Butterfly Network, maker of a handheld, smartphone-connected ultrasound system, saw its stock price drop after reporting first-quarter revenue of $15.5 million, flat from its total revenue of $15.6 million in Q1 2022, alongside a net loss of $33.5 million.  

Still, this year, the Mass.-based company's first quarter net loss was less than its reported $44.5 million loss in the first quarter of 2022.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came to a loss of $22.3 million, decreased from the company's loss of $39.7 million in Q1 2022. 

The company's product revenue decreased 19.7% from $11 million in Q1 2022 to $8.8 million in the first quarter of 2023. Yet, its software and other services revenue increased 45.4% from $4.6 million in the first quarter of 2022 to $6.6 million in Q1 '23. 

Butterfly's total operating expenses were $44.1 million, compared to $57.9 million in Q1 2022, a 23.7% decrease. The company said the drop was primarily due to the reductions in its workforce in August of last year and January 2023 and its rationalization of non-payroll spending in its sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative expenditures.

THE LARGER TREND

Butterfly's stock price fell upon its Q1 earnings release, closing at around $1.80 per share, lower than when it emerged on the public market in 2020 at $10.12.

In December, Butterfly announced its CEO Dr. Todd Fruchterman was stepping down and leaving his position on the board of directors. Jonathan Rothberg, founder and chairman of the board, would step in as interim CEO. 

The announcement came after Butterfly posted its Q3 earnings with revenue of $19.6 million, a 34.2% increase from $14.6 million in Q3 2021 but a net loss of $54.7 million compared with a $13.6 million loss in Q3 2021. 

Last month, Butterfly announced Joe DeVivo would take the permanent position of CEO and president of Butterfly. DeVivo previously served as virtual care provider Teladoc's president of hospitals and health systems and CEO and director of high acuity telehealth provider InTouch Health. 

In April, the ultrasound maker announced it received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Auto B-line Counter that leverages AI to help providers determine if a patient has abnormal lung function by measuring B-lines, which can be associated with various pulmonary conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.

Butterfly is preparing to test its second-generation Butterfly IQ+, a whole-body ultrasound system, in space. This summer, it will join Space X's Polaris Dawn mission, bringing its device to the International Space Station and testing it alongside numerous other healthcare offerings.