What is BetterHelp and how does its direct-to-consumer model work?

BetterHelp definition: BetterHelp (acquired by Teladoc/formerly Lifesign in 2015) is the world's largest online therapy platform, connecting adults seeking mental health counseling with licensed therapists via text messaging, live video sessions, live phone sessions, and live chat; BetterHelp operates entirely direct-to-consumer — members sign up directly and pay monthly subscription fees ($60-90/week or approximately $240-360/month depending on plan); BetterHelp does not work with health insurance (no insurance billing); all fees are out-of-pocket. How it works: users complete an intake questionnaire about their needs, preferences, and issues; BetterHelp matches users with a licensed therapist (psychologists, licensed counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists) from its network of 30,000+ therapists; members can message their therapist asynchronously at any time, schedule live video/phone/chat sessions, and request a different therapist if the match isn't right. Consumer demand: BetterHelp grew rapidly because: therapist shortages mean in-person therapy often has 6-12 week wait times; BetterHelp matching often enables starting within a few days; online text-based therapy removes the barrier of commuting to appointments; BetterHelp's cost ($300/month) is often lower than copays for in-person therapy; stigma is reduced by the private, at-home nature of online counseling. Challenges: BetterHelp has faced regulatory attention regarding advertising practices and consumer protection; as competition from other digital mental health platforms (Talkspace, Calm Therapy, Spring Health) intensified, user acquisition costs increased; BetterHelp's growth decelerated meaningfully in 2023-2024 from its COVID-era peak growth rates.

What is telehealth and what are the regulatory reimbursement challenges?

Telehealth definition: telehealth (or telemedicine) is the provision of clinical healthcare consultations via telecommunications technology — video calls, telephone calls, or asynchronous messaging — rather than in-person visits; telehealth can be used for primary care (diagnosing common illnesses, managing prescription refills), urgent care (evaluating symptoms that might otherwise require an ER or urgent care visit), mental health (therapy and psychiatric medication management), specialty consultations (dermatology, endocrinology for routine follow-up), and chronic disease management. COVID-era telehealth expansion: before COVID, telehealth was severely limited by reimbursement restrictions; Medicare required patients to be in rural areas for telehealth coverage and be at an approved facility (not their home) for telehealth; COVID emergency declarations waived these restrictions, allowing telehealth reimbursement for all patients, including at home; this created a massive telehealth adoption surge; after 2020, the question was whether these temporary waivers would become permanent. Reimbursement status: Congress has repeatedly extended COVID telehealth flexibilities through temporary legislation; as of 2025, these extensions continue but the permanent regulatory status of telehealth reimbursement remains uncertain; 'payment parity' (paying the same for telehealth as for in-person visits) has been a contentious policy debate; CMS and commercial insurers want to pay less for telehealth (arguing telehealth should be cheaper to deliver); if telehealth reimbursement rates are cut below in-person levels, the economics of telehealth businesses deteriorate. Teladoc impact: Teladoc's commercial business (employer and health plan contracts) is less directly affected by Medicare reimbursement policy; however, commercial insurance payment rates often follow Medicare's lead; any reduction in telehealth payment parity would negatively affect Teladoc's negotiated commercial rates.

What is the Livongo acquisition and why did Teladoc take such large goodwill impairments?

Livongo background: Livongo Health was a digital health company providing a connected diabetes management platform — a cellular-connected blood glucose meter that uploaded readings to Livongo's platform, where AI algorithms analyzed patterns and provided personalized coaching messages to diabetics; Livongo's model was sold to employers (and health plans) who paid per-employee-per-month fees; members received free Livongo devices and unlimited test strips. Acquisition rationale: Teladoc acquired Livongo in October 2020 for $18.5 billion in an all-stock deal during peak telehealth enthusiasm; the thesis was that combining telehealth (Teladoc's acute episodic care) with chronic disease management (Livongo's always-on engagement) would create a superior integrated care platform that could reduce employer healthcare costs better than either alone; Teladoc assigned $13.8 billion of the $18.5B purchase price to goodwill (the premium over Livongo's tangible book value). Goodwill impairments: goodwill must be tested annually for impairment; if the business's fair value falls below its recorded value (including goodwill), the company must record an impairment charge; Teladoc recorded goodwill impairments of approximately: $3B in Q1 2022, $3.2B in Q3 2022, and additional impairments in 2023-2024 — totaling approximately $10B+ in goodwill write-offs; these impairments occurred because Livongo's chronic care growth disappointed, telehealth stock valuations declined dramatically from peak, and the integrated care revenue synergies were slower to materialize than expected. Financial impact: the goodwill impairments created massive GAAP net losses for Teladoc; these non-cash charges don't affect operating cash flow but significantly reduce shareholders' equity and represented an admission that Teladoc massively overpaid for Livongo at the peak of digital health valuations.

