Health systems and other healthcare players saw dramatic financial swings this year, reflected in standout earnings reports.
Hospital and health systems delivered uneven financial results in 2025, as organizations worked to regain stability in a fragile landscape amid expense growth and strategic shifts.
The following financial performances grabbed the attention of CEOs, highlighting the challenges organizations contended with and the strategies they pursued over the past year.
1. Mass General Brigham Suffers $54M Operating Loss in Q1, Anticipates Saving $200M From Layoffs
Mass General Brigham’s (MGB) first-quarter earnings set an early tone for 2025, showing a $53.8 million operating loss as expenses outpaced revenue. The system pointed to rising labor and supply costs while outlining plans to eliminate hundreds of administrative and management positions to achieve $200 million in annualized savings. For CEOs watching, MGB’s results revealed that even large academic systems still face acute cost pressure and may need structural reorganization to restore financial health.
2. Risant Health Paying Off in Major Way for Kaiser Permanente
While many health systems grappled with losses, Kaiser Permanente’s 2024 consolidated earnings showed impressive revenue and net income growth, driven in part by its Risant Health subsidiary. Risant’s acquisitions, including Geisinger Health and Cone Health, contributed $6.8 billion to the system’s $12.9 billion net income, showing how strategic consolidation within a value-based network can deliver scale economics and financial resilience.
3. Providence Inches Closer to Breakeven in Q2, But Reckons With 'Polycrisis'
Providence’s second-quarter results illustrated both progress and fragility as the nonprofit narrowed its operating loss to $21 million, a marked improvement from a $123 million loss a year earlier due to patient volume growing and agency labor spend declining. Yet Providence warned that a complex mix of inflation, policy shifts, and reimbursement challenges represented a “polycrisis” that threatened full financial recovery.
4. Providence Edges Back Into Black in Q3 as Turnaround Strategy Gains Traction
Continuing the storyline from midyear, Providence’s third-quarter results delivered a milestone with a $21 million operating gain. Rising volumes, tighter labor controls, and a significant reduction in contractor staff helped propel the health system back into positive territory. But year-to-date results still showed a sizeable cumulative loss, reminding leaders that even a wholly encouraging quarter represents just one step towards financial recovery.
5. Walgreens' Turnaround Takes Shape in Midst of Significant Q1 Losses
Although not a health system, Walgreens’ first-quarter performance drew CEO interest because of its implications for the broader healthcare delivery and retail integration landscape. The company reported a $265 million net loss but beat expectations and outlined progress in stabilizing its core retail pharmacy business and adjusting reimbursement structures. Its turnaround plan gave hospital CEOs a useful lens on how adjacent sectors managed costs and operational pivots in 2025.
Jay Asser is the CEO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Several large healthcare organizations faced significant losses this year, emphasizing cost pressures and the need for structural adjustments.
Consolidation, volume growth, and operational turnarounds proved critical pathways to financial resilience.