Teladoc's virtual visits nearly double in Q1, revenue reaches $181M amid COVID response

Virtual care providers continue to be a bright spot in the struggling economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Case in point: Teladoc, one of nation’s top telehealth providers, saw its first-quarter 2020 revenue jump 41% to $181 million year over year.

As cases of coronavirus surged in March and fears about COVID-19 increased, Teladoc saw a massive uptick in virtual visits, with total visits up 92% to 2 million during the first three months of the year. Teladoc’s first-quarter revenue beat Wall Street estimates of $180.6 million in the first quarter.

The Purchase, New York-based company raised its forward guidance for full-year 2020.

Teladoc expects 2020 revenue between $800 million and $825 million, which represents between 45% and 49% growth over the prior year, Chief Financial Officer Mala Murthy said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday.

The company also is projecting total virtual visits in 2020 to reach between 8 million and 9 million, which would double the 4.1 million virtual visits the company provided in 2019.

As health plans end temporary waivers on co-pays for telehealth visits and shelter-in-place orders are lifted, Teladoc expects the surge in visit volume to moderate in the back half of the year, Murthy said.

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“We do anticipate visit volume will persist at a permanently higher level than prior to the COVID outbreak,” she said.