Sonida Senior Living (NYSE: SNDA) is responding to an increased number of move-outs due to rising resident acuity by boosting operations while improving sales, marketing and training efforts.
“Our whole thesis is to continue to invest in really strong talent that will stay with us, so that we don’t need to add additional [full-time employees] as occupancy grows, especially in our higher-occupied communities,” Sonida CEO Brandon Ribar said during Monday’s earnings call.
Sonida reported an 18% increase year-over-year in resident move-outs in its same-store senior living operating portfolio during the second quarter compared to the same period last year. Nearly half of these move-outs are due to a higher rate of resident deaths as the second quarter of this year saw the highest number of historical move outs.
To respond to this issue, Sonida has implemented enhanced resident risk assessments at communities experiencing elevated move-outs, and by the second half of the period, move-out rates normalized, according to Ribar, as same-store occupancy rose 90 basis points from July 1 to Aug. 1.
Sonida’s leaders also reduced the company’s number of operating divisions from three to two in order to improve consistency in systems, processes and communication, Ribar said. Three months into the change, Sonida was “clearly seeing the desired outcomes” to hit a record occupancy of 88.2% in its same-store senior living portfolio at the end of July.
Sonida’s community net operating income (NOI) increased $2.9 million, a gain of 90 basis points in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. In the second quarter of 2025, Sonida reported sequential community NOI growth of 5% compared to the second quarter of 2024. Resident revenue increased $18.7 million or 29.7% in the second quarter compared to last year’s second quarter, according to the company’s earnings presentation issued on Monday.
Sonida also reported a net loss in the second quarter of $1.6 million, as compared to $9.8 million in the same period last year.
SNDA stock rose 1.15% on Monday, up $0.28 from the previous day’s trading to rest at $24.66.
Sonida reported above 88% average occupancy within its same-store senior living portfolio of 56 communities by the end of last month. Sonida has a portfolio of 83 owned communities, 13 under management, serving over 10,000 residents across 20 states.
Sonida targets portfolio, occupancy growth
To further improve occupancy, Sonida has made increased investments in sales, marketing and training roles, while also implementing a targeted wage increase for nursing and clinical staff to remain above market levels where applicable.
This has led to a 17% increase in staff retention during the second quarter compared to the same period last year within its clinical departments. At the same time, Sonida has increased its digital marketing and direct lead generation efforts, reducing the company’s reliance on third-party, paid referral sources.
The results of these increased efforts on marketing and sales are beginning to appear, with July move-ins exceeding all prior months, of which 67% of move-ins were leads fostered and created by Sonida’s internal sales and marketing efforts.
Through creating its own lead sources, Ribar said this gives Sonida “a lot of confidence” heading into the latter half of 2025 to drive occupancy as leads are coming in at “no extra cost” to the Dallas, Texas-based operator.
Sonida closed on two acquisitions in the second quarter, and a third acquisition was announced on Monday in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (DFW) area, contingent upon customary closing conditions, and each fit Sonida’s strategy of purchasing high-quality, “newer vintage” assets in “strong markets” with opportunities to improve NOI,” Ribar noted.
The pending acquisition in the DFW market is a 98-unit property that will undergo a targeted refresh with a renewed sales and operations effort to drive NOI growth, Ribar noted.
“We’ve gotten good pick up on the expense side right out of the gate with our acquisitions, and still continue to feel confident targeting those low double-digit types of stabilization levels from a cap rate perspective,” Ribar said. “So we see good pick up and accretive deals that are still out there.”
In these acquisitions, the occupancy rates range between the mid-70th percentile and low 80th percentile in census at the time of acquisition as Ribar noted the communities were not distressed but will benefit from Sonida’s sales, marketing and expense control processes, Ribar said.
Recent staff additions include “marketing, sales training and regional management” sales hires from “other industries” have brought a “really sophisticated approach” to Sonida’s internal lead generation effort to drum up interest in Sonida communities, with Ribar telling investors during Monday’s earnings call he expects “that to continue” heading into 2026. This resulted in an increase of 16% more digital leads through enhanced marketing processes compared to the same period last year.
In the second quarter, Sonida reported a $2.2 million increase in labor costs for the quarter compared to the same period last year, along with a $700,000 increase during the period in operating expenses, according to Sonida’s financial reporting in the second quarter. G&A expenses have risen approximately $1 million compared to the same three-month period last year, tied to $1.7 million invested to support the company’s growth efforts.
On staffing, Sonida doesn’t expect “consistent increases” on wages for certain clinical positions to continue on a quarterly basis.
“That stability is going to lead to consistency on outcomes as well as being able to drive rates to a higher level so I think what’s important from an offsetting of the expense pressure, from a wage perspective, is that we have gotten our rates to the highest level for any quarter in the company’s history,” Ribar said.
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