ADUS vs AVAH: How Addus HomeCare Corporation and Aveanna Healthcare Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
ADUS and AVAH are similarly sized, but AVAH trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (12.22x vs 15.43x): the market is paying up for ADUS's profile and pricing AVAH more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
ADUS vs AVAH: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | ADUS | AVAH | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.16B | $2.07B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 15.43 | 12.22 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 21.27 | 7.72 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.88 | 1.92 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 75% of range | 81% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 1.89 | 8.57 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: AVAH is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how ADUS and AVAH affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ADUS and AVAH share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ADUS and AVAH exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Addus HomeCare Corporation (ADUS) do?
Addus HomeCare Corporation provides in-home care to elderly, chronically ill, and disabled people through three segments: personal care (help with bathing, dressing, meals, and daily activities), hospice (end-of-life care), and home health (skilled nursing and therapy). Personal care is by far the largest piece at roughly 77% of revenue and is funded predominantly by state Medicaid programs, while hospice and home health are largely Medicare-funded. The company operates across many states with heavy concentration in markets like Illinois, New Mexico, and Texas, and has grown for years through a steady stream of acquisitions, most recently a large personal care deal that lifted 2025 revenue sharply.
What does Aveanna Healthcare (AVAH) do?
Aveanna Healthcare Holdings runs home and community care across 39 states, with concentrations in Texas, Pennsylvania and California. The largest business by far is Private Duty Services, which supplies skilled private duty nursing, therapy, school nursing and personal care to medically complex and chronically ill children, and which produced ~$536 million of the ~$648 million of first-quarter 2026 revenue. A smaller Home Health and Hospice segment (~$67 million in the quarter) serves mostly elderly patients and is paid by Medicare, and a Medical Solutions segment (~$46 million) delivers enteral nutrition and related products. Gross margins differ sharply by segment: ~27.9% in private duty nursing, ~53.7% in home health and hospice, ~44.7% in medical solutions, so mix shifts move the consolidated number.
ADUS vs AVAH: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- ADUS drivers: Aging demographics and shift to home; Personal care volume and rate growth.
- AVAH drivers: State Medicaid rate increases versus caregiver wages; Preferred payer agreements and government affairs.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The largest risk is reimbursement concentration: personal care depends heavily on state Medicaid budgets and hospice and home health on Medicare, so rate cuts, budget shortfalls, or eligibility changes in key states can pressure revenue and margins directly. For AVAH, payer concentration is the dominant risk: with ~81% of revenue tied to Medicaid and Medicaid managed care, a single adverse state budget or rate freeze reaches the income statement directly, and the Medicaid funding changes in the 2025 federal tax law leave states with less room to be generous.
ADUS or AVAH: which should you pick?
ADUS vs AVAH: the full fundamentals
ADUS. Addus trades at a low-20s trailing earnings multiple, reflecting a steady, profitable services operator rather than a high-growth name. First quarter 2026 revenue of roughly $363.6 million missed some estimates while adjusted EPS beat, and net income rose about 18% year over year. The 2025 revenue jump was driven mostly by a large personal care acquisition, so underlying organic growth runs closer to mid-single digits.
AVAH. Fiscal 2025 GAAP net income of ~$225.0M is not a clean earnings number: pre-tax income was only ~$106.9M, and the difference came mostly from a non-cash tax benefit tied to releasing a deferred tax valuation allowance, which is why a trailing P/E on AVAH looks far cheaper than the business is. Enterprise value to adjusted EBITDA is the more comparable frame, and near 10x it prices Aveanna between slower Medicare home health peers and faster-growing home and community platforms. Second-quarter 2026 results are scheduled for August 13, 2026, and the figures above predate them.
Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): ADUS shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.44B, fy2025 revenue ~$1.42B (up ~23%), q1 2026 revenue ~$363.6M (up ~7.7%), q1 2026 adjusted eps ~$1.62 (up ~14%); AVAH shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.52B through Q1 2026 (fiscal 2025 was ~$2.43B), q1 2026 results Revenue ~$647.9M (+15.9%), net income ~$41.7M (~$0.19 diluted), adjusted EBITDA ~$84.4M (+25.2%), fy2026 guidance Revenue ~$2.63B to ~$2.65B, adjusted EBITDA ~$338M to ~$342M, debt and leverage ~$1.48B total indebtedness and ~$189M cash at April 4, 2026 (~$1.29B net debt, near 4x guided adjusted EBITDA) before the ~$175.5M cash-funded acquisition.
The bottom line: ADUS vs AVAH
ADUS and AVAH are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ADUS and AVAH exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how ADUS or AVAH fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Addus HomeCare Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how ADUS fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between ADUS and AVAH?
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Addus HomeCare Corporation provides in-home care to elderly, chronically ill, and disabled people through three segments: personal care (help with bathing, dressing, meals, and daily activities), hospice (end-of-life care), and home health (skilled nursing and therapy). Aveanna Healthcare Holdings runs home and community care across 39 states, with concentrations in Texas, Pennsylvania and California. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is ADUS or AVAH the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, ADUS or AVAH?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), ADUS trades at 15.43x and AVAH at 12.22x, so AVAH is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both ADUS and AVAH?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of ADUS vs AVAH?
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ADUS: The largest risk is reimbursement concentration: personal care depends heavily on state Medicaid budgets and hospice and home health on Medicare, so rate cuts, budget shortfalls, or eligibility changes in key states can pressure revenue and margins directly. Proposed Medicaid or Medicare funding changes at the federal level are a recurring overhang. The business is labor-intensive, so caregiver wage inflation, turnover, and staffing shortages can squeeze already thin margins. Integration risk and the use of debt for acquisitions add execution and balance-sheet sensitivity. Finally, regulatory and compliance exposure across many states and government payers means audits, documentation requirements, and policy shifts are an ongoing part of the model. AVAH: Payer concentration is the dominant risk: with ~81% of revenue tied to Medicaid and Medicaid managed care, a single adverse state budget or rate freeze reaches the income statement directly, and the Medicaid funding changes in the 2025 federal tax law leave states with less room to be generous. Leverage magnifies that, since net debt near ~$1.3 billion at the end of the first quarter (before the cash-funded Family First purchase) sits at roughly four times guided adjusted EBITDA against only ~$240 million of book equity. Caregiver supply is the operating constraint, and wage inflation running ahead of rate increases compresses the spread quickly, as the ~8.1% private duty cost rate increase in the first quarter showed. Aveanna has been responding to Department of Justice matters since October 2019, including antitrust grand jury subpoenas covering nurse wages, reimbursement rates and hiring in certain markets, and a 2023 civil investigative demand regarding its Comfort Care Hospice subsidiary, both of which the company says it cannot predict the outcome of. Finally, ~$1.12 billion of goodwill on ~$2.02 billion of assets means an impairment cycle would take book equity negative again, as it was as recently as 2024.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell ADUS or AVAH; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.