Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Jun 30, 2024

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our unaudited consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, as well as the audited financial statements and the related notes thereto, the discussion under "Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Part I, Item 1. Business” sections included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the "Annual Report"). Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, such as information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and the impact of macroeconomic factors on our business, financial results and financial condition includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many important factors, including those set forth in the "Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative, minimally invasive solutions for patients with obstructive sleep apnea ("OSA"). Our proprietary Inspire system is the first and only FDA, EU MDR, and PDMA-approved neurostimulation technology of its kind that provides a safe and effective treatment for moderate to severe OSA. We have developed a novel, closed-loop solution that continuously monitors a patient’s breathing and delivers mild hypoglossal nerve stimulation to maintain an open airway. Inspire therapy is indicated for patients with moderate to severe OSA who do not have significant central sleep apnea and do not have a complete concentric collapse of the airway at the soft palate level. In addition, patients in the U.S., Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong must have been confirmed to fail or be unable to tolerate positive airway pressure treatments, such as CPAP, and be 18 years of age or older, though there are no similar requirements for patients in Europe.

We sell our Inspire system to hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers ("ASCs") in the U.S. and in select countries in Europe and Japan through a direct sales organization and we sell our Inspire system in Singapore and Hong Kong through distributors. Our direct sales force engages in sales efforts and promotional activities primarily focused on ENT physicians and sleep centers. In addition, we highlight our compelling clinical data and value proposition to increase awareness and adoption amongst referring physicians. We build upon this top-down approach with strong direct-to-consumer marketing initiatives to create awareness of the benefits of our Inspire system and drive interest through patient empowerment. We believe this outreach helps to educate thousands of patients on our Inspire therapy.

Although our sales and marketing efforts are directed at patients and physicians because they are the primary users of our technology, we consider the hospitals and ASCs where the procedure is performed to be our customers, as they are the purchasing agents of our Inspire system. Our customers are reimbursed the cost required to treat each patient through various third-party payors, such as commercial payors and government agencies. Our Inspire system is currently reimbursed primarily on a per-patient prior authorization basis for patients covered by commercial payors, under Local Coverage Determinations for patients covered by Medicare, and under U.S. government contract for patients who are treated by the Veterans Health Administration. As of August 6, 2024, we have secured positive coverage policies with many U.S. commercial payors, including virtually all large national commercial insurers, covering approximately 260 million lives in the U.S. In addition, all seven Medicare Administrative Contractors provide coverage of Inspire therapy when certain coverage criteria are met.

The procedures performed to implant, revise, or explant our device are described for billing purposes in the U.S. with Category I Current Procedural Terminology (“CPT”) codes (64582, 64583, and 64584, respectively). A Category I code (42975) is also used for Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy ("DISE") to evaluate sleep disordered breathing, which may be a necessary procedure to determine which patients are appropriate for Inspire therapy. In July 2024, the 2025 proposed Medicare reimbursement payments were announced. The Medicare national average 2025 payment to implant our device in a hospital outpatient site of service is $30,198,an increase of 2% from the 2024 rate. The 2025 Medicare national average ASC reimbursement is $25,620, an increase of 3% from the prior year amount. The 2025 Medicare national average physician reimbursement is $816 for implantation of a hypoglossal nerve stimulator, a 2% decrease over the 2024 payment. The reimbursement for the DISE procedure in the hospital setting is $1,723, a 7% increase over the prior year amount. In the ASC setting, the reimbursement for the DISE procedure is $791, a 4% increase from the 2024 amount. The 2025 Medicare national average physician reimbursement for the DISE procedure is $94, a 3% decrease over the prior year amount. The proposed reimbursement rates will be reviewed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") in conjunction with the annual Medicare rulemaking cycle with final decisions expected in November 2024.

Reimbursement in other countries can often be established through a combination of private (commercial insurance) and public funding sources, or at the hospital level through innovation budgets.

For the six months ended June 30, 2024, 95.5% of our revenue was derived in the U.S. and 4.5% was derived outside of the U.S. No single customer accounted for more than 10% of our revenue during the six months ended June 30, 2024.

