Senseonics (SENS) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

Image source: The Motley Fool.

DATE

Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• President & Chief Executive Officer — Tim Goodnow
• Chief Operating Officer — Brian Hansen
• Chief Financial Officer — Frederick Sullivan
• Chief Medical Officer — Francine Kaufman
• Chief Operating Officer, International — Mukul Jain

TAKEAWAYS

• Revenue -- $11.7 million, reflecting 85% year-over-year growth from $6.3 million, driven by continued momentum in Eversense 365 new patient additions and higher adoption in profitable channels.
• Gross Margin -- 58%, attributed to more new users, higher manufacturing volumes, and the elimination of the Ascensia revenue share; excluding a onetime $0.5 million benefit, gross margin would have been approximately 54%.
• Channel Mix -- Approximately 60% of U.S. new patient shipments were sourced from the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel, while the bundled pay reimbursement channel also made up 60% of volume, providing the most profitable mix for the company.
• DTC Growth -- DTC new patient shipments doubled year over year, with DTC now representing nearly 100% growth compared to Q1 2025 and accounting for about 60% of all new patient shipments.
• Eon Care Impact -- Eon Care performed more than one-third of all Eversense insertion procedures, with a nursing network established in 34 states and more than 70 nurses, targeting 100 by year-end.
• Patient Retention -- Patient reorders tracked above plan in the quarter, signaling early positive retention trends; historical sensor renewal rates cited as 75% from first to second insertion, 85% from second to third, and over 90% by the third.
• Europe Expansion -- Eversense 365 launched initial patients in Sweden and Spain, with Germany and Italy pending; European commercial integration expected to close this quarter.
• U.S. Commercial Transition -- Full integration of the U.S. commercial team from Ascensia was completed by January 1, with management reporting a seamless transition and no disruption in sales execution.
• Product Pipeline -- Gemini launch remains scheduled for the first half of 2027, targeting a one-year sensor with a battery, and the Freedom first-in-human feasibility trial will begin in the second half of 2026 with a sensor featuring built-in Bluetooth and no external transmitter.
• Financial Guidance Raised -- Full-year 2026 global net revenue guidance increased to $60 million to $64 million, up from $58 million to $62 million, representing a targeted 70%-82% growth.
• Gross Margin Guidance -- Management projects full-year gross profit margin of 55%-58%, with improvements expected in the back half of the year.
• Operating Expenses -- Total expected 2026 operating expenses projected at $150 million to $160 million, mainly due to higher SG&A related to commercialization integration, with a modest R&D increase for the Gemini trial.
• Capital Structure Actions -- The company raised $92 million in gross proceeds via a public equity offering and expanded its Hercules Capital debt facility to $140 million, drawing an additional $20 million, resulting in $55 million of total debt outstanding.
• Cash and Debt Position -- As of March 31, 2026, Senseonics held $64.6 million in cash and equivalents and $35.2 million in debt and accrued interest prior to the latest financing steps.
• Cash Utilization -- Management forecasts 2026 cash utilization between $110 million and $120 million, primarily due to expanding SG&A from commercial team integration.
• Business Seasonality -- Management expects 40% of 2026 sales in the first half of the year and 60% in the second half, attributed to patient deductible resets and increased patient assistance program usage at the start of the calendar year.
• Automated Insulin Delivery Integration -- Sequel Med Tech's twiist pump integration with Eversense 365, the first such automated insulin delivery partnership, launched and is generating encouraging initial adoption and user feedback.
• Eversense 365 App Updates -- Enhancements to the Eversense 365 app, including advanced AI features, are scheduled for launch later in 2026, following positive early testing feedback.

Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email pr@fool.com

RISKS

• Net loss increased to $32.3 million compared to $14.3 million in the prior year, primarily due to elevated SG&A from integrating the commercial organization, with loss per share widening to $0.71 from $0.40.
• Operating expenses projected to rise substantially to $150 million-$160 million for 2026, mainly driven by SG&A, which may pressure profitability if revenue ramp does not accelerate as planned.

