Hospice growth is expected to swell for Addus HomeCare Corporation (Nasdaq: ADUS) as the company makes deeper investments in technology and reignites its acquisition activity.

The home health, hospice and personal care provider’s strategic plans have focused on improving clinical capacity and operational efficiency.

The company’s strategy has long hinged on expansion in geographic areas where it can overlap its three services, Addus Chairman and CEO Dirk Allison said during an earnings call on Tuesday. Leveraging this strategy has led to solid hospice growth and several opportunities on the horizon, Allison indicated.

“We’ve been very pleased by the continuing growth in our hospice segment over the past several quarters as a result of our operational improvements,” Allison said. “We’re always interested in home health in overlapped markets where we can put them together with personal care and hospice. It’s part of our overall strategy that we’ve been following for a number of years now.”

Launched in 1979, Texas-based Addus’ more than 33,000 employees provide care across 265 locations in 23 states.

Addus’ net service revenues reached $362.3 million during the third quarter, increasing by 25% year over year. Hospice represents 19% of the company’s business, with the remainder made up by its personal care and home health segments.

Addus’ hospice segment contributed $68.9 million, up from $57.3 million year over year.

The company’s hospice growth was fueled by increases in average daily census, admissions and lengths of stay.

Hospice organic growth revenue rose 19% compared to the prior year’s quarter. Same-store hospice average daily census (ADC) volumes rose to 3,872 patients in Q3, seeing a 9.5% year-over-year increase. The company’s median length of hospice stay reached 30 days.

The company’s hospice growth is in part a result of investments in technology aimed at improving efficiency and transitions of care, according to newly appointed Addus President Heather Dixon, who also serves as the company’s COO. Dixon recently stepped into the role upon the retirement of Brad Bickham, which will take effect in March 2026.

Addus has integrated an electronic medical record system that helps to connect patients with the appropriate services. The “bridging” program was rolled out over the past 12 months across the company’s markets in Illinois, New Mexico and Tennessee. Addus has seen an uptick of more than 25% in its hospice admissions in these regions as a result of the bridge program. The company anticipates launching the app across its operation in Texas as well.

The new system also allows staff more virtual connection with patients and families. The app has improved clinical capacity and led to more balanced scheduling and efficient care delivery, Dixon indicated.

“That bridging program we put in place [is] to make sure patients are receiving care in the right setting and the right level of care,” Dixon said. “We’re seeing success from that bridge program to drive the right referrals from home health into hospice. We do see a lot of positive momentum in that hospice business. We’ve seen that building and we would expect it to continue.”

In addition to the technology investments, Addus has increased its sales and marketing efforts to build stronger community and referral relationships, Dixon said. Stronger execution of staff onboarding and training will also play a key role in sustainable hospice growth as its patient census swells.

The company’s adjusted EBITDA reached $45.1 million in the third quarter, up by 31.6% compared to the same period last year. The growth has allowed Addus the “flexibility” to pursue strategic and evaluate acquisition opportunities on the horizon, Allison said.

Addus has returned to the hospice merger and acquisition market after a temporary cooling period due to high valuations in the space.

The company recently expanded in its home state with the acquisition of Del Cielo Home Care Services for $7.4 million, which completed on Oct. 1. The personal care provider served roughly 700 patients across Texas and had annualized revenues of roughly $12.5 million.

The company this fall acquired Helping Hands Home Care Service Inc. for $21.3 million, a provider of personal care, home health and hospice across three Pennsylvania locations. The agency has annualized revenues of $16.7 million, and its more than 500 employees serve roughly 600 patients per day. The acquired assets fueled 6.6% in organic revenue growth in Addus’ personal care segment during Q3 of 2025.

These acquisitions, along with its $350 million purchase of Gentiva’s personal care segment last year, have propelled Addus’ growth trajectory across each of its business lines. Following the acquisition of Gentiva’s operations, Texas became the company’s second largest geographical market for its personal care business.

New Mexico and Tennessee represent two key geographic areas of recent hospice expansion for Addus. The company anticipates a “similar dynamic to develop in Illinois,” in its overlapping home health and hospice operations, Allison said.

More acquisition opportunities in other overlapping geographic service regions are on the horizon, according to Brian Poff, executive vice president and CFO at Addus.

“We would always be interested in hospice, but probably at a little lower price point,” Poff said. “There is some benefit to us and how [home health] feeds into or works with personal care and hospice. So, if there’s opportunities on the home health side, probably on the smaller side in markets where we’re overlapping [services].”