Invisalign Parent’s Stock Is Falling. There’s Less Demand for Straight Teeth.

Align Technologies, the maker of Invisalign orthodontic aligners, missed earnings estimates and lowered guidance. (Bhubeth Bhajanavorakul/Dreamstime.com)

Shares of Align Technology were plummeting Thursday after the maker of Invisalign orthodontic aligners missed quarterly earnings expectations and lowered guidance for the rest of the year.

The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.49 for the second quarter, below Wall Street’s consensus call for $2.57, according to FactSet. Revenue totaled $1.01 billion, down from $1.03 billion last year and short of analysts’ forecast of $1.06 billion.

Shares were falling 30% to $142.06 after the opening bell Thursday—another blow for a stock now down about 80% from its all time high on Sept. 8, 2021, per Dow Jones Market Data.

Align was a pandemic darling, as many shut-in consumers flocked to dental offices, tired of seeing their crooked teeth on Zoom calls. But orthodontic-treatment starts have fallen for four consecutive years, the company said. Now, more expensive financing options for orthodontics and concerns about tariffs may have further tempered consumer demand.

“Recent dental industry surveys for the second quarter suggest that there was less overall patient traffic, fewer orthodontic case starts, and patient hesitation toward elective procedures,” CEO Joseph Hogan said on a conference call.

The company now expects clear aligner volume growth to be in the low-single-digit percentages this year, down from a previous forecast for growth in the mid-single-digit percentages. Clear aligners accounted for around 79% of the company’s revenue in the second quarter.

“Potential continued economic uncertainty and spending hesitancy” weighed down the company’s outlook, Hogan said.

On the bright side, the company hasn’t seen its competitive positioning change over the past few months, Steven Valiquette of Mizuho Securities wrote in a research note Thursday. And management seemed at ease with consumer interest in Invisalign even if would-be patients aren’t following through with treatment.

Mizuho trimmed the price target on Align stock to $210 from $245, lowered estimates, and reiterated an Outperform rating.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com