Report
Damien Conover
EUR 850.00 For Business Accounts Only

Morningstar | Align Should Benefit From Global Growth Despite Dental Market Headwinds and Product Commodification

Align's first mover advantage in the clear aligner market has morphed the company into a global orthodontic powerhouse, essentially monopolizing the market. Align successfully proved clear aligner efficacy relative to traditional wire and brackets, and the company's InvisAlign brand has become synonymous with the broader product category as a result. The company's digital manufacturing workflow has enabled significant efficiency and convenience for orthodontic professionals and patients alike, whereas general practitioners with very limited orthodontic expertise can also sell aligners thanks to InvisAlign's automated treatment planning software. The dental professionals submit physical or digital patient scans to Align, which then get transferred into the largest 3D printing operation in the world. Although the company's manufacturing patents have started expiring and new competitors are entering the space, we expect it will be some time before competition can meaningfully erode Align's market share.Although we expect intensifying competition will eventually constrain Align's long-term growth, we expect the company's market leadership will persist thanks to its complex R&D capabilities. Most of the company’s clear aligners focus on comprehensive cases, and the company's newer products aim to address even higher complexities, including mandibular advancement and palate expansion. Align has a significant growth opportunity in an underpenetrated global market. The company’s international strategy is positioning their digital workflow in a similar way that enabled its outsize growth in the U.S. While we think there is room for multiple players to drive emerging-market penetration, we anticipate that Align's brand strength will prove advantageous in this effort.
Underlying
Align Technology Inc.

Align Technology is a medical device company engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of Invisalign? clear aligners and iTero? intraoral scanners and services for orthodontics, restorative and aesthetic dentistry. The company's segments are: Clear Aligner, which includes the Invisalign System, a method for treating malocclusion based on a proprietary computer-simulated virtual treatment plan and a series of doctor-prescribed, custom manufactured, clear plastic, removable aligners; and Scanners and Services, which includes Intraoral scanning that enables the dental practitioner to create a 3D image of the patient's teeth (digital scan) using a handheld intraoral scanner.

Provider
Morningstar
Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offer an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors.

Morningstar provides data on approximately 530,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 18 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $185 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2016.

We have operations in 27 countries.

Analysts
Damien Conover

Other Reports on these Companies
Other Reports from Morningstar

ResearchPool Subscriptions

Get the most out of your insights

Get in touch