Sonida Senior Living NYSE: SNDA reported higher occupancy and revenue per resident in the third quarter of 2026, helping drive a 15.6% increase in same-store senior housing operating portfolio net operating income, or NOI.
Same-store weighted average occupancy rose to 88.6%, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier, while same-store NOI margin expanded 2.3 percentage points to 31.8%. Across the company’s operating and net-lease properties, NOI increased 16.1% to $63.3 million. Normalized funds from operations were $0.46 per share, and adjusted EBITDA rose 26.2% to $46.8 million.
On the Nov. 5 earnings call, President and CEO Brandon Ribar said occupancy continued to improve in October and that the company expects further growth. Sonida plans to introduce full-year 2027 guidance with its fourth-quarter results.
Unless otherwise noted, the results discussed on the call reflect Sonida’s proportional economic stake in joint ventures and include CNL Healthcare Properties, or CHP, on a pro forma basis for periods before the March 11 acquisition. Sonida cautioned that those comparisons do not represent the actual results it would have achieved had the transaction closed at the beginning of those periods.
Occupancy and Rates Lift Same-Store Results
Same-store revenue per occupied unit, or RevPOR, increased 4.6% year over year to $5,413. Together with higher occupancy, that lifted resident revenue 7.3% to $163.5 million. Operating expenses rose 3.8%, and same-store NOI reached $52 million.
CFO Kevin Detz said 58% of same-store communities averaged occupancy above 90%, compared with 47% a year earlier. The share below 80% occupancy fell to 21% from 26%. The same-store portfolio included 111 communities as of Sept. 30, representing more than 85% of the total senior housing operating portfolio by units.
For the total operating portfolio, NOI rose 17.2% to $55.3 million and weighted average occupancy increased to 87.4%. Its NOI margin was 29.1%, up 2.4 percentage points from a year earlier but down 0.8 points from the second quarter. Detz attributed the sequential decline to seasonal costs, including an additional day of labor, two holidays and higher summer utility expenses.
Labor costs were 41.3% of revenue, a 0.9 percentage-point improvement year over year. Detz said direct labor accounted for the improvement, while contract and other labor costs were flat on a combined basis.
CHP Integration and Acquisition Pipeline
Sonida had transitioned management of 19 of CHP’s 54 operating communities as of Nov. 1. The first 14 onboarded communities reported year-over-year NOI growth of 33.2% and margin expansion of 6 percentage points. Detz cautioned that the group began with below-average operating metrics and that the remaining CHP properties generally have a stronger starting base, making more moderate growth likely.
Ribar said Sonida had identified and was advancing plans for 43 of the 54 communities, including transitions, transactions involving operators and eight non-core properties in various stages of a sales process. The company expects those eight sales to close in early 2027. It is working with two managers on plans for the remaining 11 communities and expects to discuss them on its next call.
Outside CHP, Sonida closed one community acquisition during the quarter and six after quarter end, for a combined purchase price of $150.2 million for 620 units. The company also had approximately $98 million of acquisitions under contract and expects to deploy about $250 million on acquisitions in 2026, excluding CHP.
Asked about purchase yields, Ribar said the completed and planned acquisitions had a wide range of initial capitalization rates, with some assets in the high single digits and one or two bought with negative cash flow. He described the blended starting range as approximately 3% to 5%, with an opportunity to stabilize at 9% or higher.
Sonida also sold two non-core communities for about $23 million in gross proceeds, one during the quarter and one afterward. Detz said the company had identified 14 communities for sale earlier in the year and expects to complete the remaining sales during the fourth quarter and first half of 2027.
Balance Sheet and Operating Initiatives
Net leverage was 8.1 times at quarter end, up from 7.8 times at June 30. Detz said the increase was driven primarily by the seasonal effect on third-quarter adjusted EBITDA. Sonida remains focused on a near-term leverage target of 6 to 6.5 times through NOI growth, free cash flow and capital recycling.
Total debt was approximately $1.7 billion at a weighted average interest rate of 5.78%, with 83% fixed or hedged. The company had approximately $80 million available under its $455 million secured revolving credit facility at quarter end, plus another $125 million committed. It had also issued $68.6 million of equity through its at-the-market program at a blended price of $39.18 per share to fund identified acquisitions.
On operations, Ribar highlighted an internal framework called Sonida Collections, which sets service standards by community tier. The company is also investing in digital marketing and plans to begin rolling out a more granular, data-driven approach to pricing in 2027. For same-store communities owned before 2026, digital leads rose 30.6% year over year and move-ins from digital sources increased 13.6%, he said.
About Sonida Senior Living (NYSE:SNDA)
Sonida Senior Living Corporation NYSE: SNDA is a senior housing company that owns, operates and manages communities serving older adults in the United States. Its properties are designed to provide residential services and support for seniors with varying care needs.
The company offers independent living, assisted living and memory care services. Its communities generally provide housing, dining, housekeeping, transportation, wellness programs, social activities and personal care assistance, with memory care programs tailored to residents living with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
Sonida Senior Living was formerly known as Capital Senior Living Corporation and adopted its current name in 2024.
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