Beauty Health Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 6, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined 7.8% to $72.1 million, with Delivery Systems down 18.4% as providers remained cautious on capital spending and consumables down 3.5% amid lower treatment utilization. The company cited intensified competition and consumers spreading spending across more aesthetic treatments.
  • Positive Sentiment: Adjusted EBITDA rose to $17 million, above guidance of $11 million-$13 million, supported by a 590-basis-point expansion in adjusted gross margin to 71.8%, lower operating expenses, and cost discipline.
  • Neutral Sentiment: The company lowered its 2026 revenue outlook to $280 million-$290 million but raised adjusted EBITDA guidance to $39 million-$46 million. Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue of $65 million-$70 million and adjusted EBITDA of $5 million-$7 million, with higher R&D and commercial investment expected in the second half.
  • Positive Sentiment: Management launched a U.S. device rental program to reduce upfront costs and expand the HydraFacial addressable market, while a clinically validated booster is expected in the fourth quarter. HydraScalp and SkinStylus are also gaining traction, and a next-generation HydraFacial platform remains targeted for 2028 alongside a new U.S. device planned for 2027.
  • Negative Sentiment: The company faces an approximately $103 million convertible-note maturity in October 2026 and plans to repay it with cash on hand, which is expected to leave roughly $100 million at year-end. It also received a Nasdaq notice for trading below the $1 minimum bid price and will seek shareholder approval for a reverse stock split on September 22.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Beauty Health Q2 2026
00:00 / 00:00

Transcript Sections

Skip to Participants
Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the SkinHealth Systems Inc. Second Quarter 2026 earnings call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Thursday, August 6th, 2026. I would now like to turn the conference over to Norberto Aja, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Norberto Aja
Investor Relations Officer at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to review SkinHealth Systems' 2026 second quarter results. We released our results earlier this afternoon, which can be found on our corporate website at skinhealthsystems.com. Joining me on the call today is SkinHealth Systems' Chief Executive Officer, Pedro Malha, along with our Chief Financial Officer, Mike Monahan. Before we begin, I want to remind everyone of the company's Safe Harbor language. Management may make forward-looking statements, including guidance and underlying assumptions. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Listeners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. For further discussion of risks related to our business, please refer to the risk factors contained in the company's filings with the SEC. In addition, this call presents non-GAAP financial measures.

Norberto Aja
Investor Relations Officer at SkinHealth Systems Inc

A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure is available in the earnings press release, which was furnished to the SEC and available on our website. Following management's prepared remarks, we will open the call for a question-and-answer session. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to our CEO, Pedro Malha. Please go ahead, Pedro.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us to discuss our second quarter results. Let me start with the quarter at a high level. Overall, this was a mixed quarter. Revenue came in at approximately $72 million, at a lower end of our guidance range. Equipment sales remained the biggest headwind as providers continued to take a cautious approach to capital investments. Consumables proven a bit more resilient, supported by the continued growth of our installed base, although treatment activity remained below expectations. This overall revenue pressure was evident across both our domestic and international businesses, with international markets remaining a bit more challenging. At the same time, profitability for the quarter was significantly stronger than we expected. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $17 million, well above our guidance range driven by strong gross margins and continued discipline in how we manage the business.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

In summary, we are not satisfied with our top-line performance. The quarter reinforced an important point. Even in a more demanding commercial environment, we are building a stronger company with better margins, greater operating discipline, and a more resilient financial model. As importantly, nothing we saw this quarter changed our strategic direction. If anything, it reinforced it. Let me spend a few minutes now on what we are seeing in the market, because it can provide an important context for both the quarter and the strategic choices we are making. The long-term demand for skin health remains healthy. What is changing is how that demand is being distributed. Consumers have more treatment options than ever before. Providers are making more selective capital investment decisions as they evaluate a broader range of technologies.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

