Swiss Hospitals Show Improved Financial Performance, but Investment Pressure Remains High

EBITDA margins increased more strongly in 2025 than CFOs had forecast the previous year. A total of 82% of the healthcare institutions surveyed improved their EBITDA margin, while more than 96% reported a positive operating result. In addition, 69% of hospitals achieved a positive EBIT margin. On average, the EBIT margin turned positive for the first time in several years.

Furthermore, 63% of surveyed CFOs expect EBITDA margins to increase slightly in both 2026 and 2027. By 2027, they anticipate an average improvement of 0.35 percentage points, bringing the EBITDA margin to 5.8%.

The healthcare providers included in the study recorded revenue growth of 5.4% in 2025. This increase was driven primarily by higher inpatient tariffs and rising service volumes across all revenue streams. The share of outpatient revenue continued to rise and accounted for an average of 33% of total revenues among the acute care hospitals surveyed in 2025.

At the same time, personnel and medical supply costs declined relative to revenue. Despite increasing personnel expenses and growing medical demand, healthcare providers succeeded in slowing cost growth for the first time.

Despite improved financial performance, the earnings capacity of many institutions remains insufficient to fund future investments internally. More than 86% of surveyed CFOs expect an extraordinary financing requirement in the coming years, and over 41% anticipate an additional capital need of at least CHF 50 million within the next five years.

Around 70% expect to refinance maturing liabilities through new debt or equity capital. The capital market therefore remains an important source of financing for Swiss hospitals, with outstanding bond volumes currently amounting to CHF 5.1 billion. As bond financing is not equally accessible or suitable for all institutions, alternative financing options are becoming increasingly important depending on each institution’s circumstances.

Beyond financial developments, the study examines several key strategic priorities for healthcare institutions, including cybersecurity, shared services, artificial intelligence (AI), and the uniform financing of outpatient and inpatient services (EFAS).

Cybersecurity is moving further up the strategic agenda, with cyber resilience increasingly becoming a management responsibility. Alongside the secure management of identities, access rights, and data, growing attention is being paid to resilience against cyberattacks, third-party risk management, and the secure integration of new technologies.

To improve efficiency, many institutions are pursuing greater centralization: 71% of surveyed CFOs have already centralized certain functions or implemented shared services to varying degrees. Artificial intelligence is also becoming increasingly important. Globally, 66% of surveyed executives are already actively using AI, while around 63% of CIOs and CTOs expect it to reduce administrative workloads in the future.

However, large-scale adoption still faces challenges. In Swiss hospitals, broader implementation continues to be constrained by regulatory, technological, and organizational factors.