Medtronic
(NYSE: MDT)
announced today that it will add two medtech industry veterans to its board as it works with activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
The addition of former Hillrom CEO John Groetelaars and former Stryker CFO Bill Jellison as independent directors will boost the size of Medtronic’s board to 13 seats. Medtronic will also create two special board committees: a Growth Committee to examine tuck-in M&A opportunities, R&D spending strategy, and more; and an Operating Committee to look at optimizing operational performance.
“Our decision to become one of Medtronic’s largest investors was driven by our strong conviction that the company is entering a new chapter of exceptional value creation defined by accelerating growth, operational improvement and enhanced strategic clarity,” Elliott Partner Marc Steinberg said in a news release.
Said Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha: “We appreciate our productive dialogue with Marc Steinberg and the Elliott team. The durable growth drivers now taking hold across several of our businesses are strengthening Medtronic’s trajectory and reinforcing our conviction in the company’s future.”
Elliott has been involved in driving change at Southwest Airlines after the management last year reached a truce over board appointments to avoid a proxy battle.
The news of Medtronic partnering with Elliott comes on the same day that the company announced Street-beating first quarter results and upped its full-year EPS guidance amid a better-than-expected impact from tariffs, though organic revenue growth is still expected to be 5% for the fiscal year that ends in April 2026.
Read more at Medical Design & Outsourcing: Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha explains activist investor changes and offers updates on MiniMed and Hugo
Pulsed field ablation and more are driving Medtronic growth
Medtronic earned $1.047 billion, or 81¢ per share, off of $8.578 billion in sales for the quarter that ended on July 25, 2025. The bottom line was down slightly, and the top line was more than 8% (4.8% organically) compared with the same quarter a year ago.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, Medtronic EPS was $1.26. The result was 3¢ ahead of the consensus of Wall Street analysts, who expected EPS of $1.23 and revenue of $8.37 billion.
Medtronic now expects tariffs to impact earnings by $185 million versus the prior range of roughly $200–350 million. The reduced impact from import taxes is enabling the company to boost its adjusted EPS guidance to $5.60–5.66 from the prior range of $5.50–5.60. The company still expects organic revenue growth of approximately 5%, with reported revenue growth of 6.5–6.8%.
“We delivered another consistent quarter of mid-single digit organic revenue growth, with broad strength from several innovative product categories, including pulsed field ablation, transcatheter valves, neuromodulation, diabetes, and leadless pacing,” Martha said in a news release “We’re confident and well positioned to accelerate our revenue growth in the second half of our fiscal year, as we make meaningful progress on our major growth drivers.”
MDT shares were down more than 3% to $89.14 apiece in morning trading today.
Truist analysts, who have a Hold rating on Medtronic stock, thought a 3–4% stock dip was to be expected because institutional investors were looking for 5.5% organic revenue growth in Q1, versus the 4.8% rate delivered.
Mike Matson and colleagues at Needham & Co. said: “We believe that MDT is in the early stages of a strong product cycle and expect Elliott’s involvement to help create shareholder value, but we maintain our Hold rating until there are signs that its organic growth is seeing meaningful, and sustainable, acceleration beyond 5%.”
Medtech pay analysis: Medtronic reports double-digit pay hikes for CEO Geoff Martha and other top executives
Medtronic Q1 highlights
Top Medtronic news over the past few months included:
- Cardiac Ablation Solutions revenue was up nearly 50% in the first quarter, including 72% in the U.S., on the strength of pulsed field ablation products;
- Medtronic could see a boost from a proposed CMS National Coverage Determination to recommend insurance coverage of renal denervation systems, including the company’s Symplicity Spyral system, for the treatment of uncontrolled hypertension;
- Medtronic expects a U.S. launch of its Hugo robotic surgery system in the back half of its present fiscal year after announcing in April that it submitted its Hugo surgical robot platform to the FDA for a urologic indication;
- The company has received a CE mark in the EU for its LigaSure vessel sealing technology for use with its Hugo system;
- Medtronic continues to expect its Diabetes business to split off as a new independent company called MiniMed over the next 15 months, preferably through an IPO.
Read more on Medical Design & Outsourcing: With Medtronic’s next-gen RDN devices and procedures advancing, Project Galileo is next
And: Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha explains activist investor changes and offers updates on MiniMed and Hugo
