Insulet PODD is well poised for growth in the upcoming quarters, owing to its strong momentum for the Omnipod 5 automated insulin delivery (“AID”) system for both Type 1 and Type 2 populations. The company is strongly executing against its long-term priorities to drive penetration, deepen competitive advantage, unlock new opportunities and scale profitably. However, macroeconomic pressures and intense competition could pose headwinds for Insulet’s operations.
In the past year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has lost 57.8% compared with the industry’s 27% decline. The S&P 500 composite grew 20% in the same time frame.
The developer, manufacturer and distributor of insulin delivery systems has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion. The company’s estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 22.2% is well ahead of the industry’s 12.5% rise. PODD’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 13.6%.
Let us delve deeper.
Upsides for Insulet
Omnipod 5 Expanding Global Adoption: Omnipod 5 remains differentiated as a fully disposable, tubeless AID system and continues to expand its installed base across U.S. and international markets. In the second quarter of 2026, total Omnipod revenues rose 23.8% at constant currency, including U.S. growth of 20.1% and international growth of 32.9%. Global new customer starts increased sequentially and year over year, producing the company’s second-highest quarter to date.
The global customer base increased 23% year over year. More than 95% of the U.S. customer base and over 70% of the international customer base were using Omnipod 5 in the second quarter. International adoption also broadened through the Spain launch, bringing Omnipod to 26 countries and Omnipod 5 to 20. Management raised 2026 international Omnipod constant-currency growth guidance to 30% to 32%, reflecting sustained first-half momentum and continued adoption across international markets.
Progress With Strategic Actions: Insulet is extending sensor connectivity and advancing next-generation systems to deepen the Omnipod platform over time. In the second quarter of 2026, the company launched its latest U.S. Omnipod 5 algorithm update, including a 100 mg/dL target glucose option, and expanded compatibility with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus. Insulet continues to target a 2027 launch for Omnipod 6 and is progressing enrollment in the EVOLVE pivotal study for its fully closed-loop Type 2 system, with a 510(k) submission still planned for 2027.
Omnipod Discover is also gaining use, with more than 12,000 people with diabetes and over 1,600 health care professionals on the platform in the second quarter. These initiatives broaden the product roadmap and may support longer-term retention and access as the company scales beyond its current user base.
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What Ails PODD Stock?
Competitive Pressure: Insulet competes against large, established diabetes device companies and newer entrants offering pumps, smart pens and other insulin delivery approaches. As AID adoption expands globally, management expects competition to increase, which can raise commercial spending requirements and heighten payer negotiations. If competitive intensity continues to rise, Insulet may need to sustain elevated commercial spending to support customer growth, which could limit operating leverage and margin expansion.
Economic Uncertainty and Supply Exposure: Insulet remains vulnerable to geopolitical, logistics and input-cost disruptions across its global manufacturing network. The company faces risks from potential tariff expansion, supply constraints and price fluctuations among sole-source and third-party suppliers. Insulet is also expanding manufacturing capacity, including a new Costa Rica facility, which adds execution risk as production scales. The longer-term risk is that higher input costs, trade changes or supply disruptions could absorb part of the productivity and scale benefits required to sustain annual margin expansion.
PODD Stock Estimate Trend
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Insulet’s 2026 earnings per share has moved north 0.5% to $6.51 in the past 30 days.
The same for the company’s 2026 revenues is pegged at $3.28 billion, implying a 21.1% rise from the year-ago reported number.
Key Picks
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Globus Medical GMED, Veracyte VCYT and Illumina ILMN.
Globus Medical has an earnings yield of 5.8% against the industry’s negative 1.7% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 27.9%. GMED’s shares have rallied 42.3% against the industry’s 6.3% decline over the past year.
GMED sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Veracyte, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 at present, has an earnings yield of 4.6% against the industry’s negative 1.7% yield. Shares of the company have risen 38% against the industry’s 6.3% decline. VCYT’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 41.8%.
Illumina, presently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 13% compared with the industry’s 23% rise. Its earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 9.7%. ILMN’s shares have rallied 194.6% compared with the industry’s 24.6% growth over the past year.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).