We rely on third-party suppliers to manufacture our Inspire system and its components. Many of these suppliers are currently single source suppliers. We have experienced supply disruptions that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, but to date we have managed to avoid major delays in implant procedures due to those issues. During the third quarter of 2023, we experienced an inventory supply issue related to our polyurethane-based stimulation leads, one component of the Inspire system used only in the European market at that time. In 2022, the FDA approved our silicone-based stimulation and sensing leads in the U.S., which replaced the polyurethane versions of the leads, and we stopped manufacturing polyurethane leads. We applied for European Union ("EU") Medical Devices Regulation ("MDR") certification in December 2021, which we received in July 2024, following industry-wide delays in the process. In the interim, we had received a derogation pursuant to Article 59 of the EU MDR from the Dutch, German, Swiss, Belgian, and Austrian competent authorities, and the British equivalent, i.e. exceptional use authorization, from the United Kingdom national competent authority, allowing us to continue to place the silicone-based leads on the market in those countries until various dates in 2024 or until we received certification under the EU MDR, whichever occurred first. Now that we have obtained certification under the EU MDR, silicone leads may be marketed throughout the EU. During the fourth quarter of 2023 and extending into early 2024, the delay in certification and the shortage of polyurethane-based stimulation leads caused delays to implant procedures which adversely affected our business in Europe, including a reduction in our European revenue, and thereby our consolidated revenue. We estimate the impact during the fourth quarter of 2023 was approximately $4.0 million in lost revenue opportunity, most of which we believe was recovered during the first half of 2024.

We typically seek to maintain higher levels of inventory to protect ourselves from supply interruptions, and, as a result, we are subject to the risk of inventory obsolescence and expiration, which could lead to inventory impairment charges.

In the U.S., our products are shipped directly to our U.S. customers and to our Singapore and Hong Kong distributors on a purchase order basis, primarily by a third-party vendor with a facility in Tennessee, although we do ship some products from our facility in Minnesota. Warehousing and shipping operations for our European customers are handled by a third-party vendor with a facility located in the Netherlands, and warehousing and shipping operations for our Japanese customers are handled by a third-party with a facility in Japan. Customers do not have the right to return a non-defective product, nor do we place product on consignment. Our sales representatives do not maintain trunk stock.

Since our inception in 2007, we have financed our operations primarily through sales of our Inspire system, private placements of our convertible preferred securities, amounts borrowed under our former credit facility, and equity offerings of our common stock. We have devoted significant resources to research and development activities related to our Inspire system, including clinical and regulatory initiatives to obtain marketing approval, and sales and marketing activities. For the three months ended June 30, 2024, we generated revenue of $195.9 million with a gross margin of 84.8% and had a net income of $9.8 million compared to revenue of $151.1 million with a gross margin of 83.9% and a net loss of $12.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. For the six months ended June 30, 2024, we generated revenue of $359.9 million with a gross margin of 84.8% and had a net loss of

$0.2 million compared to revenue of $279.0 million with a gross margin of 84.2% and a net loss of $27.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Our accumulated deficit as of June 30, 2024 was $345.6 million.

We have invested heavily in product development. Our research and development activities have been centered on driving continuous improvements to our Inspire therapy. We have also made significant investments in clinical studies to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our Inspire therapy and to support regulatory submissions. We continue to make investments in research and development efforts to develop our next generations of the Inspire systems and support our future regulatory submissions for expanded indications and for new markets such as additional European countries and the Asia Pacific region. For example, in August 2024, we received approval from the FDA for our next generation Inspire system, which we expect to fully launch in 2025. In June 2023, we received approval from the FDA on an expanded indication which includes an increase on the upper limit of the Apnea Hypopnea Index to 100 events per hour from 65, and raises the Body Mass Index ("BMI") warning in the labeling to 40 from 32, and we also received FDA approval of our new physician programmer, called the SleepSync™ programmer, which we expect to formally launch in the U.S. in the second half of 2024. In March 2023, we received FDA approval to offer Inspire therapy to certain pediatric patients with Down syndrome.

Our direct-to-consumer marketing includes the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Google ad placements, and radio and television commercials. The objective of this outreach is to bring patients to our website, where they can find educational materials and videos on sleep apnea and the use and benefits of our Inspire therapy, contact information for physicians and clinical sites, and information regarding community awareness events. Further, our team leverages the Inspire Sleep app for patient education. We plan to continue to refine our approach to direct-to-consumer outreach, including increasing attention to digital advertising directed towards qualified patients. We expect to maintain our level of direct-to-consumer activities.

We have a call center which we refer to as the Inspire Advisor Care Program ("ACP"). The primary purpose of this program is to assist patients with making a connection with a qualified healthcare provider based on their specific needs. In 2022, we initiated a digital scheduling pilot program to facilitate and streamline patient access to care. We intend to continue to enhance this scheduling capability during the remainder of 2024.

We also continue to make significant investments to build our sales and marketing organization by increasing the number of U.S., European, and Japanese sales representatives and continuing our direct-to-consumer marketing efforts in existing and new markets. During the three months ended June 30, 2024, we added 12 new U.S. sales territories, bringing our total to 310 U.S. sales territories as of June 30, 2024. During that same period, we activated 81 new U.S. medical centers, bringing the total to 1,316 U.S. medical centers implanting Inspire therapy as of June 30, 2024.

