Stuart M. Huizinga
Analyst · Cowen and Company
Thanks, Gary, and good afternoon, everyone. Our second quarter financial results reflect the strong performance of our Individual & Family Plan business, our continued execution in Medicare, as we prepare for this year's Annual Enrollment Period, and our ongoing investment in eHealth's technology platform. Our second quarter 2013 revenue was $39.8 million, representing 12% annual growth. Commission revenue for the quarter was $34.9 million or 14% annual growth. Our Individual & Family Plan commissions grew by 8% or $1.8 million compared to Q2 2012, driven by acceleration in individual and family membership growth and stabilization in commission revenues per member. We are very pleased to have continuing improvement in our individual business, which contributed over 40% of the total increase in commission revenues this quarter. Medicare commissions grew by 31% year-over-year while commissions from ancillary products increased 77% on the same basis. Other revenue, which include sponsorship, eCommerce On-Demand, Government Systems and noncommissioned Medicare revenue was $4.9 million. This represented a 1% decline compared to the second quarter a year ago. As Gary mentioned, we continued to see solid demand for our individual and family major medical products with individual and family submitted application volume up 7% year-over-year. We also observed an improvement in our conversion rates from submitted applications to carrier approval. As a result, approved Individual & Family Plan members grew 15% compared to the second quarter of 2012, more than double the growth in submitted applications. Total approved members for all products were up 28%. Our total estimated membership at the end of the quarter was approximately 1,091,000 members, which represents 24% growth over estimated membership reported at the end of the second quarter of 2012. The number of revenue-generating Individual & Family Plan members was up 9% while the number of other members increased 78%, driven by the increase in our Medicare and ancillary product customer bases over the past 12 months. Now I'd like to review our operating expenses for the quarter. Excluding stock-based compensation and the amortization of acquired intangibles, our non-GAAP operating expenses increased in absolute terms and as a percentage of revenues, relative to the comparable period a year ago. The increase in our second quarter operating expenses as a percentage of revenue compared to Q2 2012, was driven primarily by our planned investment in technology and content and a step-up in Medicare spending as we prepare for the Annual Enrollment Period. Second quarter 2013 non-GAAP tech and content expense, which excludes stock-based compensation expense, was $7.3 million or 18% of revenue, up from $4.8 million or 14% of revenue in the second quarter of 2012. As Gary mentioned, our goal with this investment is to maintain eHealth's position as the leading exchange of choice for health insurance as we near a major implementation stage of the Affordable Care Act. Non-GAAP customer care and enrollment expense, which excludes stock-based compensation expense, was $7.7 million or 19% of revenue, up from $6.3 million or 18% of revenue in the second quarter of 2012. This year-over-year increase reflects our decision to retain a larger number of Medicare agents on staff after the completion of the last Annual Enrollment Period in December of 2012. We also started to hire and train additional customer care representatives earlier in the year compared to 2012 when our peak hiring quarter for Medicare was the third quarter. Second quarter 2013 non-GAAP marketing and advertising expense, which excludes stock-based compensation expense, was up -- was flat with Q2 2012 as a percentage of revenue at 33% while second quarter of 2013 non-GAAP general and administrative expense declined year-over-year as a percentage of revenue. Second quarter non-GAAP operating income, excluding stock-based compensation and the amortization of acquired intangibles, was 10% of revenue or $4.2 million. This compares to 17% of revenue or $6 million in the second quarter a year ago. For the full year 2013, we continue to expect that our non-GAAP earnings will grow approximately in line with revenue growth in terms of percentage, year-over-year growth. EBITDA for the second quarter of 2013 was $4.9 million as compared to EBITDA of $6.5 million for the second quarter of 2012. Second quarter 2013 GAAP earnings per share were $0.06 compared to $0.11 in Q2 of 2012. Second quarter non-GAAP EPS, which excludes the impact of the amortization of acquired intangibles, stock-based compensation and related income tax benefit was $0.12. Our cash flow from operations was $6.6 million compared to $7.6 million in the second quarter of 2012. Capital expenditures for the second quarter were approximately $2.3 million. As of June 30, 2013, our cash and marketable securities balance was $90 million compared to $114 million at the end of the first quarter of 2013. Our cash balance reflects our share buyback activity. As Gary mentioned earlier, during the quarter, we completed the $60 million share repurchase program, which was originally authorized in September of 2012 and later expanded in March of this year. Our average share price under this latest program was $20.29 per share. With respect to guidance and based on information currently available, we are reaffirming the revenue, EBITDA, stock-based compensation expense and earnings per share guidance for the full year 2013 that we provided on our fourth quarter 2012 earnings call. I also wanted to comment on certain expected quarterly trends for the year. In the third quarter of 2013, you should expect to see year-over-year growth in revenues and GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share compared to the third quarter of 2012. At the same time, we anticipate a sequential decline in the third quarter GAAP and non-GAAP EPS compared to Q2 of this year, driven primarily by higher Medicare expenses as we continue our preparations for the Annual Enrollment Period. Similar to last year, Q3 will be minimally profitable on a GAAP basis, driven by the seasonality of our Medicare business. The expected GAAP and non-GAAP earnings growth for the full year 2013 will be back-end loaded with a significant step-up in operating margin and EPS projected for the fourth quarter relative to Q2 and Q3 of this year. As you know, Q4 is the strongest quarter of the year for us in terms of Medicare enrollments and Medicare revenues, which has a positive impact on the bottom line. I want to remind you that these comments, as well as our annual guidance, are based on current indications for our business, which are subject to change at anytime. We undertake no obligation to further update our guidance. And now, we'd like to open up the call for questions. Operator?