Inspire Medical Systems: A Nightmare Investment

Wolfpack is short Inspire Medical Systems (INSP). The annual market opportunity promoted by its management is so preposterous that it must be disingenuous, leaving investors holding the bag of this terminally unprofitable business. It turns out that Inspire can barely even give their device away: It has been available to ~9 million enrolled U.S. Veterans for free since 2014, but data from the VA hospital system show only 387 total patients have opted for Inspire’s surgery. Our research shows Inspire can’t even sell 20,000 units in a year, much less the 500,000 units claimed by management. Inspire’s surgically implanted device comes with a long list of onerous lifestyle restrictions and insufferable side-effects that permanently haunt past patients and drive off potential patients. Insiders have pocketed more than $340 million from stock sales, nearly 3x the company’s total revenue since the 2018 IPO. Inspire is only good at selling two things: this ridiculous growth story and their stock.