During 2023 and into the first half of 2024, glucagon-like peptide 1 ("GLP-1s"), a class of drug indicated for diabetes and obesity, continued to gain popularity as a weight-loss drug. OSA is a multifactorial disease with many independent factors including age, gender, weight, and neck circumference. Inspire is designed to address anteroposterior airway collapse, also known as tongue base collapse. Additionally, patients with a higher BMI are subject to a larger neck circumference and present predominantly with lateral-wall collapse. A combination of tongue base collapse and lateral-wall collapse is identified as a complete concentric collapse of the upper airway. Inspire is contraindicated for complete concentric collapse. On April 17, 2024, Eli Lilly and Company ("Lilly") published headline results from its SURMOUNT-OSA trial demonstrating a 50.7% reduction in Apnea-Hypopnea Index ("AHI") for patients in the therapy arm of the study using tirzepatide, a GLP-1 injection. Subsequently, on June 21, 2024, Lilly published additional results from its SURMOUNT-OSA trial demonstrating 43% of participants treated with tirzepatide at the highest dose met criteria for disease resolution. In this context, "disease resolution" means achieving an AHI of fewer than 5 events per hour, or an AHI of 5 to 14 events per hour and an Epworth Sleepiness Scale ("ESS") score of ≤10. ESS is a standard questionnaire designed to assess excessive daytime sleepiness. Given a baseline AHI of 50.3, and based on these results, we believe that most patients enrolled in the study will continue to have residual moderate to severe OSA that will require treatment and fall within Inspire’s FDA-approved indication. While weight loss may help reduce a patient’s AHI and other OSA symptoms, numerous other studies have shown that weight loss alone will not resolve OSA for the vast majority of patients. We expect GLP-1s may help patients address their lateral wall collapse, making them a potential candidate for Inspire therapy to the extent they also have tongue base collapse. Based on our ongoing ADHERE patient registry, the average BMI of patients treated with Inspire therapy is 29 and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines recommend weight loss prior to surgery for patients with BMI over 35 and nonsurgical solutions for patients with BMI over 40. Therefore, we believe there is not a notable overlap between the Inspire patient population and the patient population being treated with GLP-1s today. While we cannot quantify the impact, we believe that there could be a benefit to our business as a result of GLP-1s, although there can be no assurance of such benefit at this time.

Macroeconomic Environment

The global economy continues to experience increased inflationary pressures. Higher interest rates and capital costs, higher shipping costs, increased costs of labor, international conflicts and terrorism, and weakening foreign currency exchange rates are creating additional economic challenges. These conditions may cause our customers to decrease or delay orders for our products.

Our inventory on-hand has been constrained by the continuing supply chain challenges and component shortages, although the supply chain constraints eased somewhat throughout 2023 and into 2024.

Components of Our Results of Operations

Revenue

We derive primarily all of our revenue from the sale of our Inspire system to hospitals and ASCs in the U.S. and in select countries in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. We recognize revenues from sales of our Inspire system when the customer obtains control of the product, which occurs at a point in time, either upon shipment of the product or receipt of the product, depending on shipment terms.

Our revenue has fluctuated, and may continue to fluctuate, from quarter to quarter due to a variety of factors. For example, we have historically experienced seasonality in our first and fourth quarters, and have experienced adverse impacts on our revenue due to the prior delay in obtaining EU MDR approval of our silicone-based leads and foreign currency exchange rates. In addition, we believe our revenue growth has been adversely impacted by lack of ENT surgeon capacity. If such impacts continue, our revenue growth may be further adversely impacted.

Our business has grown rapidly in recent years, resulting in substantially increased revenues, and we expect that our business will continue to grow. However, our revenue growth rate has generally declined in recent periods, and it may continue to do so as a result of the difficulty of maintaining growth rates as our revenues increase to higher levels.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Margin

Cost of goods sold consists primarily of acquisition costs for the components of the Inspire system, overhead costs, scrap, and inventory obsolescence, warranty replacement costs, as well as distribution-related expenses such as logistics and shipping costs, net of shipping costs charged to customers. The overhead costs include the cost of material procurement, depreciation expense for production equipment, and operations supervision and management personnel, including employee compensation, stock-based compensation, supplies, and travel. We expect cost of goods sold to increase or decrease in absolute dollars primarily as, and to the extent, our revenue grows or declines, respectively.