SUMMARY

Senseonics (NASDAQ:SENS) reported a significant acceleration in both revenue and gross margin, attributed to the successful integration of its U.S. commercial organization and rapid adoption of Eversense 365. The bundled pay channel, covering both procedure and device, contributed to higher margins and now represents the majority of U.S. volume, while the DTC channel has become the primary source for new patient growth. Management raised its full-year revenue guidance following strong first-quarter results and cited robust retention and expanding insertion capacity, particularly through its Eon Care subsidiary, as key drivers for future growth. Development milestones for the Gemini and Freedom products remain on track, and a strengthened balance sheet now supports continued pipeline investment and commercial expansion. The call also detailed expanding European presence, a new automated insulin delivery partnership, and enhancements to the Eversense app, signaling management’s focus on both operational execution and next-generation product innovation.

• Management stated, "There has not been, and we do not anticipate, any lag in regards to [Ascensia commercial team] efforts and capability" in the U.S. integration process.
• Frederick Sullivan said, "Our original plan does call for an increase in DTC spend in the back half of the year from where it is in the first half, but still in that $13 million ballpark," confirming the channel’s importance for patient growth acceleration.
• Pipeline advancement was underscored by Mukul Jain, who said, "we have already attached the battery. We already have it in clinical study. So there is no technical risk left in Gemini."
• Patient reorders and retention after the first sensor are described as exceeding internal expectations, with management emphasizing higher retention rates than previously modeled for Eversense 365.
• Tim Goodnow emphasized the Eversense 365 value proposition by stating, "a year-long, I'm not having to think about a sensor change is really very attractive to people, and that's why we're seeing the growing penetration that we're seeing."

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• Eon Care: Senseonics’ wholly owned subsidiary providing a network of contracted nurses for Eversense sensor insertion procedures, aimed at scaling capacity and improving geographic reach.
• Bundled Pay Channel: Reimbursement model combining sensor and insertion procedure in a single payment, recognized as the most profitable channel for Senseonics.
• DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) Channel: Senseonics' sales route directly targeting patients rather than health care providers, now the largest contributor to new patient growth in the U.S.
• Gemini: Next-generation sensor product slated to launch in 2027, offering a one-year implantable device with a battery for continuous and optional on-demand glucose readings.
• Freedom: Upcoming product in preclinical development with a built-in Bluetooth-enabled sensor, eliminating the need for an external transmitter and targeting first-in-human trials in 2026.
• AID (Automated Insulin Delivery): Systems integrating continuous glucose monitoring with insulin pumps to automate insulin delivery, improving glucose control for diabetes patients.
• DME (Durable Medical Equipment) Channel: Traditional Medicare- or insurer-reimbursed route for device distribution, recognized separately from bundled pay in Senseonics' sales mix.
• Eversense 365: The company’s year-long implantable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, now a centerpiece of U.S. and European expansion.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Tim Goodnow: Thanks, Jeremy, and I appreciate everyone joining us today. 2026 is off to a very strong start for Senseonics commercially and strategically. In the first quarter, we delivered $11.7 million in revenue and 58% gross margin. We view the combination of top line growth and margin expansion as early validation that our integrated commercial model can deliver with improving financial performance as we scale. Given all of this, we are raising our full year 2026 global net revenue guidance to $60 million to $64 million from $58 million to $62 million, representing year-over-year growth of 70% to 82%.

Beyond the financial results, we successfully completed the integration of the U.S. commercial organization, continued progress towards completing the European commercial integration, launched our first AID partnership, advanced our Gemini and Freedom development programs and added over $100 million in growth capital to our balance sheet. Taken together, these accomplishments give Senseonics the commercial control, the product pipeline and the financial resources to drive Eversense revenue growth, first through our compelling Eversense 365 offering and then through the next-generation CGM system that we are developing. We're at an exciting stage of our journey and the opportunity ahead for Senseonics is significant.

There's a lot more work to do, but we are now in control of our destiny with the right team, structure and strategy in place to accelerate our recent momentum. Now I'd like to provide more detail on the encouraging progress so far this year. On the commercial side, execution was strong. The first quarter of 2026 was our first full quarter with direct ownership of the Eversense commercial organization in the U.S. following the January 1 transition from Ascensia Diabetes Care. Having the commercial team inside Senseonics gives us the ability to align sales strategy, field execution and market access priorities with our product development and our qualified manufacturing partners.

