Every large company starts small, and Acadia Healthcare is no exception. Reeve B. Waud founded it in 2005 with a focus that many hospital systems had drifted away from: behavioral health. Two decades later, that early bet has grown into one of the leading behavioral healthcare providers in the United States.
The distance between then and now is easiest to see in the recent numbers. In 2025, the company reported full-year revenue of about $3.31 billion and added capacity at a pace that beat its own guidance. What began as an idea has become a national network of hospitals and clinics.
Building Through 2025
Acadia added 707 net beds in 2025, ahead of what it had projected. The gross figure was 1,089 beds, with 311 going to existing facilities and 778 coming from one wholly-owned facility and five joint-venture facilities. Five older facilities totaling 382 beds closed during the year, which brought the net number down but reflected ongoing portfolio management.
Joint ventures did much of the heavy lifting. The company opened partnerships with Henry Ford Health in Michigan, Geisinger Health in Pennsylvania, Ascension Seton in Texas, Fairview Health Services in Minnesota, and ECU Health in North Carolina. Each pairs a respected regional system with Acadia’s specialty operating experience, a formula that has let the company enter new markets steadily.
The Founder’s Two Roles
Reeve Waud wears more than one hat. Alongside founding Acadia Healthcare, he is Founder and Managing Partner of Waud Capital Partners, the Chicago-based investment firm he started in 1993. His connection to Acadia is as its founder, not its day-to-day manager, but the company continues to grow along lines he set early on.
This growth isn’t limited to inpatient hospitals. The Comprehensive Treatment Centers division, which delivers outpatient opioid care, operates more than 165 locations and treats over 70,000 patients daily across more than 30 states. Together, the hospitals and clinics give the company a wide reach into different kinds of behavioral health need.
Looking Toward 2026
The company Reeve Waud founded has said it is on track to add another 400 to 600 beds in 2026. If it hits that mark, the network will keep widening in the markets where demand for behavioral health care remains high.
Twenty years is enough time to judge whether an idea held up. In Acadia Healthcare’s case, a 2005 startup has become a company with billions in annual revenue and facilities across dozens of states. The momentum carried into 2025 suggests the network Reeve Waud founded still has room to grow.