We believe that that environment rewards companies with trusted brands, meaningful innovation, strong clinical evidence, and deep provider relationships. Those are the areas where our company is best positioned to compete and where we continue to focus our investments. As we said last quarter, market conditions are only a part of this story. Our responsibility is to execute better. That is exactly where our efforts are focused. We are strengthening our commercial capabilities, improving how we engage with customers, and becoming more effective at converting opportunities. Those are the things we can control. That is where our team is focused every day. We also continue to believe strongly in the long-term opportunity for this business. For more than 20 years, HydraFacial has built one of the most recognized and clinically validated brands in professional skin health.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Today, we serve more than 36,000 providers worldwide, have a large and growing installed base, and generate around 75% of our revenue from recurring consumables, which together build durable, competitive advantage that position us to create long-term value. Last quarter, we discussed several of the investments we're making across the business, including consumable boosters and the next generation of the HydraFacial device. Today, I want to explain how these work together to support our long-term strategy. Our strategy is built around three priorities. First, strengthening and growing the core HydraFacial franchise. Second, increasing the value of every system already in the field. Third, leveraging our platform and provider relationships to expand into attractive adjacent categories. Together, these priorities are designed to accelerate sustainable growth by expanding our install base, increasing treatment utilization, growing recurring revenue, and creating a more diversified business over time.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Let me start with the first priority, strengthening and growing our core HydraFacial franchise. A key part of strengthening the franchise is making the platform accessible to a broader range of providers. As we discussed in prior quarters, capital constraints remain one of the most significant barriers of adoption. To address that, early this month, we introduced in the U.S. a new device rental program designed to lower the upfront investment by providers and make HydraFacial accessible to more practices. We believe this will expand our addressable market and support growth of our installed base. The financial accounting for the program is similar to our existing sales program, with the revenue for the sales being booked upfront upon shipment. Also, the program was built with a third-party financing partner who takes ownership of the devices and administers the program.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Part of this strategy of strengthening and growing our core HydraFacial franchise is also the investment we are making in the next generation of HydraFacial platform. As we discussed last quarter, this remains a multi-year development program targeting a 2028 launch. Our objective here with the next generation of the HydraFacial platform is to deliver a meaningful step forward in clinical outcomes, treatment experience, and provider workflow, while also creating a compelling reason for existing customers to upgrade and for new customers to choose HydraFacial. Moving now into our second strategic priority, increasing the value of every system already in the field. Our installed base is one of our company's greatest competitive advantages. It gives us longstanding relationship with providers around the world and supports a highly recurring revenue model that few companies in our industry can match.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

As we discussed last quarter, improving utilization remains one of the largest and most immediate growth opportunities that we have. Our objective here is very clear, is to help providers perform more treatment, deliver better clinical outcomes, and improve the value of every customer visit. And that is exactly what our investments in clinically validated boosters and treatment enhancements are designed to do. To support that strategy, our next clinically validated booster is expected to launch globally in the fourth quarter, with additional launches planned throughout 2027. Finally, our third strategic priority, which is to use our platform and provider relationships that we've built over the past two decades and leverage those to expand into adjacent categories where providers and consumers are increasingly investing. This strategy is intended to diversify our portfolio, create additional growth engines, and to do so by building on capabilities we already have.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

The SkinStylus microneedling device is a good example of that strategy in action. It gives us participation in one of the fastest-growing categories in aesthetics and continues to perform well. And recently, we received the FDA clearance for the improvement in the appearance of periorbital wrinkles, and more importantly, it also demonstrates our ability to introduce clinically differentiated technology through the provider relationships we already established. HydraScalp is another example. The reposition and relaunch of Keravive extends our presence into the growing scalp and hair wellness category while increasing the value of HydraFacial systems already in the field. Following its June relaunch, we are encouraged by how HydraScalp continues to gain traction. Also, as we discussed on our last call, we continue to make progress on our plans to introduce a new device to the U.S. market in 2027.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

