GoodRX Subscription Revenue Down 8% but Active User Numbers Are Up

It was a mixed bag of growth and challenges for digital healthcare platform GoodRx during the second quarter.

In reporting its second-quarter results Thursday (Aug. 8), GoodRx said monthly active users (MACs) rose 8%, contributing to a 7% rise in prescription transactions revenue, which totaled $146.7 million.

While overall second-quarter revenue rose 6%, to $200.6 million, subscription revenue sank 8%, to $22 million, driven by a decrease in the number of subscription plans due to last month’s sunsetting of the company’s partnership subscription program, Kroger Savings Club.

Meanwhile, GoodRx will incur an estimated $5 million loss due to Rite Aid’s store closures. Total Rite Aid store closures have exceeded 650 since the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 10 months ago.

Chief Financial Officer Karsten Voermann addressed the impact of Rite Aid’s store closures, noting that while the immediate effects on revenue and prescription volume are significant, they are expected to stabilize over time. “The closures are specific to certain store types and geographies, which makes this situation distinct from other potential impacts,” Voermann said. “We believe the Rite Aid impact on prescriptions and revenue will be temporary over the next quarter or two.”

Despite the short-term impact on the company due to Rite Aid store closures, Interim CEO Scott Wagner highlighted GoodRx’s ongoing commitment to enhancing its value proposition across the pharmacy ecosystem.

“While the retail pharmacy landscape is experiencing turbulence, our focus remains on delivering affordable medication access and enriching our value for both healthcare partners and consumers,” Wagner said.

GoodRx continues to strengthen its relationships with retail and pharmacy benefit manager partners, Wagner added, and “expand its offerings around brand medications, and engage deeply with its patient base.”

The number of subscribers fell 8%, from 778,000 in the first quarter, to 696,000 in the second quarter.

Despite the drop in subscription revenue and Rite Aid store closures, Wagner is optimistic due to GoodRx’s business model

“Right now we’re all seeing the tectonic place of healthcare continue to shift between PBMs and plans and brand manufacturers and retailers,” Wagner said. “The good news for GoodRx is that we provide value to practically every part of the pharmacy ecosystem with the consumer, or patient, right at the start. Consumers use GoodRx to save money on their prescriptions.”

Healthcare professionals use GoodRx to get patients on the medications they need and save precious time, Wagner said, adding, “pharma manufacturers work with GoodRx to make their brand medications available to more consumers. Pharmacies work with GoodRx to acquire new consumers, reduce friction at the counter, and keep people from walking away from the nearly 900 million 30-day scrips that go unfilled every year.”

And finally, Wagner said, “pharmacy benefit managers work with us to gain incremental volume. We believe the best proof point for GoodRx’s value lies in scale. In 2023, consumers visited the GoodRx site and app about 350 million times and viewed our drug price pages almost 140 million times.”

Wagner noted that 88% of GoodRx users have commercially funded Medicare and use GoodRx as a complement to their funded benefits. He also pointed out independent pharmacies haven’t comprised much of the company platform but hinted that could change.

“Historically, we haven’t worked with a lot of independent pharmacies, but we should look at it,” he said. “To date, independent pharmacies haven’t been a big part of the GoodRx platform, but there’s no reason they shouldn’t be.”