This has been invaluable and that alignment contributed to an exceptional financial quarter. In the quarter, we generated revenue of $11.7 million, a strong financial result that reflects growing Eversense 365 adoption in the U.S. and a focused reimbursement channel mix, which Rick will detail shortly. Equally important, gross margin reached 58%, driven by more new users, higher manufacturing volumes and the structural benefit of eliminating the Ascensia revenue share. We view the combination of top line growth and margin expansion as early validation that our integrated commercial model can deliver with improving financial performance as we scale. Eversense sales have continued to grow, and we believe we remain on track to double patients this year in the U.S.

Our direct-to-consumer channel continues to yield strong results. In 2025, DTC sourced new patient shipments doubled year-over-year. And within the year, our monthly DTC new patient volumes grew more than fourfold from January through December as we scaled our investment. That momentum carried into 2026. In Q1, DTC sourced new patient shipments grew nearly 100% compared to the first quarter of 2025, with DTC accounting for roughly 60% of all new patient shipments in the quarter. The health care professional channel is also growing as our sales reps continue to become more efficient with March providing the most HCP sales leads in the company's history.

We're also encouraged that patient reorders tracked above plan in Q1, an early signal of the retention dynamics we expect from our year-long product. Following the positive reception of Eversense 365 in the U.S., we anticipate the current launch of our year-long sensor in Europe will support growth in these markets as well. In April, we inserted our first patients in Sweden, followed by Spain earlier this week. And we're in the process of launching across Germany and Italy, rounding out the 4 European markets we'll be serving following the transition of Ascensia's commercial organization. We also see Eon Care as an increasingly important growth driver for Eversense.

Eon now has over 70 nurses available for insertions, and the team is well on its way towards our goal of 100 nurses by the end of the year. Critically, Eon Care now performs more than 1/3 of all Eversense insertion procedures. To put the reach of our broadening network in perspective, we have established Eon in 34 states and are continuing to grow its reach. This expansion across the country reduces geographic barriers that may have previously limited implantable CGM adoption. That reach is significant for several reasons. First, it means that we have built meaningful insertion capacity that is not dependent on individual physician practices. This lowers the barrier for prescribers who offer Eversense.

Second, it gives patients a more convenient path to access the only year-long CGM, including in markets where inserting physician availability has historically been a constraint. And third, it provides Senseonics with a scalable service infrastructure that grows alongside our patient base. We expect Eon Care's share of insertions to continue increasing over the rest of the year as we add more nurses and further expand geographic coverage. In addition, the availability of Eversense with our first automated insulin delivery platform will continue to support our growth. In February, we announced the integration of Sequel Med Tech's twiist insulin pump with Eversense 365, the first automated insulin delivery system to integrate with a year-long CGM.

Not only does this integration expand the options available to people with diabetes, but it also provides a technology that fits the reality of their lives. Our efforts have brought 2 advanced platforms to users, is combining the precision of the twiist insulin delivery system with the unmatched longevity and performance of Eversense 365 in a flexible, convenient offering. We continue to pursue additional opportunities to integrate Eversense with other pump platforms and are very encouraged by the early uptake of Eversense 365 as part of our first AID system. We've seen good early adoption with twiist.

We've had exceptional anecdotal feedback from the initial users and the data presented at ATTD puts early numbers to the positive impact this combination is having. I also encourage you to check out the data to be presented by our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Francine Kaufman, at the ADA. This is further real-world evidence on Eversense 365, and the data shows a full year of strong patient adherence, glucometrics and hypoglycemic outcomes. It also validates our sensor's performance and accuracy across an entire year with the same performance between the first and second 6-month periods. Generally, we are very pleased with the progress we are making in advancing our penetration in the type 1 population.

All of these areas of commercial progress are encouraging, and I look forward to continuing the exciting commercial momentum that is building. Significantly, this momentum is driven by the successful integration of the Ascensia commercial organization into Senseonics. As an update on this initiative, we brought the Ascensia U.S. CGM organization into Senseonics on January 1, and that transition has gone smoothly as evidenced by our first quarter performance. The U.S. territories are effectively running and showing progress. We appreciate the continuing commitment of our new colleagues, and we're enjoying building our capabilities with them directly as part of one aligned team.

