Align Technology Rallies On Q3 Results, Social Media Success

Shares of Invisalign owner Align Technology were trading higher Thursday after the company reported a third-quarter sales beat and success from several marketing campaigns.

Align's Q3 Results: Align Technology ALGN reported revenue of $734.1 million in the third quarter, up 21% year-over-year.

Clear aligner revenue was up 20% year-over-year to $620.8 million. Imaging systems and services revenue was up 24.5% year-over-year to $113.4 million.

The company saw its operating margin grow to 24.1%.

Clear aligner volume was up 28.7% year-over-year to over 496,000 cases. The gross margin for the clear aligner was 74.7%.

Clear aligner cases for teenage patients grew 25.6% year-over-year to 162,700 cases.

“I’m pleased to report stronger than expected results with record third quarter revenues up 21% year-over-year reflecting strong momentum across all regions and customer channels for both Invisalign clear aligners and iTero scanner and services,” Align Technology President and CEO Joe Hogan said in a statement. 

Competitor SmileDirectClub Inc SDC was moving in sympathy with Align Technology on Thursday, trading 10.33% higher to $12.39 at the time of publication. 

Align's Marketing Campaigns: The company credited its growth to new teen- and mom-focused consumer campaigns that saw 118% year-over-year increases in total leads.

Align said it saw an "uptick in consumer engagement from new social media influencers like Charli D’Amelio and Marsai Martin, and a 25.6% increase in teenagers using Invisalign clear aligners.

D’Amelio has a large presence on social media, with over 84.5 million followers on TikTok. Martin is a star of the television show “Blackish” and has over 2.6 million Instagram followers.

Align's Growth Ahead: On an earnings call with investors, Align Technology credited the “Zoom Effect” as part of its success.

People are now more concerned with their smile, the company said. 

In the third quarter, the company shipped Invisalign cases to a record 70,000 doctors, which included 5,800 first-time customers.

The company also trained 6,500 new doctors in the third quarter, including 3,200 in international territories.

Align is launching new services and software initiatives to power growth and also help doctors in the COVID-19 landscape. 

The company said its momentum into October was strong. 

ALGN Price Action: Shares of Align Technology were trading 34.02% higher to $450.07 at last check Thursday. 

Shares hit a new 52-week high of $459 earlier in the day.