Acadia Healthcare is on track to add 500 to 600 beds this year, according to Zacks Investment Research. Of those, 240 were already open by the end of June.

Beds are the raw material of this business. Acadia, which Reeve B. Waud founded in 2005 and still chairs, had about 12,600 of them across 279 facilities as of June 30.

The First 240

Two joint venture hospitals opened in the second quarter, a 144-bed facility in Florida and a 96-bed facility in Iowa. Zacks named the partners as Orlando Health and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital.

The Iowa hospital, in Council Bluffs, was designed with 24 beds for children and adolescents and backed by more than $55 million in combined investment. Chris Hunter, Acadia’s CEO at the time, said the hospital “will increase lifesaving services for individuals and families in the region.” Methodist cited a shortfall of more than 300 inpatient behavioral health beds across Iowa and Nebraska when it announced the project in 2023, with Reeve B. Waud’s company signed on as its partner.

The Florida hospital, at 144 beds, is the larger of the two. Smaller sites count toward the total, too. A 16-bed adolescent treatment center opened in Chantilly, Virginia, in March.

From Beds to Earnings

New beds don’t fill overnight. Zacks reported that Acadia expects its newer facilities to add about $200 million in adjusted EBITDA, compared with 2025 levels, as they mature.

CEO Debbie Osteen said in July that the company planned to “build upon our leadership position in the behavioral healthcare industry and continue expanding access to quality care for our patients” in the second half. Acute inpatient volume was up 5.5% year over year in the second quarter.

Zacks also reported $124 million in second-quarter free cash flow, with $113 million going toward debt.

Less Spending, More Cash

Adding beds hasn’t meant a bigger capital budget. The 2026 range was lowered in July to $235 million to $255 million, from $255 million to $280 million. Second-quarter capital spending was $38.6 million, compared with $167.7 million a year earlier.

Cash went the other way. Acadia raised its 2026 operating cash flow forecast to $350 million to $400 million, from $285 million to $325 million.

Acadia ended 2025 with 277 facilities and more than 12,500 beds. Reeve B. Waud, who also runs Waud Capital Partners, has chaired the board through that build-out. The November 4 earnings release will show how many more beds came online over the summer.