We've continued to collaborate with Ascensia to complete the OUS transition and build a dedicated European commercial team to execute launches in Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden. As mentioned earlier, we are now live in Sweden and Spain with Germany and Italy on track. As part of this, we have hired key additional roles to support those countries. We are working to finalize our business systems and to transfer the contracts, tenders and employees to within the new Senseonics organization. We are planning to close the European transition this quarter. We've appreciated Ascensia's partnership over the past several years and their ongoing collaboration to make this transition smooth for both Eversense users, providers and commercial employees.

At the same time, we recognize the value of having the full view of the product life cycle inside Senseonics, being more equipped to drive operational strategies and having the control and agility to rapidly respond to market needs. In addition, the full team is excited about being part of a single organization that is fully aligned and committed to building and growing the world's most advanced offering in continuous glucose monitoring. While we continue our focused work to drive awareness and adoption of 365 today, we're also excited about further shaping the future of CGM with our compelling product pipeline for tomorrow.

We remain on schedule to launch Gemini in the first half of 2027 as we target delivering a 1-year sensor with a battery for continuous and optional on-demand readings. Moreover, in the second half of the year, we plan to initiate the first in-human trial for Freedom, a 1-year sensor with built-in Bluetooth that will connect directly to the user's phone and insulin pump without a transmitter. We've also begun the important steps of building and scaling the manufacturing processes with our manufacturing partners as we advance towards the clinical trial and ultimate launch. Additionally, we're also working on enhancements to our Eversense 365 app. This is currently in development, and we expect that to launch later this year.

The feedback that we've received during early testing has been positive, and we look forward to rolling out the app to advance our customers' diabetes management decision-making, and we're excited about advanced AI features that will be added as well. Finally, I'd like to update you on our recent financing initiatives. Delivering on the value creation opportunity our shareholders have in Eversense requires us to have the growth capital to support these initiatives. Therefore, to position us to execute on our strategies, we took 2 steps to substantially strengthen our balance sheet. On Friday, we executed an amendment and expansion to our credit facility with Hercules Capital, increasing that facility from $100 million to $140 million.

We have drawn an additional $20 million above the $35 million that was previously outstanding. And there are additional draws of up to $85 million available subject to various terms and conditions. Additionally, on Monday, we closed on a public offering raising $92 million in gross proceeds through the sale of common stock and prefunded warrants. As a result of these 2 financing steps, Senseonics is in a stronger position to build on the progress we are describing today. I'll now turn the call over to Rick to walk through the numbers.

Frederick Sullivan: Thanks, Tim. I'd like to begin today with an overview of our sales channels, reimbursement channels and revenue recognition to help clarify the mechanics of our financials. Now that the sales and marketing team is fully integrated into the company, I think it is important to provide additional details on what you should expect over the course of 2026. Senseonics has 3 primary sales channels in the U.S., direct-to-consumer, health care providers and reorders. Direct-to-consumer sales is the largest U.S. sales channel and currently accounts for approximately 60% of our new patient growth.

In the second half of 2025, we made the strategic decision to invest heavily in the channel and will spend a similar amount this year at approximately $13 million. We learned a lot last year about effectively deploying and targeting this spending and have applied those learnings in 2026, resulting in lower cost per workable leads and higher conversion rates. Our second U.S. sales channel is health care providers targeted by our sales force. While HCP sales currently account for about 40% of new patient growth, this channel has the highest ROI due to repeat prescribers.

In 2026, our sales force has continued to increase productivity, driving more and more new patient leads, and we expect this trend to continue each quarter. Last, but critical to our business is our patient reorders, which will continue to grow each year. We expect 40% of our U.S. volume to come from reorders in 2026 and are focused on continuing to improve patient retention. Now I'll move to U.S. reimbursement channels and the mix of bundled pay versus durable medical equipment. In bundled pay, the insertion procedure and the Eversense 365 sensor are combined in a single payment.

It is the most profitable reimbursement channel and with good support from our inside sales team, approximately 60% of our volume is now flowing through this channel. This contributed to the favorable margins we saw in Q1. The remainder of the volume continues to flow through our DME reimbursement channel. The DME channel is serviced by distributors with payer contracts, and we recognize revenue upon shipment to the DME distributors. These distributors maintain appropriate levels of inventory, typically 30 days or less. We service the bundled pay channel primarily in 2 ways.

