Fresenius Medical Care (FMEG.DE) said on Tuesday that its U.S. treatment volumes continued to decline in the first quarter of 2026, causing its shares to fall by nearly 6%.
The company earns most of its revenue from the United States, where same-market treatments dropped 0.4% in the three months ending March. This marks the second straight quarter of declining U.S. volumes, following a 0.2% decrease in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
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“We recognize we’ve still got some muted same market treatment growth, not surprisingly in Q1 with weather- and flu-related impact,” CEO Helen Giza
Fresenius Medical Care shares have performed relatively better than the broader sector so far this year, declining 4.6% compared to a 19.7% drop across the industry, according to analysts at J.P. Morgan.
The analysts added that reimbursement rules under the Transitional Drug Add-on Payment Adjustment (TDAPA), which support payments and patient access to new kidney therapies in the U.S., boosted quarterly operating income. However, they expect these benefits to turn into headwinds in the second half of 2026.
Fresenius Medical Care said its first-quarter revenue fell 6% to 4.61 billion euros ($5.39 billion), mainly due to recent asset sales and currency pressures, particularly from a weaker U.S. dollar.
The result was broadly in line with market expectations of 4.59 billion euros, according to a poll by Vara Research.
The company added that one-time costs linked to its transformation program led to a 14% drop in reported operating income and a 22% decline in net income, while it maintained its outlook for 2026.
The ongoing strategic overhaul, led by CEO Helen Giza, is focused on improving profitability in its core kidney care business after the company was spun off from its former parent, Fresenius (FREG.DE).
