Waystar Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
Waystar Holding Corp. (WAY) filed an SEC Form 8-K — Results of Operations and Financial Condition. Waystar Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results Q3 revenue of $325.6M, up 21% year over year Q3 net income of $31.0M and non-GAAP net income of $87.1M Q3 net income margin of 10%; adjusted EBITDA margin of 43% LEHI, Utah and LOUISVILLE, Ky., November 2, 2026 — Waystar Holding Corp. (N
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
The earnings beat and forward guidance suggest continued market share gains, which may attract momentum traders.
Market read
The release provides fresh data that can move Waystar's stock and influence the broader health‑tech sector.
What to watch
Potential volatility from non‑GAAP adjustments and cash‑flow variability could temper enthusiasm.
Waystar Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
Third-quarter revenue grew 21% year over year to $325.6 million, led by 34% growth in subscription revenue and 28% growth in provider revenue. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $139.3 million and its margin expanded to 42.8%, while the company maintained full-year revenue, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and diluted non-GAAP EPS guidance.
Key metrics
shortened, hover for the filing’s print| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue, three months ended September 30GAAP | $325.6M | – | 21% |
| Revenue, nine months ended September 30GAAP | $959.2M | – | – |
| Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization expenses), three months ended September 30GAAP | $99.20M | – | – |
| Sales and marketing, three months ended September 30GAAP | $52.00M | – | – |
| General and administrative, three months ended September 30GAAP | $51.39M | – | – |
| Research and development, three months ended September 30GAAP | $20.30M | – | – |
| Depreciation and amortization, three months ended September 30GAAP | $41.47M | – | – |
| Total operating expenses, three months ended September 30GAAP | $264.4M | – | – |
| Income from operations, three months ended September 30GAAP | $61.27M | – | – |
| Interest expense, net, three months ended September 30GAAP | −$18.18M | – | – |
| Related party interest expense, three months ended September 30GAAP | −$1.11M | – | – |
| Income before income taxes, three months ended September 30GAAP | $41.97M | – | – |
| Income tax expense, three months ended September 30GAAP | $10.94M | – | – |
| Net income, three months ended September 30GAAP | $31.02M | – | – |
| Net income margin, three months ended September 30GAAP | 9.5 % | – | – |
| Basic net income per share, three months ended September 30GAAP | 0.16 | – | – |
| Diluted net income per share, three months ended September 30GAAP | 0.16 | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA, three months ended September 30non-GAAP | $139.3M | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin, three months ended September 30non-GAAP | 42.8 % | – | – |
| Non-GAAP net income, three months ended September 30non-GAAP | $87.15M | – | – |
| Basic non-GAAP net income per share, three months ended September 30non-GAAP | $ 0.45 | – | – |
| Diluted non-GAAP net income per share, three months ended September 30non-GAAP | $ 0.44 | – | – |
| Net cash provided by operating activities, three months ended September 30GAAP | $103.9M | – | – |
| Unlevered free cash flow, three months ended September 30non-GAAP | $114.8M | – | – |
| Revenue, nine months ended September 30GAAP | $959.2M | – | – |
| Income from operations, nine months ended September 30GAAP | $217.8M | – | – |
| Net income, nine months ended September 30GAAP | $115.2M | – | – |
| Net income margin, nine months ended September 30GAAP | 12.0 % | – | – |
| Diluted net income per share, nine months ended September 30GAAP | 0.59 | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA, nine months ended September 30non-GAAP | $411.4M | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin, nine months ended September 30non-GAAP | 42.9 % | – | – |
| Non-GAAP net income, nine months ended September 30non-GAAP | $251.6M | – | – |
| Diluted non-GAAP net income per share, nine months ended September 30non-GAAP | $ 1.29 | – | – |
| Net cash provided by operating activities, nine months ended September 30GAAP | $248.2M | – | – |
| Unlevered free cash flow, nine months ended September 30non-GAAP | $269.0M | – | – |
| Net debt, September 30non-GAAP | $1.19B | – | – |
| Trailing Twelve Months Adjusted EBITDA, September 30non-GAAP | $540.6M | – | – |
| Adjusted gross leverage ratio, September 30non-GAAP | 2.7x | – | – |
| Adjusted net leverage ratio, September 30non-GAAP | 2.2x | – | – |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription revenueRevenue disaggregation reported by the company. | $180.7M | – | 34% |
| Volume-based revenueRevenue disaggregation reported by the company. | $142.9M | – | 8% |
| Provider revenueRevenue disaggregation reported by the company. | $243.4M | – | 28% |
| Patient revenueRevenue disaggregation reported by the company. | $82.2M | – | 5% |
Amounts quoted below without a unit are in thousands, as in the filing’s tables. Per-share figures are as printed.
Full fiscal year 2026 outlook
- Revenuebetween $1.277 billion and $1.287 billion
- NoteAdjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $543 million and $549 million
- NoteNon-GAAP net income is expected to be between $322 million and $337 million
- NoteDiluted non-GAAP net income per share is expected to be between $1.63 and $1.71
Capital returns
- Repurchase of common stock: $33,487 (in thousands), nine months ended September 30, 2026.
What drove it
- 1,488 clients contributed over $100,000 in LTM revenue, up 14% year-over-year.
- Net revenue retention rate was 108%.
- Third quarter 2026 subscription revenue was $180.7 million, up 34% year-over-year.
- Third quarter 2026 provider revenue was $243.4 million, up 28% year-over-year.
- Management cited robust bookings, healthy demand, client consolidation of revenue-cycle activity onto Waystar's platform, and adoption of AI-powered capabilities.
Concerns
- Third-quarter GAAP net income margin was 9.5 %, compared with 11.4 % in the prior-year quarter.