We calculate gross margin as gross profit divided by revenue. Our gross margin has been and we expect it will continue to be affected by a variety of factors, including manufacturing costs, the average selling price of our Inspire system, the implementation of cost-reduction strategies, inventory obsolescence costs, which generally occur when new generations of our Inspire system are introduced, and to a lesser extent the sales mix between the U.S. and countries outside of the U.S., as our average selling price in the U.S. tends to be higher than in other countries. Our gross margin may increase slightly to the extent our production volumes increase and we receive discounts on the costs charged by our contract manufacturers, thereby reducing our per unit costs, and when we implement price increases on our products, thereby increasing our revenue. On the other hand, our gross margin may decrease slightly to the extent our yields decrease, or materials and labor prices increase due to supply chain issues and inflation, thereby increasing our per unit costs. However, our gross margin may also fluctuate from quarter to quarter due to seasonality and foreign currency exchange rates.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development ("R&D") expenses consist primarily of product development, engineering, clinical studies to develop and support our products, regulatory expenses, quality assurance, testing, consulting services, prelaunch inventory, and other costs associated with the next generation versions of the Inspire system and SleepSync™, a cloud-based patient management system. These expenses include employee compensation, including stock-based compensation, supplies, materials, consulting, and travel expenses related to research and development programs. Additionally, these expenses include clinical study management, payments to clinical investigators, data management and travel expenses for our various clinical studies.

We expense prelaunch inventory as R&D expense in the period incurred unless objective and persuasive evidence exists that regulatory approval and subsequent commercialization of a product candidate is probable and we also expect future economic benefit from the sales of the product candidate to be realized.

We expect R&D expenses to increase in the future as we develop next generation versions of our Inspire system and SleepSync™ and continue to expand our clinical studies to further expand positive coverage policies from private commercial payors in the U.S. and enter into new markets including additional European countries and the Asia Pacific region. We expect R&D expenses as a percentage of revenue to vary over time depending on the level and timing of initiating new product development efforts and new clinical development activities.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses consist primarily of compensation for personnel, including base salaries, stock-based compensation expense and commissions related to our sales organization, finance, information technology, human resource, and legal functions, as well as spending related to marketing, sales operations, and training and reimbursement personnel. Other SG&A expenses include training physicians, travel expenses, advertising, direct-to-consumer promotional programs, conferences, trade shows and consulting services, professional services fees, audit fees, insurance costs and general corporate expenses, including facilities-related expenses.

We expect SG&A expenses to continue to increase as we expand our commercial infrastructure to both drive and support our planned growth in revenue and as we increase our headcount and expand administrative personnel to support our growth and operations as a public company including finance, legal, and human resources personnel and information technology services. Additionally, we anticipate an increase in our stock-based compensation expense with grants of stock options, restricted stock units, performance stock units, and shares of our common stock purchased pursuant to our employee stock purchase plan.

Other (Income) Expense

Other (income) expense consists primarily of interest and dividend income, the impacts of foreign currency transactions and remeasurements, and gains and losses on investments.

Seasonality

Historically, we have experienced seasonality in our first and fourth fiscal quarters, and we expect this trend to continue. In the U.S., we have experienced, and may in the future experience, higher sales in the fourth quarter as a result of patients having paid their annual insurance deductibles in full, thereby reducing their out-of-pocket costs. Conversely, in the first quarter, many U.S. patients' insurance deductibles reset, requiring more out-of-pocket costs, which negatively impacts our sales during this period.

Results of Operations

(in thousands, except percentages)

Comparison of the Three Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023

Revenue

Revenue increased $44.8 million, or 29.6%, to $195.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $151.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. These results reflect an increase in sales of our Inspire system of $43.1 million in the U.S. and an increase of $1.7 million outside of the U.S. compared to the same prior year period. Overall revenue growth was primarily due to increased market penetration in existing centers, expansion into new territories and centers, and, we believe, increased physician and patient awareness of our Inspire system, partially offset by ENT surgeon capacity constraints.

Revenue information by region is summarized as follows:

(in thousands, except percentages)

Revenue generated in the U.S. was $187.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, an increase of $43.1 million, or 29.7%, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023. Revenue growth in the U.S. was primarily due to increased market penetration in existing centers, the expansion into new territories and centers, and, we believe, increased physician and patient awareness of our Inspire system.

Revenue generated outside of the U.S. was $8.1 million in the three months ended June 30, 2024, an increase of $1.7 million, or 27.3%, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023. Revenue growth outside of the U.S. was primarily due to increased market penetration in existing centers, the expansion of our European sales representatives into new territories and centers, increased sales in the Asia Pacific region, and, we believe, increased physician and patient awareness of our Inspire system.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Margin

Cost of goods sold increased $5.6 million, or 23.1%, to $29.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $24.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was primarily due to product costs associated with the higher sales volume of our Inspire system experienced during the second quarter of 2024. Cost of goods sold for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was negatively impacted by additional costs associated with the transition of manufacturing lines to produce our new silicone-based leads.

