New York, May 22, 2026, 16:01 EDT
- Medline holders sold an increased 72.6 million-share block in a secondary offering, priced at $37 per share.
- The company isn’t offering shares and won’t get any proceeds.
- The stock was near $37 late Friday, above its $29 IPO price, but far under its December high.
Medline Inc. shares held steady late Friday after its top holders priced a bigger secondary offering at $37 per share. The $2.68 billion deal offers investors a new signal on appetite for one of last year’s largest U.S. IPOs. The sale involves only existing shares, and Medline won’t get any money from it.
Medline’s second offering stands out because the medical-supply company, based in Northfield, Illinois, only began trading publicly in December. The deal is getting attention as a sign of investor demand for major private-equity exits. Selling shareholders are linked to Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and an Abu Dhabi Investment Authority unit, according to Medline.
The offering was upsized to 72,554,594 Class A shares, up from the original 60 million. Underwriters also have a 30-day option to take up to 10,883,189 more shares. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan acted as global coordinators and joint bookrunners.
Medline shares traded at $37.08 as of 3:53 p.m. in New York, off 0.05% for the day, with more than 35 million shares changing hands, StockAnalysis reported. The stock remains above its $29 IPO price, but is under the $50.88 52-week high.
Stock trading in the U.S. stayed open on Friday. Nasdaq’s regular hours were 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, with Monday, May 25, booked as the Memorial Day holiday. Investors are looking at an extended weekend, with the Medline block priced but not closed.
Medline’s IPO ended in December, selling 248.4 million shares at $29 a piece after underwriters took up their full option. The company said some of that money would help cover debt. On its debut, the shares opened at $35 and finished at $41, Reuters said via Investing.com.
Medline competes in medical-surgical supply and distribution against McKesson and Cardinal Health, Reuters said when the IPO priced. Now, after the lockup ended, investors are revaluing that core business: high-volume hospital products, private-label supplies, and logistics services. It’s not a biotech growth play.
Medline CEO Jim Boyle said during the company’s first-quarter results this month that Medline is seeing “strong momentum” heading into 2026, pointing to growth from existing customers, big implementations and new clients. Medline lifted its outlook for full-year organic sales growth to 8.5% to 9.5%. Organic sales growth strips out things like acquisitions or other factors. Medline Inc.
Medline’s first-quarter net sales rose 10.7% to $7.4 billion, but profit was weaker. Net income dropped 25.8% to $239 million as results took a hit from higher cost of goods sold, tariffs, operating costs and an IPO-linked employee bonus. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes various charges, fell 10.6% to $776 million.
Tariffs still hang over the business. Mike Drazin, CFO at Medline, told investors tariff costs hit about $120 million in Q1, with $85 million from tariff changes, according to Digital Commerce 360. Boyle said the team would first work to absorb or offset those costs: “We’re going to continue to leverage our playbook to do as much as possible internally to mitigate any challenges before we pass anything on to our customers.” Digital Commerce 360
But an increase in shares available may limit gains soon, if buyers see the sale as early holders cashing out while margins feel pressure. There’s a clear risk here: more tariffs or shipping expenses, weaker hospital spending, or insiders selling more could push Medline to trade in line with other leveraged distributors instead of getting a premium IPO scarcity valuation.
Medline shares are still trading above their IPO price. “This is a very different profile than the typical growth IPO — Medline is profitable, cash-generative, and well understood,” Jeff Zell, senior research analyst at IPO Boutique, told Reuters in December. The block sale on Friday set up a test to see if that argument holds at $37. Investing.com Canada
