Fresenius SE's Long-Term Outlook Faces Challenges Due to Obesity Drug Expansion

Fresenius SE’s prowess in dialysis and injectable therapies has created opportunities to vertically integrate into several medical service and technology businesses by organic and inorganic means. Through its partial ownership of Fresenius Medical Care, the company seeks to benefit from that unique entity's position as the world's top dialysis service and product provider. In the U.S., this segment operates a convenient network of dialysis clinics at a similar scale as key peer DaVita, with the two firms cumulatively serving about three fourths of the U.S. dialysis outpatient population. Fresenius has established a number of clinics in more fragmented international markets, too, where it has a relatively long runway for growth by opening or acquiring new clinics. Fresenius leads the dialysis product market primarily by providing hemodialysis equipment and consumables to clinics globally but also sells at-home tools, too.