Healthcare · Profile from Healthcare Research Companion
DaVita Inc.
The Denver-based kidney care company that, with Fresenius Medical Care, runs most of America's outpatient dialysis clinics. DaVita was rescued from near-bankruptcy in 1999 by Kent Thiry, who rebuilt it around a quasi-religious "Village" culture, a roll-up of clinics, and a business model in which a small minority of commercially insured patients pays for much of the profit that Medicare's fixed rates do not. It tried to become a broad integrated care company by buying HealthCare Partners in 2012, then sold that business to UnitedHealth's Optum in 2019. Along the way it paid repeated federal settlements over kickbacks, drug wastage and Medicare Advantage coding, fought and won three California ballot campaigns, beat a criminal antitrust case, and became one of Warren Buffett's longest-held investments.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1994, as Total Renal Care, through the spin-off of National Medical Enterprises' (later Tenet Healthcare's) dialysis business; renamed DaVita in October 2000
- Founders
- Formed from NME's dialysis unit with DLJ Merchant Banking as a key owner; Victor Chaltiel was chairman and CEO of Total Renal Care. The modern company is usually dated to Kent Thiry's arrival as chairman and CEO in October 1999
- Headquarters
- Denver, Colorado (moved from Torrance/El Segundo, California, in 2009–2010)
- Ownership / structure
- Public company, NYSE: DVA (IPO as Total Renal Care in 1995). Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder (~41–45% in 2025–26, reported) under an agreement that caps its stake at 45%
- Leadership (2026)
- Javier Rodriguez, CEO (since 2019); Joel Ackerman, CFO; Kent Thiry, CEO 1999–2019 and executive chairman until 2020 (verify current titles)
- Segment
- Provider: outpatient, home and hospital dialysis; integrated (value-based) kidney care; international dialysis
- Payer and patient
- Medicare (most patients), Medicare Advantage (growing since 2021), Medicaid, and commercial insurers (a minority of patients but a large share of profit); patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD)
- Scale
- ~293,200 patients in 3,247 outpatient centres (2,662 US, 585 in other countries) at September 30, 2025 (reported); >78,000 "teammates"; 2025 revenue ~$13.6bn (reported)
- Capital / market cap
- Self-funded through operations and heavy debt; ~$1.0bn free cash flow and ~$1.8bn of buybacks in 2025 (reported); share count cut by more than half over a decade of buybacks; market cap roughly ~$10–15bn in 2025–26 (verify)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Thiry turnaround and rename (1999–2000); Gambro Healthcare (2005); HealthCare Partners (2012); kickback and drug-wastage settlements (2014–15); charitable premium assistance and California ballot fights (2016–22); sale of DaVita Medical Group to Optum (2019); no-poach criminal case and acquittal (2021–22); integrated kidney care and Mozarc Medical (2022–23); Berkshire repurchase agreement (2024); ransomware attack (2025)
10 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1999
Thiry Turnaround and DaVita Rename
Restructuring / turnaround / rebrand
2005
Gambro Healthcare Acquisition
Acquisition
2012
HealthCare Partners Acquisition
Acquisition / diversification
2014
Kickback and Wastage Settlements
Regulatory settlement (series)
2016
Premium Assistance and Ballot Fights
Policy, litigation and political strategy
2019
DaVita Medical Group Sale to Optum
Divestiture / CEO succession
2021
No Poach Indictment and Acquittal
Regulatory / criminal antitrust defence
2022
Integrated Kidney Care and Mozarc
Value-based care launch / partnership (joint venture)
2024
Berkshire Repurchase Agreement
Capital allocation / shareholder agreement
2025
Ransomware Attack
Cybersecurity crisis and response