Why Guardian Pharmacy Services Stock Was on a Tear Tuesday

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE: GRDN) was a stock ideal for ailing portfolios on the second trading day of the week. Thanks largely to better-than-expected annual guidance in its latest quarterly earnings report, the company's shares were motoring more than 7% higher in mid-session trading. That performance was notably better than the 0.3% advance of the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).

A solid business strategy

Guardian's third quarter prominently featured a robust (20%) year-over-year increase in revenue, which came in at over $377 million. That was on the back of a 13% rise in total residents served; this amounted to 204,000.

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As for profitability, the specialty healthcare company's net income not according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was $15.7 million. The year-ago result was at or around breakeven, which management doesn't consider material, as that period's net income only amounted to the three days prior to its initial public offering (IPO).

Citing data compiled by Zacks, the Associated Press reported that the average analyst estimate for Guardian's third-quarter revenue was $354 million. The company also notched a slight beat on earnings, as those pundits as a group were expecting $0.24 per share.

Guardian management was clearly in a triumphant mood with this performance. It quoted CEO Fred Burke as saying that it shows "the power of our model -- combining local clinical and business expertise with the scale and resources of our national platform."

Adjustments to full-year outlook

With that undoubtedly in mind, Burke and his team raised their revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance for full-year 2025.

The new outlook for the former line item is $1.43 billion to $1.45 billion for the period, where previously it was $1.39 billion to $1.41 billion. As for adjusted EBITDA, that's now forecast at $104 million to $106 million, up from its predecessor range of $100 million to $102 million.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.