GoodRx co-CEO touts recent acquisitions, says its business is ‘rock solid’ and only getting better
GoodRx co-CEO Doug Hirsch expressed confidence Friday in the company’s outlook, telling CNBC recent acquisitions help expand its business offerings as it approaches a post-pandemic health-care landscape.
A day earlier, GoodRx reported a 20% increase in first-quarter revenue, rising to $160.4 million from $133.4 million a year earlier. Net income came in at $1.7 million, down sharply from $27.3 million in net income in Q1 2020. However, the company — which offers prescription drug coupons to customers — said the most-recent figure was impacted by $46.5 million in stock-based compensation expenses.
Shares of GoodRx were up around 10% Friday.
“We’re transitioning from the Covid crisis into the other health-care crisis, which is that people simply just cannot afford their care,” Hirsch said in an interview on “The Exchange.” “We feel like our business is rock solid and just getting better,” he added.
Two recent deals improve GoodRx’s position, Hirsch said. The first is RxSaver, which also offers users prescription coupons. Hirsch said that acquisition — reportedly for $50 million — brings in a “complementary business to ours.” It also provides marketing advantages, he said.
The other acquisition was HealthiNation, which makes informational videos on health topics. The content is created by doctors and health-care professionals, Hirsch said. While GoodRx has had educational content for years, Hirsch said it primarily focused on the written word.
“A lot of consumers like to watch video,” he said, adding that it also allows GoodRx to sell advertising to manufacturers to bring in revenue. “It’s a win-win for everybody.”
Previous acquisitions made by GoodRx include telemedicine provider HeyDoctor in 2019. The company rebranded it to GoodRx Care in March.
Despite its positive move Friday, GoodRx’s stock has struggled to gain traction since the company went public in September. Its IPO priced at $33 per share and closed its first session at $50.50 apiece.
The stock traded around $31 Friday, putting GoodRx’s market cap just above $12 billion.
Competition from much-larger rivals — Amazon, in particular — is a major concern for some on Wall Street. For example, in November, GoodRx shares plunged 22.5% in one session after the e-commerce behemoth unveiled plans for Amazon Pharmacy, which represented its most significant move into the space.
Hirsch has downplayed the threat Amazon poses to GoodRx, which he co-founded in 2011. “People perceive it as going head-to-head with us, but it’s not,” he told CNBC in November.
Of the nine analyst outlooks available on FactSet, only one has a sell rating on GoodRx’s stock while four have buy ratings. The other analysts rate the stock a hold.
Hirsch doubled down on his upbeat outlook Friday, saying “put the markets aside because our business is both durable and highly predictable.”
“Most of the people who use GoodRx have chronic conditions, so they’re taking prescriptions on an ongoing business. They’re showing up at that pharmacy every month. We have a very reliable revenue stream, and again, we’re opening up new revenue streams and new ways to communicate ways with consumers, as well,” he said.
