What Happened?
Shares of medical technology company Inspire Medical Systems (NYSE: INSP) fell 9.7% in the afternoon session after a bank conference where management flagged multiple near-term headwinds, which spooked markets following a bad quarter and the CFO stepping down.
Specifically, the transition to Inspire V is progressing but remains incomplete, with only ~65% of implanting sites ready due to delays in SleepSync programmer rollouts. This has led to "patient warehousing," as many defer procedures until Inspire V is available, alongside inventory destocking of Inspire IV systems. Both dynamics are weighing on 2025 revenue and could spill into 2026.
Management also cited uncertainty from GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, which are drawing some patients away in the near term despite being a potential long-term tailwind. Meanwhile, EPS guidance came down as Inspire ramps direct-to-consumer marketing spend to support Inspire V, raising questions about operating leverage.
With revenue visibility limited, rising costs, and new competition from Nyxoah entering the U.S. market, investors reacted to the risk of softer growth and margin pressure despite management's long-term optimism.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Inspire Medical Systems’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 31 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock dropped 3.7% on the news that the company announced that Chief Financial Officer Rick Buchholz will step down from his position.
Mr. Buchholz plans to pursue other opportunities and will officially resign on December 31, 2025, though he will remain in a financial advisory role until late February 2026 to ensure a stable transition. The company has initiated a search for a new CFO.
The departure adds to investor concerns during a challenging period for the company, whose shares have fallen over 50% in the last six months. This executive change raises questions about financial leadership stability, particularly following a significant guidance cut on August 5, 2025, which management attributed to a slowdown in the rollout of a new product. While Inspire Medical reaffirmed its current 2025 guidance alongside the CFO announcement, the news appears to have amplified existing worries about the company's performance.
Inspire Medical Systems is down 54.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $85.32 per share, it is trading 60.6% below its 52-week high of $216.71 from September 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Inspire Medical Systems’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $713.01.
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