What's going on?

Philips reported worse-than-expected earnings on Monday, so the healthcare tech giant really should think about cutting back on poisoning its customers.

What does this mean?

Philips sold off its domestic appliances business to focus on its healthcare products back in March, and, uh, things haven�t been going well: it made the monumental mistake for a healthcare company � any company, really � of exposing its customers to toxic effects via its ventilators. That�s led to a recall of its products that�s cost the company almost $600 million so far. And while the demand is still there for its (presumably less fatal) products, all-too-familiar shortages of components have left the company struggling to convert those orders into sales. All in all, Philips� revenue fell by around 8% last quarter compared to the same time last year.

Why should I care?

For markets: Investors hold a grudge.

Those shortages aren�t going anywhere fast, and the whole �toxic ventilator� thing might not be either: there could be any number of lawsuits in the pipeline, which might be why Philips cut its sales outlook for the rest of the year. Investors � who had already sent its stock down more than 25% between April and this update � didn�t take it well: they sent its share price down another 3%.

Zooming out: The doctor will Zoom you now.

Philips� bedside manner could clearly do with some work, but at least it has telehealth in the meantime. And that�s not a bad market to fall back on: consulting firm McKinsey estimates that the US telehealth industry will grow from its 2019 revenue of $3 billion to as much as $250 billion. And Philips can thank an illness it didn�t cause for that one: McKinsey says the number of virtual doctors� visits are up 38-fold since before the pandemic.