Data as of: September 20, 2026

brimindinvest.com / compare / neo-vs-tdoc-healthLIVE

NEO

NeoGenomics, Inc. · Healthcare - Oncology Clinical Laboratory (Cancer Genomics Testing)

$19.91

+19.51% this month

VERSUS

COMPARE

TDOC

Teladoc Health, Inc. · Healthcare - Virtual Care Platform (Telehealth, Mental Health, Chronic Care)

$6.30

-5.41% this month

Comparison scoreboard

NEO LEADS 4/5

AI Scorei

NEO ✓37.6

TDOC 24.8

1Y Returni

NEO ✓+130.97%

TDOC -23.73%

Fwd P/Ei

NEO ✓50.63

TDOC -8.23

Target Up.i

NEO +13.35%

TDOC ✓+18.68%

Op. Margini

NEO ✓-4.84%

TDOC -5.68%

Metrics last refreshed: 9/20/2026

Quick take

NEO vs TDOC Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside

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NEO (NeoGenomics) and TDOC (Teladoc Health) are both healthcare technology companies in distinct niches — NeoGenomics is the largest independent oncology clinical laboratory providing specialized cancer genomic testing that oncologists need for precision cancer treatment decisions, while Teladoc is the largest virtual care platform providing telehealth primary care, BetterHelp mental health therapy, and Livongo chronic disease management through employer health benefits.

NEO vs TDOC is oncology-specialized laboratory with precision medicine testing demand tailwinds (NeoGenomics's dominant oncology test platform, pharma services clinical trial revenue, and increasing genomic test intensity per cancer patient — reimbursement rate pressure and reference lab competition from LabCorp/Quest) versus virtual care platform post-COVID normalization with massive goodwill impairments (Teladoc's 90M member network, BetterHelp mental health, and integrated chronic care — Livongo acquisition overpayment impairments, BetterHelp growth normalization, and telehealth reimbursement uncertainty).

Live analysis · updated 9/20/2026

NEO holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. NEO leads on both 1-year return (+130.97%) and forward P/E quality (50.63x vs -8.23x for TDOC), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. NEO leads on both revenue growth (11.20%) and operating margin (-4.84%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for TDOC (+18.68%) than for NEO (+13.35%).

Normalized 1Y performance

NEO

TDOC

Recent returns

NEO

TDOC

Analyst price targets & sentiment

Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.

NEO

Price target range

analyst mean$19.72
current price$19.91

+13.3% upside to analyst mean

TDOC

Price target range

analyst mean$7.67
current price$6.30

+18.7% upside to analyst mean

Who should consider this stock?

NEO may suit investors who:

Want exposure to precision oncology testing through the largest independent cancer genomics laboratory with specialized expertise that oncologists trust for complex cancer diagnostic and treatment selection decisions
Value the secular precision medicine tailwind that increases genomic testing intensity per cancer patient as targeted therapies require specific genetic mutation identification before prescribing
Believe NeoGenomics's exclusive oncology focus (vs. general reference labs) provides superior quality and turnaround times that maintain physician preference despite competition from LabCorp and Quest

TDOC may suit investors who:

Want virtual care platform exposure through the largest telehealth network with 90M members, BetterHelp's direct-to-consumer mental health leadership, and integrated employer health benefit solutions that combine telehealth, mental health, and chronic care management
See BetterHelp as a differentiated growth opportunity in the direct-to-consumer mental health therapy market that does not depend on insurance coverage and serves the large market of individuals seeking affordable therapy access
Believe Teladoc's integrated care model (combining telehealth, mental health, and Livongo chronic disease management) provides measurable ROI to employer customers through reducing healthcare costs — supporting subscription retention and new client acquisition despite the competitive telehealth landscape

Performance & AI score

Performance & AI score
Metric	NEO	TDOC
AI scorei	37.6	24.8
AI ranki	#1470	#3063
Latest closei	$19.91	$6.30
1M returni	+19.51%	-5.41%
6M returni	+150.13%	+17.76%
1Y returni	+130.97%	-23.73%

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)

How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
Period	NEO	TDOC
1Y ago	$23.1K (+131.0%) started 2025-09-18	$7.63K (-23.7%) started 2025-09-18
5Y ago	$4.24K (-57.6%) started 2021-09-20	$464.88 (-95.4%) started 2021-09-20
10Y ago	$24.52K (+145.2%) started 2016-09-19	$3.33K (-66.7%) started 2016-09-19

Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.

Valuation & upside potential

Valuation & upside potential
Metric	NEO	TDOC
Market capi	$2.24B	$1.17B
Trailing P/Ei	N/A	N/A
Forward P/Ei	50.63	-8.23
Price/Salesi	N/A	N/A
EV/Revenuei	3.32	0.56
Analyst targeti	$19.72	$7.67
Target upsidei	+13.35%	+18.68%

Growth, profitability & risk

Growth, profitability & risk
Metric	NEO	TDOC
Revenue growthi	11.20%	-4.00%
Earnings growthi	N/A	N/A
EPS growthi	N/A	N/A
FCF margini	+5.73%	+7.67%
Operating margini	-4.84%	-5.68%
Profit margini	-6.77%	-7.13%
ROIC proxyi	-6.33%	-12.98%
Return on equityi	-6.33%	-12.98%
Dividend yieldi	N/A	N/A
Payout ratioi	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend growth streaki	N/A	N/A
Betai	1.73	2.13
Debt/equityi	57.06	79.09
Current ratioi	3.60	0.83
Quick ratioi	3.04	0.73

Correlation

Over the past year, NEO and TDOC have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.21), based on daily returns.

1Y

0.21

-1.0+1.0

5Y

0.37

-1.0+1.0

10Y

0.33

-1.0+1.0

Drawdown & downside risk

Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.

1Y risk snapshot

NEO max drawdowni45.61%

TDOC max drawdowni52.75%

NEO max wkly dropi15.65%

TDOC max wkly dropi28.31%

5Y risk snapshot

NEO max drawdowni90.34%

TDOC max drawdowni97.10%

NEO max wkly dropi35.42%

TDOC max wkly dropi43.25%

10Y risk snapshot

NEO max drawdowni91.92%

TDOC max drawdowni98.48%

NEO max wkly dropi35.42%

TDOC max wkly dropi43.25%

Performance metrics by period

Performance metrics by period
Period	Metric	NEO	TDOC
1Y	Growthi	+130.97%	-23.73%
	CAGRi	+131.11%	-23.74%
	Volatilityi	52.75%	63.79%
	Sharpe ratioi	1.77	-0.17
	Sortino ratioi	2.97	-0.23
	Max drawdowni	45.61%	52.75%
	Current drawdowni	0.00%	35.19%
	Avg drawdowni	13.26%	26.32%
	Ulcer Indexi	19.54%	30.08%
	Max daily dropi	10.31%	28.32%
	Max wkly dropi	15.65%	28.31%
5Y	Growthi	-57.64%	-95.35%
	CAGRi	-15.80%	-45.91%
	Volatilityi	70.16%	65.52%
	Sharpe ratioi	0.04	-0.67
	Sortino ratioi	0.06	-0.92
	Max drawdowni	90.34%	97.10%
	Current drawdowni	60.28%	95.92%
	Avg drawdowni	70.91%	83.25%
	Ulcer Indexi	72.53%	85.58%
	Max daily dropi	34.00%	40.15%
	Max wkly dropi	35.42%	43.25%
10Y	Growthi	+145.20%	-66.67%
	CAGRi	+9.39%	-10.41%
	Volatilityi	58.54%	60.77%
	Sharpe ratioi	0.37	0.05
	Sortino ratioi	0.54	0.08
	Max drawdowni	91.92%	98.48%
	Current drawdowni	66.75%	97.86%
	Avg drawdowni	43.91%	53.72%
	Ulcer Indexi	55.37%	66.77%
	Max daily dropi	34.00%	40.15%
	Max wkly dropi	35.42%	43.25%

