Kaiser Permanente reported nearly $1.7 billion in operating income (4.6% operating margin) during the second quarter of 2026, a more than $600 million improvement over the same period in 2025.
The country’s largest nonprofit health system, in a quarterly financial update shared Friday that precedes its more granular regulatory filing, outlined $35.6 billion in operating revenues, a 10.9% year-over-year increase, and nearly $34 billion in operating expenses, a 9.3% year-over-year increase.
Kaiser noted that its structure as a membership-based, premiums-collecting integrated health system typically yields stronger operating income in the first half of the calendar year “due to health plan enrollment cycles,” moderating later on “as care utilization, labor costs, and other expenses increase while revenue stays relatively flat.”
The quarter’s performance follows an opening frame in which the organization’s $711 million operating income (2.1% operating margin) reflected a pullback from early 2025’s $932 million operating gain (2.9% operating margin), due in part to a major month-long work strike. Year to date, that still places Kaiser and its subsidiaries about $400 million ahead of 2025.
“In today’s complex health care environment, positive operating performance helps us make care more affordable, invest in our future, and expand access to value-based care,” Kaiser Permanente Chair and CEO Greg A. Adams said in a statement. “Together, Kaiser Permanente and Risant Health are helping more people benefit from evidence-based, coordinated care that improves quality, enhances the patient experience, and makes high-quality care more accessible and affordable. I’m grateful to our employees and physicians for bringing our mission to life every day.”
Accompanying the quarter’s operating improvement was $3.6 billion of investment and other income, compared to last year’s $2.2 billion. This pushed Kaiser’s bottom-line net income for the quarter to nearly $5.3 billion, again up from $3.3 billion a year prior.
Membership across the system and its affiliates was nearly 13.4 million as of June 30, a slight decrease from the last check-in from late March. The system also logged more than $800 in community health spending, which it said includes almost $370 million of financial assistance and uncompensated coverage.
Notably, Kaiser increased its capital spending in Q2 to $1.3 billion, from last year’s $1.1 billion. The system noted in its release that over five dozen projects were in active design and construction as of the quarter’s end—a combination of new earthquake structural requirements in California, geographic expansion and construction projects currently underway at Geisinger and Cone Health, which are part of its Risant Health subsidiary.
“Our second-quarter financial results help us continue investing in the facilities and technology that make Kaiser Permanente a great place to give and receive care,” Kathy Lancaster, Kaiser Permanente executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement. “Through careful planning and deliberate action, we’ve made our business operations more efficient. This has allowed us to continue driving affordability for our members and supporting our skilled workforce to advance our mission of providing high-quality care and service.”
Kaiser Permanente is the country’s largest nonprofit health system by operating revenue—$127.7 billion across 2025—and has been growing fast with affiliate acquisitions through Risant Health helping fuel a 44% jump in revenue since 2020. Last year it logged $1.4 billion in operating income (1.1% operating margin) across 12 months, as well as a $9.3 billion net income and $4.8 billion of capital spending.