Stryker (NYSE:SYK) posted second-quarter financial results that came in ahead of the consensus forecast on Wall Street.
However, the company narrowed its 2026 guidance and now expects organic sales growth between 8.3% and 9.3% and adjusted EPS between $14.95 and $15.10. During the post-market-close report out yesterday, the company said its guidance includes a modestly positive pricing impact. It also expects a slightly favorable impact from foreign exchange rates.
Chair and CEO Kevin Lobo also said the company continues to rebound from the March cyberattack that put a dent in its first-quarter performance.
Shares of SYK were down more than 5% to $328.02 apiece near the close of trading today; the S&P 500 was up nearly 1%..
The Portage, Michigan-based orthopedic and surgical device giant reported profits of $1.28 billion. That equals $3.32 per share on sales of $6.59 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2026.
Stryker recorded a 44.3% bottom-line gain on a sales increase of 9.4%. MedSurg and Nuerotechnology delivered sales of $3.6 billion, increasing 9.7% year-over-year. Orthopaedics recorded net sales of $3 billion, marking a 9.1% increase.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share came in at $3.69. That landed 20¢ ahead of expectations on Wall Street. Sales also topped the projections as experts forecast $6.58 billion in revenue.
Highlights during the quarter included completing the acquisition of Amplitude Vascular Systems in a deal worth up to $835 million.
“We made significant progress in our recovery from the cyber incident, delivering strong growth in sales, earnings per share and operating cash flow in the second quarter,” said Lobo. “As we have seen in the past, the resilience of our teams when faced with challenges was once again on display. With our steady cadence of innovation and disciplined operational execution, we enter the second half of 2026 with regained momentum and remain confident in our ability to grow at the high end of medtech.”
The analysts’ take on Stryker
BTIG analysts Ryan Zimmerman and Iseult McMahon maintain a “Buy” rating for Stryker but lowered their pricing target from $371 to $358 following the quarterly results.
The analysts say an implied step-up required in the second half of 2026 to achieve the guidance “is significant” and requires double-digit organic growth.
“Given the 1H26 organic growth (~5.7%), and the step-up, we think investors may remain skeptical. Even if 3Q26 is solid, the onus falls to 4Q26,” the analysts wrote.
The analysts say management reiterated its confidence in the guidance. Leadership pointed to a combination of its order backlog, procedural stability and increased manufacturing output.
While shares may dip due to the results, the analysts don’t want to sound any alarms quite yet.
“[We] believe [Stryker’s] ability to increase growth through M&A while also using its cash to repurchase shares provide a buffer against underperformance in the interim and give [Stryker] time to recoup its lost sales,” the analysts said.
This story originally ran July 30, 2026. Updated July 31 with next-day stock price.
