PORTAGE, Michigan, May 2, 2026, 10:04 EDT
- Stryker fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts for first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings, with a cyberattack in March causing operational hiccups as the quarter wrapped up.
- According to an SEC filing, the company reported that the incident materially affected its first-quarter operations and results. Still, management isn’t projecting a significant impact to full-year guidance.
- Shares finished 6.47% lower at $294.73 on May 1, drawing investor attention to the question of if postponed sales and procedures might be recouped before year-end.
Stryker Corporation stock tumbled after the medical-device giant posted first-quarter earnings and revenue that came in below expectations. Stryker blamed a cyberattack late in March, which threw a wrench into manufacturing, orders, and shipments. Still, the company stuck to its 2026 forecast, framing the hit as a matter of timing—it’s now a question of how much of the lost sales can be recovered.
Timing is crucial here. Stryker, known for its joint implants, surgical tools, defibrillators, and a host of other hospital supplies, found the attack didn’t just threaten data. It disrupted patient scheduling, delayed shipments, and even hit revenue recognition—when sales make it onto the books.
Now comes the question for investors: was March just a temporary setback, or does it signal a longer, slower road ahead? Stryker reported a 2.4% gain in organic net sales for the quarter—numbers that exclude the impact of currency swings, deals, and asset sales. The company is sticking to its target for 2026, aiming for organic growth between 8.0% and 9.5%.
First-quarter net sales at the Portage, Michigan-based company landed at $6.0 billion, a 2.6% increase over the prior year. Adjusted earnings per share, stripping out items like acquisition costs and other charges, dropped 8.5% to $2.60. Analysts polled by Reuters were looking for $6.35 billion in sales and $2.98 per share.
Stryker’s updated segment breakdown shows MedSurg and Neurotechnology sales up 5.0% to $3.2 billion. Orthopaedics, at $2.8 billion, barely budged. Looking at organic growth, MedSurg and Neurotechnology posted a 0.9% increase. Orthopaedics came in stronger at 4.1%, covering the company’s implants for hips, knees, shoulders, trauma, and extremities.
Chief Executive Kevin Lobo told analysts the company managed to “recover quickly from the cyber incident” and is sticking to its full-year targets. Lobo, speaking on the earnings call, described the incident as having a “big impact” on results, with varying effects across business lines due to differences in sales and delivery models. GlobeNewswire
Preston Wells, the Chief Financial Officer, told investors to expect some recovery in the second quarter, as postponed procedures, production, and shipments get pushed into the year’s back half. For orthopedics, hospitals had enough inventory on hand to keep certain procedures going, though Stryker still ran into revenue-recognition delays. Over in parts of MedSurg, make-to-order capital products are facing an even longer timeline to catch up.
Analysts saw the sales miss as significant, though they don’t expect it to drag on. RBC Capital Markets’ Shagun Singh flagged a roughly $317 million shortfall against consensus organic-sales forecasts, according to MedTech Dive. Stifel’s Rick Wise, meanwhile, highlighted robust end-market momentum and projected a recovery through the rest of 2026, calling for “a strong growth year ahead.” MedTech Dive
The competitive angle isn’t sweeping, but it matters. According to Reuters, Stryker’s chief rivals in orthopedics are Zimmer Biomet and Johnson & Johnson. Over in another corner of the sector, Medtronic noted this week that a cyberattack on its corporate IT systems didn’t hit products, production or distribution.
Investors weren’t as patient as Stryker’s management. The stock slid $20.40, or 6.47%, finishing at $294.73 on May 1, after dipping as low as $294.55 during the session. It inched up to $295.00 after hours.
The road back isn’t straightforward. Stryker disclosed in its SEC filing that the investigation is still underway, citing risks like potential system or data-integrity problems, unauthorized data leaks, legal action, regulatory pressure, and fallout that could strain ties with customers, suppliers, patients, and other third parties.
Margins suffered as well. According to Wells, adjusted gross margin declined by 190 basis points year over year, hit by shutdown-related manufacturing losses and tariffs. Adjusted operating margin dropped too, shrinking 180 basis points to 21.1%. A basis point equals one one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Stryker’s message to investors: hold tight for the rebound. The company projects most of the first-quarter’s missed sales will show up later in 2026, starting with revenue recognition in the second quarter. Delayed procedures and production? Those are likely to skew toward the latter part of the year.
