Dive Brief:
Ascension reported a $101.2 million operating loss in the third quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, compared with a $82.6 million loss in the prior year period, as it continues to deal with the fallout from a cyberattack that hit the health system last year.
Ascension’s net income also fell year over year, from a $580.9 million gain to a $81.5 million loss. The health system brought in less investment gains and total net patient service revenue, in part due to the timing of divestitures, including the sale of nine Illinois hospitals to Prime Healthcare and three hospitals to MyMichigan Health.
Still, the system called the results an improvement, focusing on progress since the fourth quarter of 2024, when it was impacted by the cyberattack. Ascension said continued recovery efforts, as well as fair rate improvements and better management of supply costs, were critical to driving improvement.
Dive Insight:
Ascension logged a $466 million operating loss for the nine months ended March 31, compared with last year’s $238 million loss. For the nine-month period, it logged a net income of $195 million, compared with last year’s $343 million.
At a system level, Ascension showed double-digit declines year over year in patient volumes during the nine-month period. However, the system said the “most meaningful” volume comparisons were on a same-facility basis due to its portfolio restructuring. Major volume trends were down slightly year over year on a same-facility basis.
Additionally, management said most per day volumes were growing for the nine-month period, compared to the three-month period in its 2024 fourth quarter, when Ascension logged impacts from the cyberattack.
Ascension worked to cut operating expenses during the nine-month period to just under $20 billion, compared with last year’s $22.5 billion. Ascension saw improvements on total salaries, wages and benefits spend after reducing its dependence on agency staffing and increasing retention, including among nurses. Total salary spend fell 12.6% year to year, according to the release.
Despite its losses, management said the health system’s performance marked a “significant improvement” when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, when Ascension logged the impact from its cyberattack.
The cyberattack caused ripple effects for months. It forced Ascension to delay or reschedule some procedures and depressed same-facility volumes between 8% to 12% year over year on average during May and June.
The system is attempting to paint its most recent results as progress, emphasizing quarterly improvements in recurring operating income — a metric that does not include net impairment losses.
That figure has improved each quarter from a $1.4 billion loss in the fourth quarter, to a $197 million loss during the first quarter, and then a $116 million loss in the second quarter, before landing at a $68 million loss during this reporting period.
“We have seen measurable growth in same-facility revenue, patient throughput, and nurse retention—all reinforcing our operational foundation,” Saurabh Tripathi, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement about the results. “These results allow us to reinvest in critical areas, including clinical infrastructure, digital innovation, and expanded access in the communities we serve.”
