CONMED Corporation (CNMD Quick QuoteCNMD - Free Report) is well-positioned for growth on the back of rising adoption of its high-margin, differentiated platforms like AirSeal, Buffalo Filter and BioBrace. The company’s long-term prospects seem promising as robotic procedure volume rises, coupled with the expanding penetration of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs). Moreover, improving supply-chain bottlenecks should drive top- and bottom-line growth.

Meanwhile, CONMED is facing tariff headwinds that are unfavorably impacting its gross margin. The launch of Intuitive Surgical’s (ISRG Quick QuoteISRG - Free Report) da Vinci 5 (dV5) is also delaying the requirement for AirSeal, as it comes with an integrated insufflator.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have lost 35.7% so far this year against the industry’s 13.5% growth. The S&P 500 Index has jumped 18.2% in the same time frame.

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CONMED, a renowned global medical products manufacturer specializing in surgical instruments and devices, has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion. The company projects 6.3% earnings growth for 2026 and expects to maintain its strong performance going forward.

Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 8.40%.

Factors Favoring CNMD Stock

Growing adoption of high-margin, differentiated platforms: The company’s third-quarter results reflected strong momentum across its key differentiated platforms. BioBrace use has expanded to more than 70 procedures, driven by surgeon adoption and its versatility in soft-tissue repair. AirSeal continues gaining traction due to well-recognized clinical benefits, including reduced pain and shorter stays. Buffalo Filter growth is supported by rising smoke-evacuation mandates and deeper hospital protocol integration. Management positions these platforms as core long-term growth and margin contributors.

Robotics tailwinds + ASC penetration providing structural long-term growth: Management notes significant opportunity from expanding robotic surgery, both with Intuitive Surgical’s systems and emerging international platforms. Redeployment of Intuitive Surgical’s Xi systems into ASCs and global markets supports incremental AirSeal usage, as these settings value reduced pain and shorter stays. The company also reported rising AirSeal adoption in non-dV5 robots internationally. These dynamics signal sustained multi-year growth driven by procedural shifts toward robotics and minimally invasive settings.

Supply chain improvements unlocking lost revenue + margin: The company reports meaningful progress in orthopedic supply chain recovery, including record manufacturing volumes during the third quarter and major reductions in critical SKUs. These improvements directly support better product availability and incremental growth in the orthopedics business. Management expects the progress to continue in the fourth quarter as enhancements in procurement, planning and production take hold, helping recover previously constrained sales and supporting margin stabilization over time.

Portfolio review likely to sharpen focus on best-return segments: A comprehensive, ongoing portfolio review—guided by ROIC considerations—indicates that the strongest opportunities lie in minimally invasive surgery, robotic and laparoscopic platforms, smoke evacuation and orthopedic soft-tissue repair. Management states these areas will anchor future investment and growth initiatives. By concentrating resources on these high-return segments, the company aims to improve margins, strengthen long-term competitiveness and enhance shareholder value.

Downsides

Tariff-driven margin compression: Tariffs remain a clear headwind, hurting gross margin by roughly 20 basis points (bps) during the third quarter. The company expects tariffs to unfavorably impact gross margin by 150 bps in the fourth quarter. As tariff costs flow through inventory with a six-month delay, the company is still absorbing expenses from earlier in the year. This creates near-term margin compression despite positive sales mix and operational improvements, limiting the pace of EBITDA and bottom-line expansion.

Longer-than-expected supply chain recovery, delayed share recapture: While supply chain conditions improved during the third quarter, management stresses they are “not there yet,” and resolution remains a multi-quarter process. Orthopedic supply constraints previously led to lost market share, and management expects customers to take one to two quarters to resume normal purchasing even after backorders clear. This delay slows the full revenue recovery and prolongs the impact of earlier operational challenges.

DV5 integration limits AirSeal opportunity near term: CONMED’s AirSeal adoption is getting delayed in procedures done using Intuitive Surgical’s dV5 as it includes its own built-in insufflation system. This alone reduces the immediate need for hospitals to purchase AirSeal when they first deploy dV5. Moreover, early adoption of AirSeal for dV5 is also getting unfavorably impacted by volume-commitment agreements of hospitals with Intuitive Surgical. Although AirSeal adoption may rise after hospitals complete their committed procedures with dV5 and management acknowledges dV5 launch as an opportunity, this is likely to put pressure on AirSeal’s adoption in the near term.

Estimate Trend

CONMED is witnessing a rising estimate revision trend for 2025. In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has moved north 2 cents to $4.49 per share.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2025 revenues and EPS is pegged at $366.2 million and $1.32, respectively, suggesting 5.9% growth and 1.5% decline from the year-ago reported numbers.

CONMED Corporation Price

CONMED Corporation price | CONMED Corporation Quote

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Insulet (PODD Quick QuotePODD - Free Report) and IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (IDXX Quick QuoteIDXX - Free Report) .

Insulet, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 29%. PODD’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 17.75%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Insulet’s shares have gained 17.8% compared with the industry’s 3.4% growth so far this year.

IDEXX, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 13%. IDXX’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 7.12%.

IDEXX’s shares have gained 82.1% compared with the industry’s 5.8% growth so far this year.