First, through our consignment program, where participating physicians keep inventory on their shelves, so the product is readily available for patients; second, through Eon Care, our wholly owned subsidiary that utilizes contracted nurses to perform the procedure once a patient has a prescription. In the bundled pay channel, we recognize revenue at the time of the procedure. With the integration of the commercial organization, we will no longer be reporting sales to Ascensia, so our reported revenue growth will more closely align with our patient base growth. I hope these descriptions were helpful. Now let's turn to the financials for the quarter.

In the first quarter of 2026, net revenue grew 85% year-over-year to $11.7 million compared to $6.3 million in the prior year period on the continued momentum of Eversense 365 new patient additions, retention rates slightly above plan and more of our business transitioning into the more profitable bundled pay reimbursement channel. U.S. revenue for the fourth quarter was $9.3 million and revenue outside the U.S. was $2.4 million. In Q1 2026, gross profit was $6.9 million, an increase of $5.4 million from the prior year period.

This increase in gross profit was primarily due to higher U.S. revenues driven by continued adoption of the Eversense 365 system, higher average selling prices as more of our business moves to the bundled pay channel and a more streamlined manufacturing and supply chain contributing to improved margins. During the quarter, we recognized a onetime benefit of $0.5 million in cost of goods sold due to the utilization of raw materials for the continued commercialization of Eversense E3 outside of the U.S. Excluding this onetime benefit, gross profit margins would still be above plan at approximately 54%. Research and development expenses in Q1 2026 were $8.6 million, an increase of $1.3 million compared to the prior year period.

The increase was primarily due to new R&D projects, the ramp-up of new clinical trials and increased headcount to support these activities. First quarter 2026 selling, general and administrative expenses were $30.2 million, an increase of $22.5 million compared to $7.7 million in the prior year period, primarily driven by the integration of the commercial organization, including increased personnel, transition support services from Ascensia, direct-to-consumer marketing and other operational costs. Net loss was $32.3 million or $0.71 loss per share in the first quarter of 2026 compared to a net loss of $14.3 million or a $0.40 loss per share in the first quarter of 2025.

Net loss increased by $18 million, primarily due to increased expenses resulting from the costs related to taking over the commercialization and distribution of Eversense. As of March 31, 2026, cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents totaled $64.6 million, and debt and accrued interest was $35.2 million. Q1 delivered, and we're building on that momentum. We're raising our full year 2026 global net revenue guidance to $60 million to $64 million compared to $58 million to $62 million previously. This updated revenue range represents notable year-over-year growth of 70% to 82%.

Our business is seasonal due to the resetting of patient deductibles at the beginning of the calendar year and heavier utilization of patient assistance programs at that time to offset out-of-pocket costs. The seasonality of our business, the fact that we launched Eversense 365 in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the second half focus of our investments in DTC to drive awareness in the back half of 2025 contribute to our revenue being more heavily weighted to the back half of the year. We expect to see approximately 40% of the sales in the first half of the calendar year and 60% in the second half.

Taking into consideration our margin performance to date, along with the planned launch of Eversense 365 in Europe, which will allow us to focus primarily on a single product globally, we now expect full year 2026 gross profit margin to be between 55% and 58%, increasing in the back half of the year. We are excited by the financial results in Q1, driven by the integration of the commercial organization and expect to see continued improvements in our top line and the expansion of our gross profit margins.

Due to the integration of the commercial organization and supporting transition service agreements from Ascensia, we expect operating expenses to be between $150 million and $160 million with increases primarily in SG&A and a smaller increase in R&D for the Gemini pivotal trial. We expect cash utilization in 2026 to be between $110 million and $120 million, largely as a result of increasing SG&A due to bringing the sales and marketing teams in-house. Earlier this week, we completed an equity financing and expanded our debt facility with Hercules Capital, adding more than $100 million to our balance sheet.

