Is It Time to Give TelaDoc a Health Check?

This article can be found in the MyWallSt App, alongside an audio companion. Sign up today for a free account and get access to dozens of expertly written articles and analyst opinion pieces every month.

It's been just over 1,600 days since we added Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC) to the MyWallSt shortlist and after a rollercoaster of a time, our total returns to date are basically break even. What happened to our one-time high-flier?

It was only two months ago that Teladoc's management came out with some very positive updated guidance -- possibly hoping to stem the tide of this relentless selloff in high-growth names. However, last week, the grim brutality of reality hit investors like a truck. This isn't, sadly, one of those cases where we can say the market has overreacted. Last week's report was, in a word, horrific.

What did Teladoc report in its most recent earnings call?

Revenue missed. That alone was going to be enough to panic investors. Even though it was a small miss, the market is taking no prisoners right now when it comes to non-profitable names. 

Here's what my colleague Emmet had to say when he saw the results:

"Looking at Teladoc's report, more or less all the numbers were in line with analyst expectations, which is good... or at least, not bad.

• Revenue increased 25% to $565 million compared to Q1 2021.
• Access fees revenue grew 29% to $491 million
• Visit fee revenue grew 12% to $67.9 million.
• U.S. Revenues grew 24% to $491.2 million
• Revenue per user increased 20.5% to $2.52
• International revenues grew 27% to $74.2 million.
• Members grew 5% to 54.4 million

...all of that says that the business is doing what we hoped and expected."

In many ways he's right. The core telehealth business does seem to be performing quite well, if not quite as well as one would have hoped. However, the bad news hides right below those headline figures...