A year ago, Hims sold a copycat Wegovy pill for $49. The new model costs more. Wall Street can see it in the numbers.
A Loss That Doubled In A Year
Hims & Hers shared first-quarter results on Monday. Shares dropped about 13% on Tuesday.
The firm posted a $92 million net loss in the quarter. That is nearly double the $50 million loss it took in the same quarter last year.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at $44 million. EBITDA is a rough proxy for profit. It strips out interest, taxes, and a few other costs.
That figure was less than half of the $91 million the firm put up a year ago. The gap shows how fast the GLP-1 mix has shifted.
Revenue did rise 4% to $608 million in the quarter. But average monthly revenue per user slipped to $80 from $85. The people paying are paying a little less.
For more on how online health stocks and GLP-1 names are moving each week, Market Briefs breaks it down in five minutes a morning, plus a free investing masterclass at signup.
The GLP-1 Business Just Got Rebuilt
Hims used to sell copy versions of Wegovy. Those are copycat pills.
They are made under a rule that lets drugs be copied during a shortage. The shortage ended. Hims kept selling.
Novo Nordisk sued in February. The drug firm called it illegal mass copying. Hims pulled the pill shortly after.
In March the two sides struck a deal. Hims now sells Novo's name-brand Wegovy. It no longer markets the copy version.
Citi analysts called the quarter a "transition." The cheap GLP-1 sales are gone. The name-brand sales have not filled the hole.
The outlook shows that shift. The firm expects Q2 revenue of $680 million to $700 million. It also expects Q2 adjusted EBITDA up to $55 million. Citi said the Q2 view came in below its own estimates.
Worth Noting
The full-year guide calls for up to $3 billion in revenue. It also calls for up to $350 million in adjusted EBITDA. That is doable, but it depends on the name-brand GLP-1 ramp keeping pace.
The bigger question is whether user math can hold up without the $49 pill driving sign-ups. Wegovy's patent runs through 2032, so the cheap copy path is closed for now.
Novo CEO Mike Doustdar told CNBC the new deal is "very different" than the failed pact the two sides tried last year. This time, Hims has agreed to stop selling copy versions once Novo's name-brand supply arrives.
The next read on the firm comes in August with Q2 results. That is when investors will see if the name-brand mix is holding the top line up.
If you want a daily read on how this story plays out, join Market Briefs. It comes with a free 45-minute investing course as a bonus.