This is not another HydraFacial device and reflects our broader strategy of building a platform of clinically differentiated skin health solutions that leverages the provider relationships and commercial infrastructure we spent more than two decades building. Before I turn the call over to Mike, let me leave you with two observations here. First, we are not satisfied with our current performance. Despite our current business environment remaining challenging, improving execution is our responsibility and remains our highest priority. Secondly, we believe our company has exceptional assets and a clear path to using them more effectively. The rental program and the continued advancement of our next-generation platform demonstrates that the strategy is moving from planning to execution. We know that there is still plenty of work to do, but we are in the process of building a stronger and more diversified company with multiple opportunities for long-term growth.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

With that, I'll turn the call over to Mike to review the financial results in more detail.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Thank you, Pedro. In the second quarter, total net sales were $72.1 million, down 7.8% versus the prior year. Delivery Systems revenue was $18.3 million, down 18.4%, with 770 systems placed compared to 957 in the prior year. Consumables revenue was $53.9 million, down 3.5%, driven primarily by lower utilization and a tougher prior year comparison that included booster launches. Our active install base grew to 36,516 systems globally, up 3.8% year-over-year, and remains the foundation of our recurring revenue. Despite this continued top-line pressure, adjusted EBITDA came in above our projections. This was primarily driven by adjusted gross margin expansion, disciplined cost management, and timing of R&D investments in commercial initiatives. Sales performance by region is as follows. Americas net sales were $49.9 million, down 4.2%. Consumable sales were down 1.4%, while Delivery Systems reflected the broader capital equipment pressure.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

EMEA net sales were $14.9 million, down 19%, driven by softness in both equipment and consumables. We've been actively addressing headwinds in the EMEA market. We had personnel shortages in the region, along with a shift of timing in distributor orders, which we expect to improve in the second half of the year. APAC net sales were $7.3 million, down 5.4%. During the second quarter, we transitioned Australia-New Zealand back to a distributor model from a direct model. We now have the entire APAC region being served by a distributor model. We believe this approach better serves the region qoing forward. The 2026 financial impact of the Australia-New Zealand transition to a distributor model is a reduction of revenue of approximately $1 million. GAAP gross margin was 68.4%, up from 62.8%.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Adjusted gross margin was 71.8%, compared to 65.9% in the prior year, representing a 590 basis point improvement. The year-over-year improvement was primarily driven by three factors. First, lower cost of goods on equipment due to sell-through of trade-in units that pressured margins a year ago. Second, lower inventory-related charges and continued efficiency in operations as we realize the benefits of tightened inventory purchasing and disciplined cost management. Third, a favorable mix shift towards consumables. GAAP operating expenses were $45.8 million, down from $51.8 million, reflecting lower personnel costs and improved efficiencies. With total operating expense, selling and marketing was $21 million, G&A was $23.3 million, and R&D was $1.4 million. We expect R&D to step up in the second half of the year as our innovation initiatives ramp.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

On a GAAP basis, we generated income from operations of $3.6 million, compared to a loss of $2.7 million in the prior year. Net loss was $2.7 million, compared to net income of $19.7 million a year ago. The prior year figure included an $18.1 million net gain related to the exchange and repurchases of our 2026 Notes. Adjusted EBITDA was $17 million, up from $13.9 million in the prior year and above our guidance range of $11 million-$13 million. The year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA was largely driven by operating expense savings from lower selling and marketing expenses and lower professional service fees in G&A. We ended the quarter with approximately $206 million in cash equivalents, and restricted cash. This is approximately $1.5 million above our first quarter-ending cash position. Our October 2026 convertible maturity is approximately $103 million.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Based on our current cash position and our expected second half cash needs, we remain confident in our ability to address this maturity. We will continue to evaluate options based on our cash needs and market conditions. As of today, our current plan is to repay the October 2026 maturity with cash on hand at the end of the third quarter. We are lowering our revenue outlook to $280 million-$290 million by reducing the top end of the previous guide, reflecting continued pressure on year-over-year device sales. We are raising our adjusted EBITDA outlook to $39 million-$46 million from $35 million-$45 million previously, reflecting the margin strength and cost discipline we delivered in the first half of the year. Our second half guidance reflects increased investment of $4 million in R&D and commercial initiatives versus the first half of the year.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