AI Prediction Signali

Members only

Next 5 trading days

NEO

+2.8%BUY

TDOC

+1.1%HOLD

Next 30 trading days

NEO

+6.4%BUY

TDOC

+3.2%HOLD

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Business comparison

Business comparison
Category	NEO	TDOC
Company	NeoGenomics, Inc.	Teladoc Health, Inc.
Sector	Healthcare	Healthcare
Industry	Diagnostics & Research	Health Information Services
Core business	NeoGenomics is the largest independent provider of oncology-focused laboratory services in the United States. NeoGenomics provides specialized cancer diagnostic testing that pathologists and oncologists use to diagnose cancer, identify cancer subtypes, select appropriate therapies, and monitor treatment response. NEO's testing services include: next-generation sequencing (NGS, identifying genetic mutations that drive cancer); fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH, detecting chromosomal abnormalities); flow cytometry (immunophenotyping blood cancers); immunohistochemistry (IHC, protein expression testing for cancer subtyping); and cytogenetics (chromosome analysis). NeoGenomics serves approximately 1,700+ hospitals, oncology practices, and cancer centers and processes millions of oncology tests annually. NeoGenomics also has a pharma services division providing testing for clinical trials.	Teladoc Health is the largest global virtual healthcare company, providing telehealth consultations, mental health counseling, and chronic disease management programs to members primarily through employer health benefit plans and health plan partnerships. Teladoc's services include: Primary care telehealth (video/phone consultations with physicians and NPs for common medical conditions); mental health (BetterHelp, acquired 2015 — direct-to-consumer therapy and counseling platform; Teladoc mental health through employer plans); Chronic care management (Livongo, acquired 2020 — diabetes management, hypertension management, behavioral health programs through connected devices and coaching). Teladoc serves approximately 90+ million unique paid members. Teladoc acquired Livongo for $18.5 billion in 2020, creating a huge goodwill balance that was subsequently impaired.
Investor focus	Investors track NeoGenomics's clinical services revenue growth, test volume growth, revenue per test, pharma services segment performance, and operating margin improvement through operational efficiency.	Investors track Teladoc's total revenue growth (particularly integrated care recurring subscriptions), BetterHelp mental health growth (direct-to-consumer therapy), Chronic Care program enrollment, and path to profitability after the massive Livongo goodwill impairments.

NEO strengths

Oncology testing specialization creates expertise and physician trust that general labs cannot easily replicate — unlike large reference labs (Quest, LabCorp) that perform thousands of test types, NeoGenomics exclusively performs oncology tests; this focus enables superior quality, faster turnaround times, and access to specialized oncology scientists; oncologists trust NeoGenomics for complex cancer diagnostic testing
Precision medicine trend drives increasing genomic testing per cancer patient — as oncology evolves toward targeted therapies (drugs that work only for specific genetic mutations), the number of genomic tests ordered per cancer diagnosis increases; a new cancer patient may need 5-10 genomic tests to select the optimal treatment; this 'testing intensity' increase is a secular tailwind for NeoGenomics
Pharma services segment provides non-cyclical revenue from clinical trials — pharmaceutical companies developing new oncology drugs hire NeoGenomics to perform companion diagnostic testing for their clinical trials; pharma services revenue is independent of patient volume and provides higher-margin services to pharmaceutical customers

