WELL (and TDOC) WELL appears to be a reasonable recession-resistant investment, and management seems solid to me. How similar is TDOC's business model in comparison and can WELL differentiate itself enough with its expansion into the U.S.? Can you envision any other different avenues of growth for WELL to expand its offerings within the health sector? Is its current balance sheet sound, and can this company endure a rising interest rate environment?
There are certainly some similarities, and WELL does offer video consulation as TDOC does. But WELL really wants to advance the 'digitization' of the healthcare industry, which is a bit different than the MO of TDOC. Still, we would expect TDOC to be a formidable competitor in the space. WELL will likely target small companies and regions to avoid stepping on the larger company's toes initially. WELL could get into drug delivery, but this space is very highly competitive already. It could further target different health care segments such as addiction treatment centres. Distribution of medical products is another avenue, following the now-succcess of the CRH acquisition in Canada. WELL has $500M of debt, against cash flow of $81M in the past year. It is certainly leveraged. Interest charges were ~$28M last year and will likely rise with rates. It is one area of concern, and we would expect more equity issues down the road. But the company upped its guidance earlier this month, and things look good right now. (5iResearch)