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Teladoc stock is down more than 67% this year — and 90% from its February 2021 peak.
“We continue to take a disciplined approach,” Gurevich said when asked about marketing. “So we are not going to overspend our way through this and follow the reins of irrational competition.”
Gurevich noted that the increasing competition for telehealth services “has created noise in the market” and that “in the near term we expect this noise to continue.” But he emphasized that Teladoc could be a “long-term winner” in virtual health.
But it may take time for Teladoc to get back on the right track.
Gurevich acknowledged that with many American workers beginning to return to offices, companies’ human resources departments are “under pressure…dealing with major resignations and all hiring and allocating resources to acquiring and retaining talent,” he said.
As a result, Gurevich said, many companies are choosing to focus on existing health insurance plans for workers rather than expanding telehealth options from independent providers like Teladoc.
Wall Street is also concerned. At least fifteen analysts cut their Teladoc price targets on Wednesday and Thursday after the earnings report, according to data from Refinitiv.
“Increased competitive intensity is weighing on growth and margins,” one of those analysts, Citi’s Daniel Grosslait, wrote in a report Thursday, adding, “We doubt we’ll see competition-driven headwinds dissipate anytime soon.”
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