SmileDirectClub Is a Textbook Case of Value Destruction

Once valued at $9 billion, SmileDirectClub filed for bankruptcy four years after its IPO

SmileDirectClub Inc. was listed in New York on Sept. 12, 2019. — SmileDirectClub Inc. was listed in New York on Sept. 12, 2019.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

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By Jeremy Hill

October 3, 2023 at 3:12 PM UTC

Welcome to The Brink. This is Jeremy Hill in New York reporting on SmileDirectClub, a success-story of the pre-pandemic era that went bankrupt. We have news on Indian conglomerate Vedanta, Austrian billionaire Rene Benko and a town in the suburbs of St. Louis getting into trouble. Follow this link to subscribe. Send us feedback and tips at jhill273@bloomberg.net or DM on X to @JeremyHtweets.

The downfall of SmileDirectClub is an impressive example of capital destruction.