Covista Inc.

Third-quarter revenue increased 4.5% to $487 million. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $127.9 million, adjusted operating income was $102.2 million, adjusted net income was $69 million, and adjusted EPS was $1.98. Excluding a 1-week Walden calendar shift, revenue would have been up 8.4% year over year, adjusted EBITDA would have been $145.9 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin would have been 28.9%, up 150 basis points. Chamberlain revenue was $197 million, up 2.3%, with enrollment up 0.5% to 40,767; Walden revenue was $186.6 million, up 4.6%, with enrollment up 12.3% to 54,474; Medical and Veterinary revenue was $103.5 million, up 8.9%, with enrollment up 4.1% to 5,344. Full-year revenue guidance was raised to $1.93 billion-$1.945 billion, and full-year adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $7.95-$8.15; management said this implies 8% to 9% revenue growth and 19% to 22% EPS growth. The company also reiterated a goal to expand full-year adjusted EBITDA margin by 100 basis points. Trailing 12-month free cash flow was $336 million, up 17%, net leverage was 0.7x, cash and equivalents were $147 million, and the company refinanced debt into a $510 million Term Loan B with maturity extended to 2033 and a 50 bps rate improvement.

Steve Beard framed the quarter as evidence that Covista is becoming a scaled health care workforce platform, emphasizing durable demand, record enrollment, and a broadening employer-partnership model. He said Chamberlain’s operating changes are working, Walden continues to compound, and the business is entering its next phase with operational excellence, platform extension, employer integration, and technology focus. His tone was confident and constructive, while still measured about not declaring victory on a single quarter.

Bob Phelan focused on the financial leverage in the model and the effect of the Walden calendar shift. He noted that excluding that timing issue, Q3 revenue would have been up 8.4%, adjusted EBITDA $145.9 million, and margin 28.9%, and he highlighted margin expansion at Chamberlain, Walden, and Medical and Veterinary. On capital allocation, he pointed to $336 million of trailing 12-month free cash flow, 0.7x net leverage, $147 million of cash, a $510 million Term Loan B refinanced at 50 bps lower rates with maturity to 2033, and $66 million of quarterly share repurchases.

Analysts pressed on Chamberlain’s recovery, asking what drove the return to positive enrollment growth, whether RN to BSN demand is stabilizing, and if application conversion has normalized. Management said the prior issues were execution-related and that remediation on marketing, application flow, scholarship processing, and funnel operations has worked; conversion is now much more consistent with historical rates and momentum should carry into the fall cycle. Questions also focused on guidance and spending, and management said the Q4 investment increase is incremental rather than a shift of costs from Q3, while CapEx should ramp further in Q4 and next year.