Stryker
(NYSE: SYK)
saw its Mako ortho surgical robot and new products drive a solid finish for 2023 — with expectations for a just as robust 2024.
The Kalamazoo, Michigan–based orthopedic device giant saw SYK shares shoot up more than 6% to $335.67 apiece in morning trading today on the heels of the Street-beating Q4 results from yesterday evening. MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index was up nearly 1%.
Stryker earned $1.143 billion, or $2.98 per share, from $5.815 billion in sales for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2023. The bottom line more than doubled year over year, and the top line was up 11.8%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, Stryker’s EPS was $3.46. The result was 19¢ ahead of the consensus on Wall Street, where analysts expected EPS of $3.27 and revenue of $5.6 billion.
“We continue to be a high-growth company with a focus on our mission to deliver for our patients and customers,” Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo said during the company’s earnings call, transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
“As we begin 2024, I am very excited about our future. We are in a strong position with robust demand across both procedures and capital, easing macro constraints and a strong pipeline of innovation.”
This year, Stryker expects sales to grow 7.5–9.0%, with adjusted EPS of $11.70–12.00.
Lobo had plenty of tailwinds to report at the start of 2024: “The procedure volumes are strong. The capital markets are very strong. Hospitals are spending. We have exited the year with more backlog than we began the year, which means, obviously, our orders are continuing to be strong for capital equipment.”