- Interest expense, net was $ (18,182) in the third quarter, compared with $ (16,613) in the prior-year quarter.
- Related party interest expense was $ (1,115) in the third quarter, compared with $ (902) in the prior-year quarter.
- Third-quarter adjustments included costs associated with a cybersecurity incident totaling $1.4 million and executive severance totaling $1.1 million.
- Nine-month unlevered free cash flow was $ 268,952, compared with $ 285,273 in the prior-year period.
What to watch
- Execution against full fiscal year 2026 total revenue guidance of between $1.277 billion and $1.287 billion.
- Execution against adjusted EBITDA guidance of between $543 million and $549 million.
- Whether subscription revenue and provider revenue retain their reported 34% and 28% year-over-year growth rates.
- Net revenue retention rate and the number of clients contributing over $100,000 in LTM revenue.
- Adjusted net leverage ratio of 2.2x and adjusted gross leverage ratio of 2.7x at September 30, 2026.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Cash and cash equivalents: $ 30,820 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 61,355 at December 31, 2025.
- Restricted cash: $ 24,161 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 15,454 at December 31, 2025.
- Investment securities: $ 246,075 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 24,877 at December 31, 2025.
- Long-term debt, net, less current portion: $ 1,374,057 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 1,394,523 at December 31, 2025.
- Net cash provided by operating activities: $ 248,187 for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $ 243,039 for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
- Purchase of property and equipment and capitalization of internally developed software costs: $ (41,359) for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $ (17,069) for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
- Net cash used in investing activities: $ (258,575) for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $ (17,069) for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
- Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities: $ (11,440) for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $ 14,805 for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
Analysis
Waystar reported third-quarter revenue of $325.6 million, up 21% year over year. The revenue disaggregation shows growth concentrated in subscription revenue, which rose 34% to $180.7 million, and provider revenue, which rose 28% to $243.4 million. Volume-based revenue grew 8% to $142.9 million and patient revenue grew 5% to $82.2 million. The company also reported 1,488 clients contributing over $100,000 in LTM revenue, up 14% year over year, and a net revenue retention rate of 108%.
GAAP profitability remained positive, with net income of $31.0 million and diluted EPS of $0.16. GAAP net income margin was 9.5 %, versus 11.4 % in the prior-year quarter. Income from operations was $61.3 million, compared with $60.2 million in the prior-year quarter, while general and administrative expense was $51.4 million versus $32.4 million and research and development expense was $20.3 million versus $12.4 million.
Non-GAAP profitability expanded. Adjusted EBITDA was $139.3 million, compared with $112.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 42.8 % from 42.0 %. Non-GAAP net income was $87.2 million, compared with $67.8 million, and diluted non-GAAP net income per share was $0.44, compared with $0.37. The reconciliation included $24.4 million of stock-based compensation, $9.6 million of acquisition, integration and transaction costs, $34.5 million of intangible amortization, and $2.5 million of other items in the third quarter.
Cash generation was $103.9 million of cash from operations and $114.8 million of unlevered free cash flow in the third quarter. For the first nine months, operating cash flow was $248.2 million, compared with $243.0 million, while unlevered free cash flow was $269.0 million, compared with $285.3 million. The company repurchased $33.5 million of common stock in the first nine months. At September 30, it held $30.8 million of cash and cash equivalents and $246.1 million of investment securities, while net debt was $1.194 billion and adjusted net leverage was 2.2x.
Waystar maintained full-year 2026 guidance for total revenue of between $1.277 billion and $1.287 billion, adjusted EBITDA of between $543 million and $549 million, non-GAAP net income of between $322 million and $337 million, and diluted non-GAAP net income per share of between $1.63 and $1.71. Management's outlook is supported by reported bookings and demand commentary, subscription-led growth and 108% net revenue retention. Items requiring attention include the lower GAAP net income margin, rising interest expense, cybersecurity-incident costs, and the pace of cash conversion after higher nine-month capitalized software and property spending.
Management, verbatim
Waystar delivered another quarter of robust bookings and healthy demand across the business.
Matt Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer of Waystar
Providers are increasingly consolidating more of the revenue cycle onto Waystar's connected platform, deepening relationships across both new and existing clients as they adopt more of our AI-powered capabilities.
Matt Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer of Waystar
We are focused on executing against the opportunities in front of us and extending our market leadership as we leverage AI and agentic capabilities to reshape the revenue cycle.
Matt Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer of Waystar
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- GAAP gross margin for the third quarter and nine-month period.
- Non-GAAP gross margin.
- Aggregate non-GAAP operating expenses.
- Quarterly dividend information.
- Prior-quarter comparisons for the reported third-quarter operating metrics.
- Prior outlook guidance, which was not provided in the documents.
- Forward guidance for gross margin, operating expenses and tax rate.
AlphAI analysis generated from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure was cross-checked against the filing text; consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.
Background
Waystar is a provider of healthcare payment software that recently highlighted AI‑driven capabilities in its platform.
Ticker impact
Waystar Holding Corp. disclosed Q3 2026 results and issued full‑year 2026 guidance in an 8‑K filing.
likely support as investors price in the strong revenue growth and upbeat guidance
The earnings release contains fresh, material numbers and forward guidance that were not public before this filing, giving traders a clear basis for a near‑term position.
Market effects
Positive earnings and guidance may lift other healthcare‑software peers.
U.S. market may see modest upside in the health‑tech segment.
Limited to U.S. and global health‑tech investors.
Counterpoint
If the guidance falls short of analyst expectations, the stock could face a sell‑off despite the revenue growth.
Key entities
- ExecutiveMatt Hawkins
CEO of Waystar who commented on the quarter's performance.