We issued common stock and prefunded warrants to institutional investors for gross proceeds of $92 million and drew an additional $20 million on our $140 million debt facility, bringing total debt outstanding to $55 million. We believe this is the right mix of debt and equity in our capital structure, and we believe we now have the financing in place to get us to the anticipated launch of the Freedom product in 2028. We're excited that our strengthened balance sheet will allow us to drive shareholder value by supporting the continued investment in Eversense 365 and future generation products while focusing on executing our commercial strategy. With that, I'll turn it back to Tim.

Tim Goodnow: Thank you, Rick. To wrap up, I want to step back and frame where we stand. Senseonics entered 2026 with a clear thesis that bringing the commercial organization in-house, combined with the strength of the Eversense 365 product would unlock revenue growth and margin improvement. The first quarter results support that thesis, $11.7 million in revenue, gross margins of 58%, DTC new patient shipments nearly doubling and Eon Care now performing more than 1/3 of all insertions, as well, patient reorders are tracking above plan. At the same time, our balance sheet is healthy.

Our pipeline is advancing on schedule with Gemini targeted in the first half of 2027 and Freedom on track to enter its first human trial later this year, and we have the organizational structure in place with a full U.S. team integrated. The European transition is underway and Eon Care is scaling. We believe Senseonics is positioned to become the company that reshapes continuous glucose monitoring, and we intend to execute with the discipline and urgency that this opportunity demands. With the momentum that we are building across our commercial, development and financial initiatives, we're optimistic about the remainder of 2026 and beyond.

We look forward to speaking with many of you at our event during this year's American Diabetes Association Conference in New Orleans. With that, I'll now turn the call over to the operator to answer any questions that you may have. Thanks once again for your time today. Operator, let's go ahead and open up the call for questions.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] And we'll take our first question from Anthony Petrone with Mizuho Group.

Anthony Petrone: Congrats to the team here. Maybe Tim and Brian, sort of a 2-part question here. Ascensia coming over in the U.S. described as a seamless transition. Just wondering, though, as you sort of put them under a new corporate umbrella, is there any like lag as to what their contribution is going to look like for turning on new sites contributing to patient growth. It seems like there can be more of a tailwind certainly as this year goes on and then that follows through to the European experience. And then a follow-up here quickly would be on the cadence of investments. You're coming off the capital raise, debt and equity. Investments in regions was a gating factor.

DTC drives new patients. You have the investment opportunity with the Eon inserter. So how do you look at the pace of investments? Where will they be focused kind of initially in the first half to the second half? And how meaningful do you expect a conversion in new patient growth this year from the increased investments?

Tim Goodnow: Thanks, Anthony. In regards to the transition, I'll speak to that or at least introduce and Brian can come in. But it really has gone quite smooth, right? The sales reps were obviously -- we work with them pretty extensively in the fourth quarter, made sure they had everything they need. Even simple things like keeping the exact same cell phone numbers, all of that happened. So we pretty much flipped the switch on December 31, and they were calling on the same accounts, really picked up everywhere that they should have. So we don't -- we haven't seen and don't anticipate any lag in regards to their efforts and capability.

Brian, I don't know if you had any further qualification for that or...

Brian Hansen: Anthony, I'd probably add to that, that on the EU side, right, for our 4 European countries, we're moving from the BGM sales efforts to hiring sales reps to now take over those activities. So if there's a lag, it's in our 4 OUS countries. But as Tim said, the U.S. was fairly seamless.

Frederick Sullivan: Yes. And then Anthony, I'll cover the investment question. So we stuck to our original plan. Our original plan does call for an increase in DTC spend in the back half of the year from where it is in the first half, but still in that $13 million ballpark. And we are certainly monitoring the sales force. We have 43 territories today with a plan to maintain that level and increase it next year and the following with our future generation product launches.

Operator: We'll take our next question from Josh Jennings with TD Cowen.

Joshua Jennings: Nice to see the strong momentum here in the early part of 2026. I wanted to ask just about the stat about 60% of insertions are coming through the bundled pay channel, Tim and Rick. And just -- I mean, that's a nice higher number than we were anticipating here in the early days of 1Q '26 relative to, I think, where you exited in 2025. How do you see that mix evolving? Is that 60% kind of a steady state? Or should we be thinking that, that continues to move higher over the course of '26 and into 2027 with it being kind of, I think, a higher revenue, higher-margin channel?