TDOC strengths

Largest virtual care member network with 90M+ members creates scale advantages in negotiating with employers and health plans — Teladoc's member scale allows enterprise-level contracts with Fortune 500 employers who want a single vendor for telehealth, mental health, and chronic care management
BetterHelp is the largest direct-to-consumer mental health therapy platform globally — BetterHelp's app-based therapy matching provides immediate access to licensed counselors; mental health awareness and demand has grown dramatically; BetterHelp's consumer model does not depend on insurance coverage, reaching the large market of individuals who pay out-of-pocket for mental health services
Integrated care model combining telehealth, mental health, and chronic disease management reduces employer health plan costs — if Teladoc's chronic disease management (Livongo diabetes monitoring) reduces emergency room visits and complications, employers see lower total healthcare costs; this creates ROI justification for employers to pay Teladoc's PEPM (per employee per month) fees

Risks to watch — NEO

Reimbursement rate pressure from Medicare and commercial insurers can compress revenue per test — payers continuously renegotiate lab reimbursement; test reimbursement rates for genomic tests have been subject to cuts from Medicare (MolDX coverage decisions, PAMA rate cuts); this creates revenue per test headwinds
Competition from large reference labs (LabCorp Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics) in oncology testing — LabCorp and Quest have invested in their own oncology testing capabilities; their scale and existing hospital laboratory relationships could enable them to compete more effectively in oncology testing over time
Operational execution risk — NeoGenomics has faced operational challenges (laboratory turnaround time, billing issues) that affected financial performance in certain periods; the labor-intensive nature of specialty lab testing creates operational complexity

Risks to watch — TDOC

Massive goodwill impairments from Livongo acquisition reflect overpayment — Teladoc paid $18.5B for Livongo in 2020 at the peak of telehealth euphoria; Teladoc has since written off approximately $10B in goodwill impairments as Livongo's chronic care programs fell short of aggressive growth projections; these impairments create accounting losses and reflect strategic overpayment
BetterHelp direct-to-consumer growth has slowed amid increased competition and consumer spending normalization — BetterHelp's growth accelerated during COVID mental health awareness surge; as consumer spending normalized and competition (Talkspace, Calm, Headspace, traditional therapy) intensified, BetterHelp's growth moderated
Telehealth primary care faces reimbursement headwinds as COVID-era telehealth flexibilities partially expire — CMS (Medicare) telehealth reimbursement flexibilities granted during COVID (payment parity for telehealth vs. in-person visits) have been extended but could eventually revert to lower telehealth reimbursement, affecting Teladoc's commercial business

Frequently asked questions

Traditional cancer diagnosis: historically, cancer was diagnosed and classified based on where it originated (lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer) using pathological examination of tumor tissue under a microscope; initial staging determined prognosis and treatment; chemotherapy regimens were selected based on tumor type and stage; the same chemotherapy was given to all patients with the same tumor type. Precision medicine evolution: scientific research revealed that cancers with the same tissue of origin (e.g., non-small cell lung cancer) can be driven by completely different genetic mutations; a lung cancer driven by an EGFR mutation responds to EGFR inhibitors (erlotinib, osimertinib) but is resistant to ALK inhibitors; a lung cancer driven by an ALK translocation responds to ALK inhibitors (crizotinib, alectinib) but not EGFR inhibitors; identifying which mutation drives a specific patient's cancer requires genetic testing. NGS (next-generation sequencing): NGS simultaneously sequences many genes (hundreds to thousands) from a tumor sample in a single test; 'comprehensive genomic profiling' products (Foundation Medicine's FoundationOne, NeoGenomics's NeoTYPE) can identify all relevant mutations, fusions, and other genomic alterations in a single test; this 'one-stop' genomic profile identifies which targeted therapies may work for a specific patient. Testing intensity increase: as more targeted therapies are approved (each requiring a specific genetic test for patient selection), the number of tests per cancer diagnosis has increased dramatically; in 2010, most cancer patients received one or two genetic tests; by 2023, many cancer patients receive 5-15+ genetic tests to guide therapy selection; this increase in testing intensity per patient is a structural growth driver for NeoGenomics and other oncology labs regardless of cancer incidence trends.

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