Hims & Hers (HIMS) announced earnings Monday and upgraded revenue guidance by $20 million, to $830 to $850 million for the year — and provided guidance that it will launch its weight loss management business by the end of the year.
The company has been has been slower than its peers to enter the weight-loss space.
CEO Andrew Dudum told Yahoo Finance in an interview Monday the company has intentionally not jumped on the GLP-1 bandwagon.
"The slow rollout is more out of respect for our customers. In the last year, a lot of people have launched very quickly the different GLP-1 medications. We have never seen the ability to just quickly get medicines to people as a core business," Dudum said.
Instead, the company wants to continue building on the trust it has built up.
"The newness of GLP-1s have always been a concern to me, the supply chain has always a concern — and you've seen that companies are shutting down their whole offerings because the supply chain is a wreck," Dudum said.
In addition, Dudum is concerned about the unknown impacts of the drugs' long-term use, including unpleasant side effects, such as face droopiness known as Ozempic face, and the return of the weight once patients are off the drugs.
"I have my mom calling me quite literally every week asking me if she should take them. And my answer is, [for] the same reason we haven't launched it, 'No I don't think so,'" Dudum said.
Strong quarter
The company reported $208 million for the quarter, up 82% year over year, continuing a growth streak enjoyed by few digital health companies post-pandemic.
The company's latest launch into cardiovascular care and treatments is only figuring to secure the ongoing momentum.
"The composition of revenue underneath that number is very diverse. You've got mature categories that are continuing to scale and take share, you've got these new ones ... like the UK operations, mental health growing triple digits" as well as the cardiovascular launch, Dudum said.
Its growth has helped reduce pricing for some services, resulting in lower cost of care for patients and the health system overall, he said.
The company has also boosted its patient access points by partnering with brick-and-mortar health providers and ensuring telehealth visits complement or provide a frontline to in-person visits. That has been one of the key differentiators, Dudum said, and is a reason to believe the company can sustain growth amid decreased investor interest in digital health.
"The ability to move towards a world where you're driving 20- 25% EBITDA margins in the future is a very real world for us. And you see us kind of taking that step from negative EBITDA a couple quarters ago, to now plus-million, and it's just kind of nice and steady," Dudum said.
Follow Anjalee Khemlani on Twitter @AnjKhem.
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