As a result, we are projecting our second half adjusted EBITDA to decline relative to the first half. For the third quarter, we expect revenue of $65 million-$70 million and adjusted EBITDA of $5 million-$7 million. Finally, I'd like to briefly address our NASDAQ listing. As we disclosed, we received notice from NASDAQ that our stock had traded below the dollar minimum bid price requirement for 30 days. As outlined in our preliminary proxy statement filed last Friday, we will be asking stockholders to approve a reverse stock split at a special meeting scheduled for September 22nd to remain compliant. The proxy provides a range of potential split ratios, and if approved, our board will determine the specific ratio within that range it believes is appropriate based on market conditions and other relevant factors at the time of implementation.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

For more information, please read the definitive proxy statement that we will file with the SEC. With that, I'll turn the call back to Pedro.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Thanks, Mike. Let me close with one final thought. This quarter did not change our view of the business. The market remains demanding, we know that we need to continue improving on execution. At the same time, we are making tangible progress against the strategic priorities that we laid out. The rental program is underway. HydraScalp has been relaunched. SkinStylus is taking good traction. The development of our next boosters and next generation HydraFacial platform continues to advance, we continue to make progress on our plans to introduce a new device in the U.S. in 2027. All of these are meaningful milestones, they reinforce our conviction that we are building a stronger, more diversified company with multiple drivers of future growth. Operator, you can now open the line for questions.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. Should you have a question, please press the star followed by the one on your touch tone phone. You will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press the star followed by the two. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. One moment. Your first question comes from Oliver with TD Cowen. Please go ahead.

Oliver Chen
Oliver Chen
Analyst at TD Cowen

Hi, Pedro and Mike. Regarding what you're seeing with consumables being down relative to the active installed base, what's happening there with utilization and/or the inventory on the installed base that you're noticing? Also, I think you had a tough compare there too. Second question, on the Convertible Note due in October, what do you need for cash in terms of your base level of cash and also things we should know about working capital dynamics and needs there, in terms of the cash flow? Finally, regarding the rental program, how do you manage for incrementality and not cannibalization? What's the thinking that goes through? It sounds like it's going to increase your TAM, there's a reason for people to buy and a different reason for people to rent. Thank you.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Thanks, Oliver. I'll address the consumable dynamics, then I will go just right into the rental program, then I'll let Mike address the Convertible Note, the cash, and the working capital question. In terms of what we're seeing in consumer dynamics, I don't think that the consumer itself has fundamentally changed. Meaning people, they continue to invest in skin health, they continue to believe in the long-term demand for non-invasive skin treatments. That continues to be healthy. What has changed, in our view, is that consumers now have more choices than they ever did years ago. They're basically spreading their aesthetic spending across a broader range of treatments. Also, on the same line of thinking, providers have to now work harder to keep these patients engaged and these consumers engaged and these consumers coming back into their doors.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

That's why we don't look at this as simply as a demand issue when it comes to consumer behavior, when it comes to our consumable's performance. We see it actually as an opportunity to increase the productivity of every HydraFacial system that we have in the field. That is exactly why I discussed during my prepared remarks, the second pillar of our strategy, which is basically focused on improving, increasing the utilization. We have the boosters, HydraScalp, all of that enhance the utilization. We also are working in better provider education and better protocols. All of those, they come with one single objective, which is for these providers to perform more treatments, and to be able to personalize those treatments and be able to create a better economic return from every system that they own.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Yes, consumables have been under pressure. We think that they have been under pressure in the near term. We see this as an execution opportunity for us. That is exactly where we are investing. In terms of the rental program, you're talking now more about devices. As I explained, and if we look back the rental program addresses one of our biggest barriers that we have seen in the last quarters, which is basically the upfront capital commitment from providers. With this new program that we launch in the U.S., we are giving qualified U.S. providers another way to access HydraFacial through a much more manageable payment structure and conditions. I'm not going to go through all the mechanics of the program right here. The objective, I'm sure it's pretty clear, is simple.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

It is basically to remove a quite meaningful adoption barrier that we have been noticing in the past quarters. When doing that, the expectation is to expand the install base. We don't expect to cannibalize. We expect just to bring more providers into the fold, giving that we're going to be lifting this barrier. Mike, do you want to address the capital questions?