Gross margin increased to 84.8% for the three months ended June 30, 2024 from 83.9% for the three months ended June 30, 2023. This increase was primarily due to increased sales volume and manufacturing efficiencies. Gross margin for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was negatively impacted by additional manufacturing costs associated with the transition of manufacturing lines to produce our new silicone-based leads.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses decreased $2.0 million, or 6.4%, to $28.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $30.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. This change was primarily due to a decrease of $7.9 million in ongoing research and development costs compared to the prior year period, primarily with respect to our next generation versions of the Inspire neurostimulator and our SleepSync™ platform, partially offset by an increase of $5.7 million of compensation and employee-related expenses, mainly as a result of increased headcount and stock-based compensation expense, and an increase of $0.2 million in regulatory and clinical studies expenses and quality compliance fees.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

SG&A expenses increased $19.5 million, or 17.3%, to $132.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $112.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The primary driver of this change was an increase of $18.8 million in compensation, including salaries, commissions, stock-based compensation, and other employee-related expenses, mainly as a result of increased headcount. In addition, general corporate costs increased $1.9 million primarily due to computer equipment and software expense, bank fees, and depreciation expense, as well as an increase in travel expenses of $0.9 million, partially offset by marketing expenses which decreased by $2.1 million, which amount was primarily attributable to reduced direct-to-consumer initiatives.

Other Income, Net

Other income, net increased by $0.9 million, or 18.2%, to $5.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $4.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The change was primarily due to an increase of $1.0 million in interest and dividend income due to higher interest rates on our higher cash, cash equivalents, and investment balances, partially offset by an increase of $0.1 million in foreign currency translation and remeasurement losses.

Income Taxes

We recorded a provision for incomes taxes of approximately $1.1 million and $0.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, respectively. This change was primarily due to an increase in state and local taxes.

Comparison of the Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023

Revenue

Revenue increased $80.9 million, or 29.0%, to $359.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $279.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was attributable to a $74.3 million increase in sales of our Inspire system in the U.S and an increase of $6.6 million outside of the U.S. Overall revenue growth was primarily due to increased market penetration in existing centers, expansion into new territories and centers, and, we believe, increased physician and patient awareness of our Inspire system, partially offset by ENT surgeon capacity constraints.

Revenue information by region is summarized as follows:

(in thousands, except percentages)

Revenue generated in the U.S. was $343.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, an increase of $74.3 million, or 27.6%, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023. Revenue growth in the U.S. was primarily due to increased market penetration in existing centers, the expansion into new territories and centers, and, we believe, increased physician and patient awareness of our Inspire system.

Revenue generated outside of the U.S. was $16.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, an increase of $6.6 million, or 67.3%, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023. As noted above, during the fourth quarter of 2023, not having received EU MDR certification of our silicone-based stimulation lead and the resulting shortage of polyurethane-based stimulation leads had an estimated adverse impact on European revenue during that period of approximately $4.0 million. The revenue increase experienced during the first half of 2024 was partially due to the recovery of some of the estimated $4.0 million of revenue opportunity from the fourth quarter of 2023. Other factors contributing to revenue growth were increased market penetration in existing centers, the expansion of our European sales representatives into new territories and centers, increased sales in the Asia Pacific region, and, we believe, increased physician and patient awareness of our Inspire system.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Margin

Cost of goods sold increased $10.5 million, or 23.7%, to $54.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $44.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was primarily due to product costs associated with the higher sales volume of our Inspire system experienced during the first half of 2024. Cost of goods sold for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was negatively impacted by additional costs associated with the transition of manufacturing lines to produce our new silicone-based leads.

Gross margin increased to 84.8% for the six months ended June 30, 2024 from 84.2% for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Gross margin for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was negatively impacted by additional costs associated with the transition of manufacturing lines to produce our new silicone-based leads.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses increased $1.4 million, or 2.4%, to $57.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $56.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. This change was primarily due to an increase of $11.0 million of compensation and employee-related expenses, mainly as a result of increased headcount and stock-based compensation expense and $0.3 million of in regulatory and clinical studies expenses and quality compliance fees, partially offset by a decrease of $9.9 million in ongoing research and development costs, primarily with respect to our next generation versions of the Inspire neurostimulator and our SleepSync™ platform.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

SG&A expenses increased $43.1 million, or 20.1%, to $257.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $214.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The primary driver of this change was an increase of $34.2 million in compensation, including salaries, commissions, stock-based compensation, and other employee-related expenses, mainly as a result of increased headcount. In addition, general corporate costs increased $4.9 million primarily due to computer equipment and software expense, bank fees, and depreciation expense, as well as an increase in travel expenses of $2.8 million, and an increase of $1.2 million of marketing expenses primarily consisting of direct-to-consumer initiatives.

Other Income, Net

Other income, net increased by $2.5 million, to $11.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 compared to $9.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. This change was primarily due to an increase of $2.6 million in interest and dividend income due to higher interest rates on our higher cash, cash equivalents and investment balances, partially offset by an increase of $0.1 million in foreign currency translation and remeasurement losses.

