Stryker’s second quarter results met Wall Street’s revenue expectations, yet the market responded negatively, reflecting investor concerns about the company’s supply chain disruptions and their impact on near-term growth. Management identified ongoing backorders in the peripheral vascular business as a primary headwind, noting that while production is ramping up, these issues led to lost sales and an elevated backlog. CEO Kevin Lobo described the quarter as a period of recovery from a recent cybersecurity incident, emphasizing, “We delivered strong organic sales growth… [but] supply disruption resulted in a meaningful backorder situation with lost sales in the quarter.”
Is now the time to buy SYK? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
Stryker (SYK) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $6.59 billion vs analyst estimates of $6.57 billion (9.4% year-on-year growth, in line)
- Adjusted EPS: $3.69 vs analyst estimates of $3.49 (5.8% beat)
- Management slightly raised its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance to $15.02 at the midpoint
- Operating Margin: 25.2%, up from 18.5% in the same quarter last year
- Organic Revenue rose 9% year on year (miss)
- Market Capitalization: $129.3 billion
While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.
Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Stryker’s Q2 Earnings Call
- Joanne Wuensch (Citibank) questioned the rationale behind narrowing guidance and the muted flow-through of EPS outperformance to full-year guidance; CFO Preston Wells explained that tariff benefits were offset by cyber-related costs and ongoing remediation expenses.
- Robert Justin Marcus (JPMorgan) pressed for clarity on distinguishing underlying growth from catch-up revenue post-cyber incident; CEO Kevin Lobo and Wells said Q2 reflected underlying momentum, with most catch-up related to capital equipment.
- Larry Biegelsen (Wells Fargo) asked about Stryker’s confidence in achieving second-half organic growth targets amidst supply issues; Lobo cited strong order visibility and production ramp, stating, “We feel very, very confident delivering.”
- Ryan Zimmerman (BTIG) sought insight into expected margin movements and fourth-quarter EPS dynamics; Wells highlighted ongoing margin expansion efforts while citing cyber and production-related expense headwinds.
- Travis Steed (Bank of America) requested details on the Inari supply disruption’s impact and recovery plans; Lobo explained that a plant-specific issue caused the backorder, but a stabilized salesforce and manufacturing should enable gradual recovery.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
Our analysts will closely monitor (1) Stryker’s progress in resolving peripheral vascular backorders and returning to normal supply levels, (2) the pace of capital equipment backlog conversion amid ongoing production ramp-up, and (3) execution on new product launches like Mako RPS and Sonopet 3 Ultrasonic Aspirator. Updates on cybersecurity remediation and related costs will also be key signposts for the company’s operational resilience.
Stryker currently trades at $337.27, down from $348.04 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
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