Stryker Corporation — Business Overview

What does Stryker do?

Stryker is a global medical technology company that makes and sells a wide range of devices and equipment used in hospitals and surgical settings. Founded in 1941 by an orthopaedic surgeon, Stryker today serves doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities in roughly 61 countries, claiming to impact more than 150 million patients per year. The company employs approximately 56,000 people worldwide, about half of them in the United States.

Stryker operates through two reporting segments, each covering a distinct set of product categories:

Within MedSurg and Neurotechnology, the largest sub-categories are Medical ($4,204M, 27% of segment), Endoscopy ($3,807M, 24%), Instruments ($3,183M, 20%), Neuro Cranial ($2,485M, 16%), and Vascular ($1,968M, 13%). Within Orthopaedics, Trauma and Extremities is the largest piece at $3,948M (42% of segment), followed by Knees at $2,656M (28%) and Hips at $1,865M (20%).

How does Stryker make money?

Stryker's primary revenue stream is selling medical devices and implants directly to hospitals, surgical centers, and healthcare professionals. Most products are marketed directly to doctors and hospitals rather than through intermediaries. Revenue comes from a mix of capital equipment sales (such as robotic surgery systems and operating room cameras), recurring disposable and implant sales (such as joint replacement implants and single-use surgical tools), and software or platform services (such as its AI-assisted clinical communication system, Vocera).

A meaningful part of the business model is "razor and blade" in nature, particularly in robotics. Stryker places its Mako SmartRobotics systems (the "razor") in hospitals and then sells the implants and instrumentation used in each procedure (the "blade"). Over one million robotic Mako Total Knee procedures have been performed to date, and the platform now operates in more than 45 countries, creating a steady stream of recurring implant revenue tied to each installed robot.

What market does Stryker operate in?

Stryker competes in the global medical device industry, which is large, growing, and driven by demographic tailwinds. The core demand driver is an aging global population that increasingly requires joint replacements, stroke interventions, trauma surgeries, and other procedures. These are largely non-discretionary medical needs, which gives the industry a degree of resilience compared to consumer-facing businesses. Stryker's own revenue grew from $20.5 billion in 2023 to $25.1 billion in 2025, a roughly 22% increase over two years.

Secular trends are broadly favorable, but pricing pressure and regulation are persistent headwinds. Government agencies, insurers, and hospital systems worldwide are actively working to contain healthcare costs, which puts downward pressure on device pricing. Regulatory requirements are also tightening — notably in the European Union, where new Medical Device Regulations (MDR) with transition deadlines running from 2026 to 2028 require stricter clinical evidence, labeling, and post-market monitoring. Stryker states it is on track to meet these timelines.

Who are Stryker's main competitors?

The medical device industry is consolidated at the top, with a handful of large global players competing across most of Stryker's product lines. The same names appear repeatedly across segments:

• Zimmer Biomet — competes in Instruments and Orthopaedics
• Johnson & Johnson MedTech — competes in Instruments, Vascular/Neuro Cranial, and Orthopaedics
• Medtronic — competes in Instruments, Vascular, and Neuro Cranial
• Smith & Nephew — competes in Endoscopy and Orthopaedics
• Others by category include Karl Storz, Olympus, Arthrex, Penumbra, Terumo, Baxter, and CONMED

Stryker claims its competitive advantages rest on innovation, product quality, and its sales and service reputation. The company holds approximately 5,600 U.S. patents and around 9,000 patents internationally, which help protect unique product designs from imitation. The Mako robotics platform is a particular differentiator in orthopaedics — Stryker was first to market with a robotically enabled revision hip arthroplasty procedure, for example — and the installed base of Mako systems creates switching costs for hospital customers already trained on the platform.

Where does Stryker operate?

Stryker is a truly global business, selling products in approximately 61 countries through a mix of company-owned subsidiaries, branches, and third-party distributors. The filing does not break out revenue by specific geography in Item 1, but the company notes that international operations are a meaningful part of the business. Products are both manufactured and sold across multiple geographies.

The filing flags several geopolitical and international risks worth noting. These include exposure to foreign currency exchange movements, international conflicts, and tariffs — all of which could affect demand or profitability in non-U.S. markets. The evolving EU medical device regulatory environment (MDR) also adds compliance complexity and cost for the European business. No single non-U.S. country is called out as a dominant source of revenue, but the breadth of the international footprint means currency fluctuations and trade policy shifts are ongoing considerations for the business.