Income Taxes

We recorded a provision for income taxes of $1.7 million and $0.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, respectively. This change was primarily due to an increase in state and local taxes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of June 30, 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale debt securities of $466.0 million, a decrease of $3.5 million from $469.5 million as of December 31, 2023. Working capital totaled $541.5 million as of June 30, 2024, an increase of $25.9 million from December 31, 2023. We define working capital as current assets less current liabilities. The increase in working capital was primarily due to the following factors:

• a $25.1 million increase in inventory balances, which increased as supply chain issues eased;
• a $19.2 million increase in prepaid expense and other current assets which increased primarily due to dividends receivable on investments;
• a $7.2 million decrease in accrued expenses, which decreased primarily due to the payment of year-end bonuses and commissions;
• a $5.2 million decrease in accounts payable, generally due to decreased direct-to-consumer marketing spend in the second quarter of 2024; and
• a $2.5 million increase in cash and cash equivalents, primarily due to cash provided by operations and proceeds from the exercise of stock options.

The increase in working capital was partially offset by the following factors:

• a $23.2 million decrease in short-term available-for-sale investments, the proceeds of which were primarily used to purchase long-term available-for-sale investments; and
• a $10.2 million decrease in accounts receivable due to lower sales which occurred during the second quarter of 2024 versus the fourth quarter of 2023.

We proactively manage our access to capital to support liquidity and continued growth. Our sources of capital include sales of our Inspire system and registered offerings of our common stock.

The primary objective of our investment activities is to preserve our capital for the purpose of funding operations while at the same time maximizing the income we receive from our investments without significantly increasing risk or decreasing availability. To achieve these objectives, our investment policy allows us to maintain a portfolio of certain types of debt securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies, corporations with investment-grade credit ratings, or commercial paper and money market funds issued by the highest quality financial and non-financial companies. At June 30, 2024, we had $144.5 million in money market funds, $232.6 million in U.S. government securities, and $45.3 million in corporate debt securities, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and asset-backed securities. See Note 2 to our unaudited consolidated financial statements in this Quarterly Report for additional information on our investments.

In the six months ended June 30, 2024, our SG&A expenditures increased significantly over the prior year levels, and we anticipate further increases during the remainder of 2024. Our SG&A expenditures, primarily for increasing headcount and advertising, may exceed any associated increases in revenues, and therefore would reduce our cash flow from operations. We also anticipate R&D expenses will continue to be significant in 2024, primarily related to the ongoing development of the SleepSync™ platform and next generation products.

We spent $24.1 million on purchases of property and equipment in the six months ended June 30, 2024, mainly on testing systems and production equipment for our next generation Inspire system, our SleepSync™ platform, computer hardware and software, and leasehold improvements. We anticipate further capital expenditures in 2024, primarily for additional production equipment and our SleepSync™ platform, computer hardware and software, and leasehold improvements on our corporate office buildings.

As of June 30, 2024, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and investments, which totaled $466.0 million as of June 30, 2024, together with cash flows from operations, will provide liquidity sufficient to meet our cash needs and fund our operations and planned capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months. There can be no assurance, however, that our business will continue to generate cash flows at the same levels achieved in prior periods.

Beyond the next 12 months, our cash requirements will depend extensively on the timing of market introduction, and extent of market acceptance of, our Inspire system. Our long-term cash requirements also will be significantly impacted by the level of our investment in commercialization, entry and expansion into new markets such as Australia, whether we make strategic acquisitions, and competition. We cannot accurately predict our long-term cash requirements at this time. An extended period of global supply chain and economic disruption could materially affect our business, results of operations, access to sources of liquidity, and financial condition. We may seek additional sources of liquidity and capital resources through equity or debt financings, such as additional securities offerings or through borrowings under a new credit facility. There can be no assurance that such transactions will be available to us on favorable terms, if at all.

Cash Flows

The following table presents a summary of our cash flow for the periods indicated:

(in thousands)

Operating Activities

The net cash provided by operating activities was $8.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and consisted of a net loss of $0.2 million, non-cash charges of $55.5 million, and a decrease in net operating assets of $46.5 million. The non-cash charges consisted primarily of stock-based compensation, which increased mainly as a result of granting more equity awards to a greater number of employees as compared to the same prior-year period. The remainder of the non-cash charges included accretion of investment discount due to higher investment balances, depreciation and amortization expense which increased with additional purchases of property and equipment, non-cash lease expense, the benefit for estimated credit losses related primarily to accounts receivable with two healthcare systems, and stock issued for services rendered. Operating assets include inventories, which increased as supply chain constraints eased, and accounts receivable, which decreased due to collections on the higher sales volume we typically experience late in the fourth quarter. Operating assets also include prepaid expenses and other current assets, which increased primarily due to dividends receivable on our investments. Operating liabilities include accounts payable, which decreased generally due to reduced direct-to-consumer marketing spend in the second quarter of 2024, and accrued expenses, which decreased primarily due to the payment of year-end bonuses and commissions.