Frederick Sullivan: Yes, you're right. Historically, we've been about 50-50 DME and bundled pay. And we certainly have focused some of our DTC spending and inside sales efforts on that bundled pay channel. So we were pretty excited as that our channel mix moved to that channel being more profitable, which was a good piece of the reason we saw the upside in our margins. We're going to keep focusing on that channel over the course of the year. But right now, thinking that the 60-40 is an appropriate target.

Tim Goodnow: Yes. We are -- as Rick is pointing out, we are -- Brian's team is doing a great job to reaching out to the folks that are on Medicare, which is a pretty good portion of that. But we are also seeing some of the commercial payers transition to the bundled pay. So, Josh, I would expect that to transition, but over a couple of year time period. I don't think it's anything that will have precipitously in this year. So...

Joshua Jennings: Maybe a follow-up, just a 2-part pipeline question. The first part, just thinking about the data that hit at ATTD with the Sequel integration and what will be put forward at ADA just on the performance of Eversense 365. There may be some other pump partners that are interested in integrating Eversense 365 here. Any updates on any partnership discussions? And then also just with the Freedom progress and getting into a human trial in the second half of this year, maybe just help us think about how derisked that program is? Are there any further steps that need to be taken before you guys can move into that trial?

I guess what boxes are left to be checked before the trial can kick off?

Tim Goodnow: Sure, Josh. On the first part on the -- yes, sorry, the data with -- that Fran is going to speak to. That's going to be an extension of the work that she did. We now have a notably much larger population of the Sequel folks. We're seeing really encouraging results there. She did get an oral presentation. We'll also have a lot more extension of the 365 data. So that will certainly be -- that will be encouraging, and we're looking forward to the results from that. On the pump partnership, we continue to be very active. We don't have anything to announce, but it is an important focus for us, and we're continuing to make progress. On Freedom?

Mukul Jain: Josh, this is Mukul. On Freedom, we have been making a lot of progress. We are doing a second preclinical in animals. And now we think we are at a stage where we can take -- we've taken the risk out of the product and take it into humans. The first in-human, we'll be doing outside U.S. in a feasibility study. And then we'll bring the data over to start discussions with FDA to get a pivotal study, IDE in by end of the year.

Operator: We'll take our next question from Matt Miksic with Barclays.

Matthew Miksic: Congrats on a really great quarter. I had one question on just sort of like the retention of some of the folks using the system and then one on sort of the next-gen technology platform power enhancements that you've made because it's a question that I get fairly often from investors. So the first, you've talked about sort of like the percentage of folks that will renew the first time, the second time and the third time. And I'm wondering now that you're a year in change in on 365, if you're seeing any changes in that or improvements in that just because I think that was like a 6-month statistic before. Just wondering if that's changing at all?

And then I have a quick follow-up.

Tim Goodnow: Yes. Obviously, we don't have the multi sensors at this point, but we are encouraged. The historical has been first to second is around 75%, second to third is around 85%. By the time you get to your third sensor, it's well into the 90s. And I think we're continuing on that track. We don't yet have the data, obviously, for the second year, but the first data is quite encouraging and frankly, was a little bit stronger than we had modeled. So we feel quite good about the experience we're seeing in the 1-year sensor. What was the question on battery powering?

Mukul Jain: He was going to ask the question to follow-up.

Tim Goodnow: Did you have a question on the battery, Matt?

Matthew Miksic: Yes. Sorry about that. Yes, I accidentally put myself back on mute. Yes. Just maybe talk about how to think about the sort of level of work that you've done so far on sort of the next-gen battery platform, what maybe the technology risk is to that or the manufacturing risk or how to frame that just given that it's the next big thing in the pipeline?

Mukul Jain: Sure, Matt. So the battery comes from Integer, right, that they're pretty much the only manufacturer of implantable batteries for all medical devices. So there's no technological risk. The chemistry we are using is very well-known in the cardiac and neuromodulation devices used over 2 decades. So -- and all those choices were made just to make sure that the risk is low. FDA knows that company pretty well. So for Gemini, we have already attached the battery. We already have it in clinical study. So there is no technical risk left in Gemini. Going beyond the battery is the Bluetooth that comes new to Freedom, and we have made a lot of progress there.

