Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Lab capacity has not increased as much as hoped. Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty Images
Commercial labs are in a precarious financial position, as the overwhelming demand for coronavirus tests is not close to making up the revenue of other tests that aren't being ordered.
Why it matters: Commercial labs are anchoring coronavirus testing, and testing remains paramount to mitigating the spread of the coronavirus.
By the numbers: The U.S. is testing about 150,000 people a day, but that testing capacity has barely expanded in April.
- Hospitals have partially stymied the effort to increase capacity, Nature reported.
- Large commercial labs, like Quest Diagnostics, also have major backlogs that have slowed test results.
What they're saying: The surging coronavirus demand is pinching them at a time when other revenue is drying up.
- "During the last two weeks of March, volumes declined in excess of 40% inclusive of COVID-19 testing," Quest said in a financial filing.
- The second quarter, which runs from April through June, will be "the worst quarter in lab history," analysts at Robert W. Baird & Co. said in an investor note.
- Labs continue to call for their own bailout so they can ramp up testing. They didn't get one in the most recent stimulus package.
Yes, but: Labs won other sought-after policies, like deferred Medicare cuts, and billions of lab dollars have been squandered on stock buybacks.
- Quest has repurchased $3.1 billion of its own stock since 2013, and LabCorp's stock buybacks have totaled $1.5 billion since 2015. Both companies also have a combined $2 billion remaining for stock buybacks.