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Sure. Hi, Oliver. The midpoint of our forecast assumes that we'll end the year roughly with about $100 million in cash. That would exclude any kind of unforeseen items that we don't have in the model. We feel pretty comfortable with that level, and that gives us enough cushion, in our view, heading into 2027 to manage the business and meet the working capital needs.

Oliver Chen
Oliver Chen
Analyst at TD Cowen

Thank you. Best regards.

Operator

All right. Thank you. Your next question comes from Susan with Canaccord. Please go ahead.

Analyst at Canaccord

Hi. Thanks for taking my questions. I guess maybe I was just first looking for some color just around the consumer behavior you're seeing out there. With the consumables now down two quarters in a row, I guess, are you seeing consumers maybe extend the timeframe between treatments or maybe foregoing a treatment? Or is it more just that they're not trading up and adding consumables to their treatments that they're getting done? Thanks.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Sure. As I explained, yes, all of the above. There's definitely more choices for the consumers to come in, which is great, which means that the segment is healthy, continues to have innovation, and consumers continue to spend money in the category. That is all the levers that we need. We just need to position ourselves better to take advantage of that willingness to spend in aesthetics. All the things that I referred, all the initiatives, all the strategies that we are putting basically into place, speak to that, right? The boosters, basically all the investment that we're doing in the boosters is there to increase the treatment frequency. The relaunch of HydraScalp is there to create additional recurring revenue from the same devices on the same practices.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

The relaunch of the SkinStylus, basically, we put that there and we're putting a lot of focus because we want to leverage the relationship into a SaaS category that we currently have, which is microneedling. All of that is actually targeted to take advantage of that healthy spend that we see happening.

Analyst at Canaccord

Okay, great. Then maybe if you could just talk a little bit about just the competitive landscape that you're seeing out there. I think last quarter you mentioned that it was intensifying, I guess. Are you still seeing a pretty intense competitive landscape from other competitors out there? Thanks.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Sure, Susan. No different from what I said last quarter. Basically, indeed, the market has become more competitive and some competitors are using pricing and other commercial incentives more aggressively. We have seen this throughout the year. Nothing new here, but our focus is rather on showing these providers where we can differentiate HydraFacial, where we can differentiate SkinStylus, and so forth. Where are the economics of our treatment come in and where we can create value to their practice. Short answer, no change from last quarter in what we discussed, but these are kind of the undercurrent dynamics that we have been noticing in the market.

Analyst at Canaccord

Okay, great. Thanks so much. Good luck the rest of the year.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from J.P. with Roth Capital Partners. Please go ahead.

J.P. Wollam
J.P. Wollam
Analyst at Roth Capital Partners

Great. Hi, guys. I appreciate you taking my questions. If I could maybe just start, I'm hoping that you could give us an update on sort of new Syndeo equipment and where payback periods are. I know you opened up the rental program, but just for those providers who are still making the full investment, where do payback periods sit today, and how is that influencing your thoughts about the pricing for the eventual new equipment in 2028?

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

I can speak a little bit. I'll touch on the new Syndeo in terms of innovation roadmap, and Mike, you can share some of these numbers just to round out the answer here. In terms of the next gen HydraFacial, as we've been discussing in the past quarters, this continues to be a program that has a 2028 launch target. The objective, and where the team has been working and moving forward, is to bring to market a meaningful step of innovation in terms of clinical outcomes, of the overall experience, in terms of provider workflow and basically giving the existing providers that have HydraFacial now, a pretty compelling reason to upgrade or obviously bring new providers into the fold with a strong reason to choose HydraFacial versus other procedures.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

It's a bit too early to discuss more details on specifically the features that we're working on or the economics behind it. Obviously, we'll provide all the details as the program progresses. We feel very encouraged by the development and the gate cycle of the process that we are currently doing. Mike, do you want to?

