Waystar Holding Corp. (WAY) · Nov 2, 2026 · Earnings

Waystar earnings beat estimates as subscription growth offsets cash strain

Beat — Diluted non-GAAP EPS $0.44 vs ~$0.41 consensus

Waystar’s Q3 earnings beat consensus on revenue and adjusted EPS, while stronger subscription growth came with weaker year-to-date cash flow and higher net leverage.

Waystar is a scaled healthcare-payments software platform pushing deeper provider adoption of its connected, AI-enabled revenue-cycle tools; the current strategy is to turn that installed base and transaction data into faster subscription growth and new agentic-AI workflows. Its prior baseline was already strong: after Q2, management guided to $1.276B–$1.294B of 2026 revenue and $535M–$545M of adjusted EBITDA.

The quarter beat a reasonable market bar. Revenue reached $325.6M, modestly above published consensus of roughly $323.4M, while diluted non-GAAP EPS was $0.44 versus about $0.41 expected. The better signal is mix: subscription revenue grew 34% year over year to $180.7M, while volume-based revenue grew only 8%, suggesting the recurring software engine—not just transaction volumes—continued to carry the quarter.

MetricQ3 2026Q3 2025Consensus / comparison
Revenue (Financial statements)$325.6M (+21.2%)$268.7M$323.4M
Diluted non-GAAP EPS (Non-GAAP net income)$0.44$0.37~$0.41
Adjusted EBITDA (Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation)$139.3M (+23.6%)$112.7M
Adjusted EBITDA margin (Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation)42.8%42.0%
Unlevered free cash flow (Cash flow reconciliation)$114.8M (+19.9%)$95.7M
Nine-month unlevered free cash flow (Cash flow reconciliation)$269.0M (-5.7%)$285.3M
Adjusted net leverage (Leverage table)2.2x1.9x

Operating execution remains healthy, but the cash story is less clean. Adjusted EBITDA grew faster than revenue and margin expanded to 42.8%, while net revenue retention held at 108% and the number of clients contributing more than $100,000 of annual revenue rose 14%. 〔0〕 However, nine-month unlevered free cash flow fell to $269.0M from $285.3M as capital spending increased, and net debt rose to $1.19B from $814M last year despite EBITDA growth. That makes this a beat on execution, not an unqualified improvement in financial flexibility.

The filing advances the growth story without rewriting it. The result supports Waystar’s existing thesis—recurring software adoption and AI-related expansion are working—but the outperformance is modest relative to expectations, and the filing does not present a clearly new full-year outlook in the supplied release. The higher debt balance and weaker year-to-date cash conversion keep the result from being a major upgrade to the overall business view.

Bottom line: Waystar delivered a genuine but narrow earnings beat, led by subscription growth and expanding adjusted margins. The business is on track, but rising net debt and softer year-to-date cash generation make this a modest step forward rather than a story-changing quarter.

What to watch next

Q4 2026 earnings report

Original filing on SEC EDGAR

Waystar earnings beat estimates as subscription growth offsets cash strain | WAY Stock News
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