There is a “massive” opportunity ahead as the world gets grayer and more senior citizens want to grow old at home, according to William Blair. While the aging population has been an enduring investment theme over the past decade, the thesis is now heating up, analyst Ryan Daniels said in a note published Wednesday. “The true wave of growth in the senior population is just beginning to manifest across the United States,” he wrote. By 2030, all 73.1 million baby boomers will be older than 65, according to the Census Bureau . Seniors are also becoming a larger slice of the population as they live longer and fertility rates decline. Those aged 65 and older made up about 17% of the population in 2020. They are expected to represent 21% of the population in 2030 — and the cohort will keep climbing through 2060, the Census Bureau projects. Add to that the desire of many Americans to age in place, and avoid entering assisted living or a nursing home. Some 75% of adults aged 50 and older prefer to stay in their homes as they advance in years, according to a 2024 survey from the AARP . That will have implications across the market, from health-care services, like in-home care and telehealth platforms, to technology solutions. Home health care Providing safe, effective and timely in-home care will be imperative if people want to remain at home as long as possible, Daniels said. “We see a bright growth outlook for home-based care delivery across various service lines, including personal care, skilled home health and hospice, pharmacy, and high-acuity specialized care models,” he wrote. Among the health-care companies most affected by the trend is Addus HomeCare , Daniels said. The Texas-based company provides home care services such as hospice, home health and personal care. William Blair has an outperform rating on the stock. ADUS YTD mountain Addus HomeCare shares in 2025 Addus HomeCare topped analyst expectations when it reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.42 per share earlier this month. The stock has an average analyst rating of buy and 22% upside to the 12-month consensus price target, according to FactSet. It has lost 11% so far this year. Technology solutions While smart-home and fall-monitoring technologies are obvious beneficiaries of the aging-in-place trend, another area ripe with opportunity is technology that analyzes social needs’ data, Daniels said. “In our view, this is a requisite step to provide seniors with the ancillary solutions they need to age in place safely and to reduce the risk of acute care events,” he wrote. “Moreover, we believe health plans recognize the increasing importance of this data and are actively investing in capturing and using such data.” William Blair specifically likes software solution provider Phreesia in this area. The company, which the firm rates overweight, offers robust tools that screen for social determinants of health. It completes more than 270,000 of these screens each month, Daniels said. PHR YTD mountain Phreesia shares in 2025 “Using this solution, providers can easily identify social needs prior to a patient visit and then leverage the data to have real-time discussions with patients at appointments,” he said. “This also enables more timely referrals to services that may be necessary for at-risk patients to safely age in place.” The stock has an average analyst rating of buy and 31% upside to the Street’s consensus price target, according to FactSet dara. Phreesia is down about 4% year to date.