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Sure. Hi, J.P. Typically, we tell consumer or end providers that the payback can be roughly around nine months. That obviously depends on how many treatments and the volume that you do. The more treatments that a provider is able to do, the faster the payback is. Generally, that's the overall kind of number that we give.

J.P. Wollam
J.P. Wollam
Analyst at Roth Capital Partners

Okay. A follow-up, Mike, maybe more for you. On the last call, I think we sort of talked about Q1 gross margin maybe kind of being the high for the year. Just curious, you broke down a little bit of where the strength in 2Q is coming from, but just if there's any more detail there, about how you kind of expect gross margin to run through the back half of the year, would be appreciated. Really the question then is sort of the implication for EBITDA in the back half. You've done, obviously, such a great job of managing costs that the question really is sort of why is that stepping down? Is that baking in a little bit of conservatism?

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Yeah. Thanks, J.P. Overall, just to kind of speak to the midpoint of our guide. The first half of the year, adjusted gross margin was 72%, is what we did. The midpoint of our guide kind of assumes that there is a step down on adjusted gross margin into kind of the 68% range. The real reason for that is a couple of things. One is, we expect an increased mix of equipment revenue in the back half of the year. When you look at the percentage of the revenue mix, it leaned more heavily towards consumables in the first half of the year. As we introduce the rental program and some of the other initiatives around the device sales, we expect that to shift a bit. We're expecting adjusted gross margin to feel a little pressure there.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

The second piece coming through there is actually within the equipment mix. We modeled in an increased percentage of Syndeo machines versus the first half of the year, and that's largely due to the rental program. To qualify for the rental program, it's only for Syndeo devices that we have, and they tend to have a higher cost of goods than some of our other devices. Overall, those are kind of the two big drivers kind of pressuring margin. On the back half, again, just to speak to the midpoint. The first half of the year, adjusted EBITDA was a little over $25 million. The midpoint of our guide would assume a little bit less than $17 million of adjusted EBITDA in the back half of the year. That's going to be driven by three things, primarily.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

The first is the lower adjusted gross margin that we just kind of walked through the key drivers of that. The second is there's timing of R&D and commercial marketing expenses that are more back-end weighted this year than they've been in the past. We have those moving into the back. The last piece of it is we have some general operating expenses that we had lower expenses than what I would call normal. A simple example is kind of our bad debt expense was running very low in the first half of the year, and we're projecting that to go back to more normalized levels in the back half of the year. As you look at the overall kind of forecast towards the midpoint, it ends up being those two key factors, the higher operating expenses and lower adjusted gross margin.

J.P. Wollam
J.P. Wollam
Analyst at Roth Capital Partners

Got it. Very helpful detail. Best of luck going forward, guys.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from Cindy with Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Analyst at Jefferies

Hi. Thanks for taking our question. When you think about the adjacent categories, how much of the opportunity comes from acquiring new customers versus increasing penetration within your existing provider base? I guess just also wondering if there's any further detail that you can share on the new device that's coming as well. Thank you.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Hey, Cindy. In terms of where we think we're going to get the biggest share, actually, it's going to come from both. We have an incredibly large install base. It's actually one of our biggest and most valuable assets that we have. Any product that we relaunch or launch, it's definitely going to be primarily targeted into that extensive install base, because that's an automatic channel that we have and an automatic lift that we can explore. In terms of more details into the strategic partnership last quarter, basically, we discussed our intention to expand into an adjacent category. The most important update that we are ready to give is that we are indeed progressing in that area. The goal is to bring a device to market next year.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

The objective for us, as we've been working throughout this project, is to basically broaden the set of solutions and the set of procedures that we can offer to this extensive provider network that I just mentioned, again, leverage the infrastructure that we have. Right now as we stand, we're not in the position to discuss the specifics of the technology itself. Definitely we will share more as we get closer to concluding this project.

Operator

Any follow-up questions? All right, we're done. Your next question comes from Bruce with StoneX. Please go ahead.

