AVAH vs CHE: How Aveanna Healthcare and Chemed Corporation Compare (2026)

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.

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.

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. AVAH and CHE 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 AVAH and CHE 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.

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.

Full AVAH guide

Chemed Corporation runs two entirely unrelated businesses under one holding company. VITAS Healthcare, roughly two-thirds of revenue, is a leading provider of end-of-life hospice and palliative care, drawing well over 90% of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid per-diem payments. Roto-Rooter, the remaining third, is the largest US provider of plumbing, drain cleaning, and water-damage restoration, serving both residential and commercial customers through company-owned operations and franchises. The two segments share little operationally but together produce steady consolidated cash flow that management returns via buybacks and a small dividend.

Full CHE guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AVAH drivers: State Medicaid rate increases versus caregiver wages; Preferred payer agreements and government affairs.
• CHE drivers: VITAS hospice demand and aging demographics; Reduced Medicare Cap drag.

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: 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. For CHE, vITAS derives the large majority of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid, so reimbursement rate changes, the annual per-patient Cap, and policy shifts can materially affect results.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AVAH if you believe its drivers more; CHE if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AVAH and CHE guides.

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.

CHE. Chemed posted 2025 revenue of about $2.53 billion (up ~4%) with net income near $265 million, and Q1 2026 consolidated revenue of roughly $657 million split about $420 million VITAS and $237 million Roto-Rooter. The stock traded near $480 in early July 2026, giving a market cap around $6 billion and a trailing P/E in the low-20s. Management raised full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to roughly $23.25 to $24.25.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): 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; CHE shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.5B, net income (fy2025) ~$265M, free cash flow (fy2025, after capex) ~$325M, 2026 adjusted eps guidance ~$23.25-$24.25.

AVAH and CHE 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 AVAH and CHE exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.