The net cash provided by operating activities was $3.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and consisted of a net loss of $27.4 million, non-cash charges of $42.7 million, and a decrease in net operating assets of $11.6 million. The non-cash charges consisted primarily of stock-based compensation, which increased mainly as a result of granting more stock options, restricted stock units, and performance stock units to more employees at a higher fair market value. The remainder of the non-cash charges included depreciation and amortization expense, non-cash lease expense, stock issued for services rendered, and other, net. Operating assets include inventories, which increased as supply chain constraints eased, and prepaid expenses and other current assets, which increased primarily due to prepaid insurance and other prepaid expenses. Operating assets also include accounts receivable, which increased due to higher sales volume. Operating liabilities include accounts payable, which increased generally due to our increased business volume year-over-year and the costs to support the growth of our operations, and accrued expenses, which decreased primarily due to the payment of year-end bonuses and commissions.

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2024 was $13.9 million and consisted primarily of the purchase of investments of $112.0 million and the purchases of property and equipment of $24.1 million, mainly for testing systems and production equipment for our next generation Inspire system, our SleepSync™ platform, computer hardware and software, and leasehold improvements, partially offset by the proceeds from sales or maturities of investments of $122.2 million.

Net cash provided by investing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was $1.1 million and consisted of the proceeds from sales or maturities of investments of $10.0 million, offset by the purchases of property and equipment of $8.6 million, and the purchase of strategic investments of $0.3 million.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was $7.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and consisted of $9.1 million in proceeds from the exercise of stock options and $3.4 million in proceeds from the issuance of common stock from our Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP"), partially offset by $4.7 million of taxes paid on net share settlement of equity awards.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $20.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and consisted of $20.5 million in proceeds from the exercise of stock options and $2.8 million in proceeds from the issuance of common stock from our ESPP, partially offset by $2.7 million of taxes paid on net share settlement of equity awards.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

There have been no material changes to our short-term and long-term anticipated cash requirements under contractual obligations from those described in our Annual Report.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our critical accounting policies and estimates are described in "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates" contained in our Annual Report. We have reviewed and determined that those critical accounting policies and estimates discussed in our Annual Report remain our critical accounting policies and estimates as of and for the six months ended June 30, 2024.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

A discussion of recent accounting pronouncements is included in Note 2 to our unaudited consolidated financial statements contained in this Quarterly Report.

Interest Rate Risk

The risk associated with fluctuating interest rates is primarily limited to our cash equivalents which are carried at quoted market prices and our short-term investments. We do not currently use or plan to use financial derivatives in our investment portfolio. A hypothetical 1% change in interest rates would have impacted interest and dividend income on our consolidated financial statements by approximately $2.2 million and $2.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Credit Risk, Foreign Currency Risk, and Inflation Risk

For market risks related to changes in credit, foreign currency, and inflation, refer to Item 7A “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” contained in Part II of our Annual Report. Our exposure to these risks has not materially changed from those disclosed in our Annual Report, other than as described below.

As of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, our cash, cash equivalents, and investments were maintained with financial institutions which we believe have sufficient assets and liquidity to conduct their operations in the ordinary course of business with little or no credit risk to us; however, our cash balances were in excess of insured limits. Market conditions can impact the viability of where our cash is held. In the event of failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain our cash and cash equivalents, there can be no assurance that we will be able to access uninsured funds in a timely manner or at all.

Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures

The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, refers to controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives, and our management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report. Based on that evaluation, our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective, at the reasonable assurance level, as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report.

Changes in internal control over financial reporting.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the quarter ended June 30, 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

For a discussion of our potential risks and uncertainties, see the information in "Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report. There have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our Annual Report, other than the following:

We currently compete and will in the future continue to compete against other companies, some of which have longer operating histories, more established products or greater resources than we do, which may prevent us from achieving increased market penetration and improved operating results.

The medical technology industry is highly competitive, subject to change and significantly affected by new product introductions and other activities of industry participants. Our competitors have historically dedicated and will continue to dedicate significant resources to promoting their products or developing new products or methods to treat moderate to severe OSA. We consider our primary competition to be other neurostimulation technologies designed to treat OSA. Though we are currently the only such technology approved for commercialization in the U.S. by the FDA, LivaNova, which produces an open-loop neurostimulation device designed to treat OSA, recently announced completion of clinical trials of its device in the U.S. We compete outside the U.S. with Nyxoah, which markets a bilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation device in certain countries outside the U.S. and recently announced early conclusion of enrollment in its first pivotal trial as it seeks FDA approval in the U.S. We believe other emerging businesses are in the early stages of developing neurostimulation devices designed to treat OSA. In addition, we also compete, both within and outside of the U.S., with invasive surgical treatment options such as UPPP and MMA and, to a lesser extent, oral appliances, which are primarily used in the treatment of mild to moderate OSA.

