Waystar Beats Q2 Revenue Views, Raises 2026 Guidance

Waystar Holding Corp. (WAY) beat second-quarter revenue estimates and raised its full-year guidance, driven by higher transaction volumes across its healthcare payment platform.

The company reported adjusted revenue of $235.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, above the $232.5 million consensus compiled by Bloomberg. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $95.8 million, with a margin of 40.7%.

“We saw broad-based strength across our payer, provider, and patient segments,” CEO Matt Hawkins said on the earnings call. “The volume trends that started in Q1 accelerated through the spring.”

Waystar now expects full-year 2026 adjusted revenue between $955 million and $960 million, up from a prior range of $940 million to $950 million. The new guidance midpoint of $957.5 million is ahead of the $948.1 million analysts had modeled. Adjusted EBITDA guidance was lifted to a range of $395 million to $400 million, implying a margin of about 41.5% at the midpoint.

The raised outlook reflects confidence in the underlying demand for Waystar’s revenue-cycle management software, Hawkins said. Hospital systems and large physician groups have been adding its eligibility verification, claims processing, and patient payment tools to reduce administrative costs.

“We are seeing larger enterprise deals close, and the pipeline for the back half of the year is as strong as we have ever had,” he added.

CFO Steven Oreskovich said the company’s net revenue retention rate remained above 115% in the quarter, a metric that tracks existing customer spending. Waystar added 43 new clients in the period, including two health systems with more than 5,000 beds each.

“The growth is coming from both new logos and deeper penetration of our existing accounts,” Oreskovich said. “We are not seeing any change in buying behavior from the hospital sector.”

Waystar’s stock has risen about 18% year to date through Monday’s close. The company went public in June 2024 at $21.50 a share.

Shares rose 4.3% in after-hours trading following the release.

Morgan Stanley analyst Craig Hettenbach asked on the call about the pace of implementation for new clients, a factor that can delay revenue recognition. Hawkins said the company has added deployment staff and shortened the average go-live timeline to 45 days from 60 days a year ago.

“The bottleneck used to be on the provider side,” Hawkins said. “We are investing ahead of the curve so that capacity is not an issue.”

Waystar’s Alpha Score of 48 out of 100 carries a Mixed label, reflecting balanced fundamentals in the industrials sector. The score incorporates revenue growth, margin trends, and valuation relative to peers.

For the third quarter, Waystar guided adjusted revenue of $240 million to $242 million, above the $237.8 million consensus. Adjusted EBITDA is expected between $100 million and $102 million. The company reports next on Nov. 3.