Tactile Medical Lifts Guidance as Lymphedema Sales Accelerate
The medical-device maker raised its full-year revenue outlook by $3 million at both ends of the range after first-quarter sales rose 23%.
Tactile Systems Technology (TCMD), the medical-device maker focused on at-home treatment of chronic conditions, posted first-quarter 2026 revenue of $75.3 million, a 23% increase from a year earlier that marked the company's strongest quarterly growth in the current comparison period. The result extended a multi-quarter acceleration in the top line, up from 17% growth in the third quarter of 2025 and 21% in the fourth.
The acceleration was driven almost entirely by the company's core lymphedema franchise, where product revenue rose 23% year-over-year to $62.2 million. That pace more than doubled the 11% growth logged in the third quarter of 2025 and topped the 16% gain in the fourth, reversing a period in which the segment had lagged the company's overall expansion. Airway clearance revenue, by contrast, grew 22% to $13.0 million — a sharp deceleration from the 71% and 66% year-over-year gains recorded in the third and fourth quarters of 2025, respectively. The segment's share of total revenue held at 17%, down from a 16% peak in the third quarter of last year, suggesting a normalization after a period of outsized gains.
Gross margin widened to 76.5%, up from 74% a year ago and continuing a steady climb from 75% in the third quarter of 2024 and 78% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Operating expenses grew 19% year-over-year, trailing the pace of revenue and producing operating leverage that narrowed the quarterly operating loss to $1.5 million from $4.5 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA swung to $3.7 million from a loss of $0.3 million in the year-ago period. The net loss narrowed to $1.8 million, or $0.08 a share, from $3.0 million, or $0.08 a share, in the first quarter of 2025.
Research and development spending surged 59% to $2.8 million, reflecting investment in new product capabilities including those acquired through the LymphaTech deal. The company also entered an exclusive U.S. distribution agreement with ElastiMed for the MyoSleeve wearable compression device, targeting earlier-stage chronic swelling patients in Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense facilities. The pact carries a $3 million upfront payment and minimum purchase obligations, adding a new product line to Tactile's portfolio.
Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $360 million to $368 million, implying 9% to 12% growth, up from a prior range of $357 million to $365 million. Adjusted EBITDA guidance was reiterated at $49 million to $51 million, unchanged from the outlook provided after the fourth quarter of 2025.
Cash on hand fell to $75.0 million as of March 31 from $83.4 million at year-end 2025, weighed by the $6.2 million LymphaTech acquisition payment and $1.1 million in share repurchases. Buyback activity slowed markedly from the $26.5 million deployed in full-year 2025, with $23.9 million remaining under the existing $25 million authorization. New adjusted-EBITDA reconciliation items — $0.8 million in acquisition and integration costs and $1.0 million in litigation-related expenses — appeared in the quarter for the first time.