Brief introduction Dexcom $DXCM (-2,15 %)
I have been a diabetic for over a year now and have since come across several publicly traded companies. Among others Novo Nordisk $NOVO B , Sanofi $SAN (-0,94 %) Abbott $ABT (-0,5 %) and Dexcom. Most of them I come across regularly, but Dexcom (me personally) not so often.
But what does Dexcom do at all and why is the company relevant for me independent of the stock exchange? "DexCom, Inc. is a US-amerikanisches company that kontinuierlich messende Glucosesensoren for Diabetes-patients, develops, manufactures and distributes." And they are the market leader in this area, along with Abbott. These sensors are permanently attached to the skin and measure the concentration of tissue glucose and send that value to a reader or cell phone every minute. From there, the data can be used and shared with doctors, for example. The lifetime of a sensor is 10 days for Dexcom, 14 days for Abbot. These sensors can also be increasingly integrated into other systems. For example, both the FreeStyle Libre 3 and the Dexcom G7 can be connected to an insulin pump (Ypsomed). The pump and the sensors then form a so-called closed loop, which functions more or less like an artificial pancreas (where the body produces its own insulin).
These sensors (independent of brand) make my life much easier, they allow me to monitor my blood glucose permanently and thus prevent metabolic derailments (hypo-/hyperglycemia). Should a derailment occur, however, the system alerts me with an alarm and I can react. This is especially helpful at night, when you don't have a constant eye on your cell phone/reading device and there is a possibility of oversleeping a derailment.
Dexcom's preliminary revenue can be estimated at $2.91 billion, which would represent 19% growth over the previous year. Dexcom shows a performance of more than 850% (170% p.a.) in the last 5 years and with a P/E ratio of more than 150 it is already a bit hot in my eyes. Due to the quite high growth, one should in any case also look at the P/B ratio, which is about 22 and the earnings per share at 0.78€. As with Abbott, there is no dividend.
Diabetes diseases are becoming more and more frequent (estimated number for 2045: 783 million, which corresponds to an annual increase of about 2%). Diabetes is currently not curable and so this disease will accompany me as well as others for a lifetime. Good management is essential to avoid secondary diseases such as diabetic foot and to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke due to "sugared" blood vessels. These sensor systems help tremendously with this and by changing them every 10/14 days, recurring intakes are safe for the manufacturers. I think Dexcom is a good investment, but would wait for setbacks here.
No investment advice, I have compiled the information to the best of my knowledge and belief, there is no guarantee of accuracy. Spelling errors as well as errors in grammar are extra and serve for amusement.
