Edwards Lifesciences Corp at JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (Virtual) Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Yes. Great. Maybe we could start off with a little bit of everyone's favorite topic, which is COVID-19. And it's amazing to me that a procedure that has such clear benefits for patients, life-saving benefits in a highly deadly disease would see such an impact throughout 2020. And I realize there's REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 11, 2021 / 3:50PM, EW.N - Edwards Lifesciences Corp at JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (Virtual) a lot of logistics and testing that go into getting a TAVR patient into the hospital screened, identified and ultimately implanted. But what's really the biggest headwind here that's going on right now? And maybe a follow-up question to that is at the Analyst Day earlier in December, you tapped down your expectations for fourth quarter a little bit from -- to flattish from up a little bit. Do you still stand by that now coming with the full quarter behind you?

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : And built into that, is there a discrepancy between geographies? Are you seeing the U.S. -- as we talk to other companies, it seems like U.S. is not doing fantastic but still a little better than Europe. Is that the way to think about what's going on in your business as well?

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Got it. And so maybe walk us through, let's say, vaccines hit 50% of the patient population in June, which is what our biotech analyst is forecasting. I imagine that's a much higher percentage of elderly patients who would be more likely to get a TAVR than not. How should investors think about the barriers to getting back to full implantation? What are some of the time lines to keep in mind so that we don't just flip a switch and -- but huge third quarter numbers. That could happen, but what are the considerations to keep in mind as we do our models in '21?

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Got it. I'm going to jump to Scott here for a second. You gave us guidance for 2021 at the Analyst Day of $4.9 billion to $5.3 billion, which is growth in the mid-teens on an underlying basis. Clearly, there's a lot of variability, and that's your best guess as we sit here today. But help us work through the cadence of next year. Do you think The Street and its forecast appropriately captures what you were trying to imply at the Analyst Day in December?

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Got it. And I know I gave you a lot of grief at the beginning of 2020, but it actually ended up being your most accurate guidance forecast, I think, ever in the company's history. So congratulations on that. Maybe as we take it from the top line down to the bottom line, The Street's forecasting very modest incremental EPS growth through the year, though TAVR has such a high incremental margin. So do you think that's the right way to think about cadence through the year? And just remind everyone what the incrementals are on TAVR if we want to dream positively about what you could do post-COVID? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 11, 2021 / 3:50PM, EW.N - Edwards Lifesciences Corp at JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (Virtual)

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Yes. And I think my next line was going to be just to close out here on the financials is down the P&L, you gave us some metrics at the Analyst Day. But there is still a lot of puts and takes. People's models are bouncing around as we try and adjust for all the variability in 2020 and some of the nuances of '21. If you could just help us understand some of the puts and takes down the P&L that we should keep in mind in the models.

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Got it. Okay. Mike, it didn't get a ton of attention at the Analyst Day, there were a lot of different trials and products to talk about. But I wanted to try and pick your brain on the SAPIEN X4 device. What is the next frontier in TAVR? Stroke rates, at least in the lower-risk patient population, are already not perfect but pretty good. The devices are smaller and smaller, easier to implant. So what is it that we should really be looking forward to X4 that it changes the current paradigm?

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Got it. So we're running out of time. Mike, I want to ask you one last question here that should fill up the rest of the session. And you have a number of shots on goal, whether it's in transcatheter, mitral, tricuspid even some interesting ideas in the surgical side. What's the one product that you think The Street isn't as focused on that they should be?

Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Got it. Well, there's certainly a lot of different shots on goal. So I'm hopeful at least some hit for the benefit of society and you and your shareholders. So with that, I want to thank you so much for joining today and really appreciate you spending time with us. Thanks a lot. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 11, 2021 / 3:50PM, EW.N - Edwards Lifesciences Corp at JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (Virtual)