin for 2025 is expected to be 25.7% to 26.3%. Based upon the above, full-year 2025 earnings per diluted share, excluding: non-cash expense for stock options, tax benefits from stock option exercises, costs related to litigation, and other discrete items, is estimated to be in the range of $24.95 to $25.45. This compares to full-year 2024 adjusted earnings per diluted share of $23.13. The 2025 earnings trajectory is weighted towards the second half of the year. Roto-Rooter’s revenue and associated income is expected to accelerate during the year, as Roto-Rooter management’s business improvement initiatives continue to build momentum. Additionally, the first quarter of 2024 was Roto-Rooter’s strongest quarter making for difficult comparisons at the beginning of the year. VITAS’ revenue growth and EBITDA margin, prior to Medicare Cap in the second and third quarters, will be adversely impacted by the initiatives required to moderate the impact of the Medicare Cap rate differential discussed above. The impact to the first quarter for VITAS will be mostly offset by the results of the Covenant acquisition which occurred in April 2024. The 2025 guidance assumes an effective corporate tax rate on adjusted earnings of 24.0% and a diluted share count of 14.8 million shares.