This article is sponsored by College Readiness Consulting!
Teladoc: The Uber of Healthcare. Unfortunately.
Why scaling loss-making telemedicine has been the best way to vaporize capital since WeWork.
Once Upon a Time, Teladoc Was the Future
In the early 2020s, Teladoc Health (NYSE: TDOC) looked like it had hacked the healthcare matrix.
- COVID lockdowns made telemedicine go mainstream overnight.
- Doctors on Zoom? Genius.
- Virtual behavioral health? Even better.
- Then they bought Livongo for $18.5 billion.
That’s when things got weird.
The Livongo Deal: Peak Pandemic Euphoria
Remember Livongo? Neither do most investors.
Teladoc paid 18.5 billion dollars for a diabetes-management app and a customer list that was already getting spammed by CVS. Wall Street loved the “platform synergy” pitch — right up until reality set in.
The result?
- 2022: $13.7 billion goodwill write-down.
- 2023: Operating margins still in the red.
- 2024: Investors still coping.
- 2025: Stock is down ~90% from ATH.
Teladoc Is Uber Without the Cool App or Surge Pricing
The business model? Burn cash, scale fast, hope it works.
- Uber subsidized rides to kill taxis.
- WeWork subsidized rent to fake community.
- Teladoc subsidized virtual doctor visits… to fight CVS, UnitedHealth, and Amazon?
That’s like showing up to a gunfight with a stethoscope.
Revenue? Yes. Profits? Never Heard of Her
Despite pulling in ~$2.6 billion in 2024 revenue, Teladoc still posts:
- Negative operating income
- Negative FCF
- An identity crisis that even ChatGPT couldn’t diagnose
In theory, Teladoc is a SaaS-like disruptor. In practice, it’s a HIPAA-compliant hole in the ground you throw money into.
So What Actually Moves TDOC Stock?
Teladoc’s stock now trades more like a distressed tech bond with a Fitbit. Here’s what affects it:
- Rate cuts? Maybe bullish — if you think cost of capital was the only problem–hint: it isn’t.
- Regulation? Could help. Could kill them.
- M&A rumors? Usually good for a 5% pop — and a 10% drop the week after.
- Behavioral health growth? Still promising, but now everybody’s in that race.
Who’s Eating Their Lunch?
- Amazon: Bought One Medical.
- CVS: Bought Oak Street.
- UnitedHealth: Buying everyone.
- Walmart: Actually… might be winning? Walmart is quietly beating Teladoc at its own game—by building real-world clinics, leveraging its massive pharmacy network, and offering low-cost care where people already shop. While Teladoc chased scale with splashy (and costly) acquisitions, Walmart focused on trust, access, and actual patient volume. One’s burning cash; the other’s building a healthcare empire aisle by aisle.
Teladoc went from “category creator” to last-mover disadvantage in three years flat.
Investing Takeaway: Teladoc Still Might Work… Just Not as a Stock
Could telemedicine be the future? Absolutely. But Teladoc is the cautionary tale of what happens when you confuse “total addressable market” with “inevitable success.”
So yes, Teladoc is the Uber of healthcare — but in the way that Uber Eats was burning $20 to deliver you a $15 taco.
DISCLAIMER: This analysis of the aforementioned stock security is in no way to be construed, understood, or seen as formal, professional, or any other form of investment advice. We are simply expressing our opinions regarding a publicly traded entity.
© 2025 MacroHint.com. All rights reserved.