In addition, our Inspire therapy is approved for use as a second-line therapy in the treatment of moderate to severe OSA in patients who cannot use or obtain consistent benefit from CPAP. If one or more CPAP device manufacturers successfully develop a CPAP device that is more effective, better tolerated or otherwise results in better compliance by patients, or if improvements in other first or second-line therapies make them more effective, cost effective, easier to use or otherwise more attractive than our Inspire therapy, sales of our Inspire system could be significantly and adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if other companies are successful in developing neurostimulation devices that are approved for a broader range of indications than our Inspire system, we will be at a further competitive disadvantage, which could also affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

During 2023 and into the first half of 2024, glucagon-like peptide 1 ("GLP-1s"), a class of drug indicated for diabetes and obesity, continued to gain popularity as a weight-loss drug. Use of GLP-1s, or similar treatments, if approved for use for these clinical indications may directly or indirectly treat OSA. Additionally, GLP-1s are currently being clinically evaluated as a potential treatment for OSA. For example, on June 21, 2024, Eli Lilly announced that, following the release of results from its SURMOUNT-OSA phase 3 clinical trials, it has submitted its GLP-1 drug candidate, tirzepatide, for the potential treatment of moderate-to-severe OSA and obesity to the FDA and plans to initiate submissions for other global regulatory agencies in the near term. Although we believe that there could be a benefit to our business as a result of GLP-1s, there can be no assurance of such benefit at this time. If GLP-1s are successful in treating OSA in an indication for which Inspire therapy is approved, demand for our Inspire system could be reduced.

Many of the companies against which we compete may have competitive advantages with respect to primary competitive factors in the OSA treatment market, including, for example:

• greater company, product, and brand recognition;
• superior product safety, reliability, and durability;
• better quality and larger volume of clinical data;
• more effective marketing to and education of patients, physicians, and sleep centers;
• greater product ease of use and patient comfort;
• more sales force experience and greater market access;
• better product support and service;
• more advanced technological innovation, product enhancements, and speed of innovation;
• more effective pricing and revenue strategies;
• lower procedure costs to patients;
• more effective reimbursement teams and strategies;
• dedicated practice development; and
• more effective clinical training teams.

Most of the other OSA treatments against which we compete have a greater penetration into the OSA treatment market. Oral appliances and other surgical treatments are better known to ENT physicians, sleep centers, and the other physicians on whom we rely for referrals.

We also compete with other medical technology companies to recruit and retain qualified sales, training, and other personnel, including members of our in-house prior authorization team.

In addition, though there are currently no pharmacologic therapies approved to treat OSA, we may in the future face competition from pharmaceutical companies that develop such therapies. We also expect to experience increased competition in the future as other companies develop and commercialize competing neurostimulation devices. Any of these companies may also have the competitive advantages described above.

We are involved, and may become involved in the future, in disputes and other legal or regulatory proceedings that, if adversely decided or settled, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are, and may in the future become, party to litigation, regulatory proceedings or other disputes. In general, claims made by or against us in disputes and other legal or regulatory proceedings can be expensive and time-consuming to bring or defend against, requiring us to expend significant resources and divert the efforts and attention of our management and other personnel from our business operations. These potential claims may include but are not limited to personal injury and class action lawsuits, intellectual property claims and regulatory investigations relating to the advertising and promotional claims about our products and services, and employee claims against us based on, among other things, discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination. Any one of these claims, even those without merit, may divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit the future performance of our operations. Any adverse determination against us in these proceedings, or even the allegations contained in the claims, regardless of whether they are ultimately found to be without merit, may also result in settlements, injunctions or damages that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, securities class action litigations are often brought against companies following periods of volatility in the overall market and in the market price of a company’s securities. On December 22, 2023, we and certain of our executive officers were named in a putative class action lawsuit. The plaintiff filed an amended complaint on April 19, 2024, which alleges violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5, which alleged violations relate to certain prior disclosures of Inspire about the effectiveness of a program intended to help certain customers establish independence in seeking prior authorization from payors for our Inspire therapy. The plaintiff seeks to represent a class of shareholders who purchased or otherwise acquired Inspire common stock between May 3, 2023 and November 7, 2023. This lawsuit and any future lawsuits to which we may become a party are subject to inherent uncertainties and could result in very substantial costs, divert our management’s attention and resources and materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.