And as we have stated earlier, we are ready to go into humans to kind of start collecting data while we continue to refine the Bluetooth technology in that really small form factor.

Operator: We'll move next to Sean Lee with H.C. Wainwright.

Xun Lee: In the prepared remarks, you mentioned that DTC is becoming an increasing larger piece of the new patient adds. So I was wondering, have you seen any changes in the cost per patient out through these channels pre and post the Ascensia transition? And what point do you think we can get to once it's fully ramped up?

Frederick Sullivan: Yes, sure, Sean. I'll take that. So I think if you remember, the back half of 2025, we made significant investment in DTC, certainly drove increased awareness of our product, but those cost per workable leads were higher, it did become a little bit less efficient. And so, in 2026, what we did is take the same amount of spend that we spent in the back half of '25 and spread it all year long. And so although we're making smaller investments on a monthly basis, we're seeing improvements in both cost per workable lead and in our conversion rates.

So we've learned a lot with that investment we made in the back half of the year and are certainly tweaking algorithms and spend levels to make sure that it's extremely efficient. So we're pretty happy with the progress we've made so far in Q1.

Xun Lee: Great to hear that. And with the competition that Dexcom and others are coming up with these long next-gen short durations. Again, how does -- how do you defend the value proposition of Eversense 365 versus these other sensors that are coming in and potentially lower price points?

Tim Goodnow: The value proposition for Eversense continues to be the same. They have made some changes from 14 to 15 days, but obviously, that's significantly different than a year-long sensor. The primary premise, of course, a person with diabetes is they'd like to think less about their diabetes technology and more about the rest of their lives. So as we manufacturers can make it simpler and easier to use, they will reward you for the purchase of a quality product. And Eversense certainly fits that bill. So a year-long, I'm not having to think about a sensor change is really very attractive to people, and that's why we're seeing the growing penetration that we're seeing.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] We'll move next to Ben Haynor with Lake Street Capital Markets.

Benjamin Haynor: First off for me, just thinking about some of the data that you presented at the ATTD conference on the first 5,355 patients. You have really good time and range, really good GMI look better than what a lot of competitors have published both on the CPM and CGM pump side. Can you talk about whether that got much attention or kind of any color on how that was received at that conference?

Tim Goodnow: Yes. We've actually received quite nice feedback from it. I think one of the things is, we'll have an extension on that at the ADA that I think will get further coverage, but we've also been in the process of getting that peer-reviewed -- written up and peer-reviewed. And that's really the next big step for us to get further visibility of it. So I would hope that later this summer, we'll have a peer-reviewed publication that will strengthen the publication and rollout of that information. But the feedback certainly has been positive. As we pointed out, we feel very comfortable. You get the long-term compliance, obviously, of Eversense at 365 days.

And the algorithm, the loop algorithm has some pretty attractive attributes and is performing pretty well. So when you put those together with our high-precision pump like you get out of Sequel, you get those very, very good results.

Benjamin Haynor: Excellent. And then, I guess, this kind of dovetails with one of Josh's questions on that -- the data that was with the first 100 or whatever was Sequel pump users was -- does that help the level of attention and maybe get some of the other potential pump partners across the finish line? Or is that not enough patients yet or how is the right way to think about that?

Tim Goodnow: I mean, it's definitely helping with the partnership. Brian, do you want to speak to that? Your team is spending a lot of time working with them.

Brian Hansen: Yes. I think both the success we've had in the first couple of months of the combined system has opened some eyes and exceeded our expectations. And clearly, the data was good, both on the sensor and the sensor and the pump. And so, any time you can show that data in real life now, it substantiates a whole lot. It just helps a lot of conversations, Ben. So very happy with it. And yes, it's helping the conversations move forward.

Operator: And this does conclude the Q&A portion of today's event. I would now like to turn back to CEO, Tim Goodnow, for any additional or closing remarks.

Tim Goodnow: I'd like to thank everybody for participating, and we look forward to updating you next quarter. So with that, we'll go ahead and end the call. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.

This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. Parts of this article were created using Large Language Models (LLMs) based on The Motley Fool's insights and investing approach. It has been reviewed by our AI quality control systems. Since LLMs cannot (currently) own stocks, it has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.

The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.