Hims & Hers Health CEO Andrew Dudum defended the company against a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, saying the agency's decision to sue reflected a desire for publicity rather than a genuine resolution, according to CNBC. "I think it takes time for people to understand how to do that the right way, and we've worked for many years with the FTC to walk them through that," Dudum told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on "Squawk Box" on Tuesday. "And I think ultimately they wanted more of a headline than a real agreement here." Dudum argued that the charges reflect a failure to grasp what Hims & Hers is trying to accomplish in the healthcare space.
"We are active disruptors. We take that head on, and we're willing to do it. But it is always when we believe that it's in the best interest of people and their access," he said.
The FTC, joined by Los Angeles County and Utah, filed a lawsuit against Hims & Hers in July alleging the company shared user health data with advertisers including Meta Platforms and Snap, billed customers for prescriptions before they had spoken with a healthcare provider, and made subscription cancellations difficult. Hims & Hers denied wrongdoing at the time and said it planned to contest the case. The FTC opened its inquiry in October 2023, and settlement talks got underway after the agency relayed its conclusions to the company in April.
In May, the company recorded a $15 million probable-loss accrual tied to the matter and put forward a settlement proposal that did not include any admission of wrongdoing, though the FTC proceeded with its lawsuit. Dudum also addressed Hims & Hers' shift away from compounded GLP-1 weight loss drugs toward branded medications. The company sold lower-cost compounded versions of the popular obesity drugs while they were in shortage, but transitioned after supply recovered and drugmaker Novo Nordisk dropped a patent-infringement suit in March.
Dudum said he anticipates that cash-paying patients will eventually see monthly costs drop to between $40 and $50, down from a current range of around $150 to $200. The interview came days after Hims & Hers reported a net loss of $86.3 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared with net income of $42.5 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 38% to $753.2 million, and the company raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion.
On artificial intelligence, Dudum said the company has made a strategic decision to develop its own AI infrastructure rather than rely on outside vendors. "The closed loop data that you have within a healthcare system like Hims & Hers, that is the asset," he said.
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