Analyst at StoneX

Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Wanted to ask a little bit more about the booster you plan to launch during the fourth quarter. Is it going to be targeted to any particular market segment? For example, the medical or the aesthetic segment, will it be out in time for the holidays?

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Yeah, Bruce. The target date is Q4. It's going to be a clinically validated booster, which is going to be aligned with the new strategy that we're putting behind every single booster that we're going to put investment dollars behind from going forward. Everything is going according to plan, it's tracking. That is what we are comfortable to share right now. We are expecting the same level of performance and commercial behavior as we had with Hydrolock as an example, which was again, another booster that has good traction to it. This is just the beginning, we will be launching more clinically backed boosters next week as well, part of the booster development and innovation roadmap.

Analyst at StoneX

Okay, one follow-up. In 2027, what do you anticipate in terms of the launch cadence? Is it going to be like one every six months, one big one for the year? How are you thinking about that?

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Two boosters, that's kind of the plan as we stand right now. Again, we are being very diligent and I'll say good stewards of capital when it comes to boosters. We are going to only launch boosters that are clinically backed and can provide clinical outcomes.

Analyst at StoneX

Okay. That's it for me. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Olivia with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

Martin Mitela
Martin Mitela
Analyst at Raymond James

Hi, good afternoon. This is Martin Mitela on for Olivia. I just want to quickly touch on the rental program and sort of get an idea of what was the impetus of it. Was this sort of a request from potential existing providers? Is it something that other competitors are doing?

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

What we have been doing is looking at challenges in terms of being able to expand our device footprint. We went through a strategic analysis of the market, and we identified pretty clearly that the ability to finance or the ability to qualify for finance, it continues to be one of the major barriers of a large number of providers in the U.S. The team went to work and we built a rental program and model that will definitely ease that barrier of entry and allow these providers to have and to operate the HydraFacial machine in their practice. Basically, we saw the problem, and we stood up a model that addresses, and in our view, will substantially fix that problem.

Martin Mitela
Martin Mitela
Analyst at Raymond James

Great. Thank you very much.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Naveen with BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.

Analyst at BNP Paribas

Hi. Thanks for taking my question. My first one is we have seen the neurotoxin market improving sequentially this quarter. Do you expect some improvement in the aesthetics capital equipment environment to follow with a lag? Or is that too early?

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

That's a good question. As I mentioned in the beginning, we continue to see the market as a healthy category. Aesthetics continues to grow. People continue to dedicate some discretionary spending into aesthetics. A lot of these categories are actually growing. Toxins is one of them. We see this as an opportunity. What we are doing is catering and building strategies that can take advantage of that spend. All the strategies that I just discussed speak exactly to that objective.

Analyst at BNP Paribas

Thank you. Maybe if you can discuss some early progress or examples on increasing the productivity of the HydraFacial install base? Thank you.

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

I'm sorry, can you just repeat your question? You just kind of broke up a little bit.

Analyst at BNP Paribas

If you could discuss some early progress or examples on increasing the productivity of the HydraFacial install base?

Pedro Malha
CEO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

I can definitely start with commercial excellence. Again, this is an area that we keep investing in. That is one. The other is we are launching the boosters, speaking right into the utilization of the devices. That's another. Again, we are very focused on making more out of every single machine that is out there in the field.

Mike Monahan
CFO at SkinHealth Systems Inc

Yeah. Hi, Naveen. One thing I would just add, I think we can point to in terms of progress in Q2 was around SkinStylus. Here was a product that we have, that we began really focusing on the sales team, refocused their efforts in order to sell into the existing base. While it's a small revenue stream for us, it grew nearly 50% year-over-year in the second quarter when the sales and marketing team reshifted the focus there. I just point that out, not that it has a material impact on the overall P&L in the second quarter, but it is an example of sales force execution and partnership in marketing where the team was really able to drive results.

Analyst at BNP Paribas

Thank you. This is helpful, both.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, there are no further questions. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

Analysts
Powered by Quartr