2023 was a banner year for Dexcom. Not only did it undertake a new major product launch, but it received the largest expansion of insurance coverage in the company’s history. And it’s got the receipts to show for it.
“In 2019, I spoke here and I announced our first billion-dollar year. Well, today I'm announcing our first billion-dollar quarter,” President and CEO Kevin Sayer said during the company’s presentation to investors at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.
The maker of wearable continuous glucose monitors offered a preliminary look at its annual revenues on January 8, charting a 26% increase in fourth-quarter sales to $1.030 billion, or about $30 million over analysts’ expectations. For the full year, Dexcom expects to log a 24% gain over 2022 and post about $3.62 billion in sales.
“On top of that…we increased our patient base 35%. That doesn't just indicate growth in revenues, that indicates tremendous operational excellence as we have been able to manufacture enough products to serve all these new people,” Sayer added.
The company also firmed up its previously announced plans to extend its blood sugar-tracking technology to people with Type 2 diabetes who are not taking insulin, with the unveiling of its new Stelo glucose sensor. Dexcom said the wearable has recently been submitted to the FDA for review, and it expects to begin its U.S. commercial rollout after receiving a green light this summer.
Designed to be worn for 15 days—longer than the company’s mainstay G6 and G7 sensors, with the latter making its commercial debut last year—the Stelo will be more “health-focused,” and rely on custom software that does not provide the same alerts and functions as users who require carefully calculated doses of insulin to manage their Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. The device will also be launched as a cash-pay product, with users covering the cost out-of-pocket.
“Understanding glucose levels is key to unlocking our metabolic health, and Stelo will help users see first-hand how their health is affected by factors such as diet, exercise, sleep and stress,” Chief Operating Officer Jake Leach said in the company’s announcement.
For 2024, Dexcom said it expects billion-dollar quarters to become the norm: banking on continuing international market expansions—including through Stelo—the company’s financial outlook projected between 16% and 21% sales growth for the year, resulting in annual revenues between $4.15 billion and $4.35 billion.
The company plans to report its complete 2023 financial results on February 8.
In 2023’s final quarter, U.S. revenue amounted to about $765 million, with about $265 million obtained overseas. Earlier in the year it logged new records as the rollout of its G7 sensor began in earnest across the globe, following a December 2022 clearance from the FDA.
The company also got a boost from an expansion of Medicare coverage for CGMs, with the insurer providing reimbursements for all people with diabetes using any type of insulin, instead of only those requiring intensive insulin therapy regimens—a decision affecting hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries, and more potential users as many private payers followed suit.