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Here's Why You Should Retain CONMED Stock in Your Portfolio Now

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Key Takeaways

  • CONMED sees growth in BioBrace, AirSeal and Buffalo Filter as adoption strengthens across key platforms.
  • Robotics expansion and rising ASC penetration support multi-year growth and increased AirSeal usage.
  • Tariffs and slower supply-chain recovery weigh on gross margin, with dV5 integration delaying AirSeal demand.

CONMED Corporation (CNMD - 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 good 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 - 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 #3 (Hold) company have lost 23.9% in the past six months against the industry’s 12.1% growth. The S&P 500 Index has jumped 14.3% 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 $1.28 billion. The company projects 3.4% earnings growth over the next five years.

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

Factors Favoring CNMD Stock

Rising Adoption of High-Margin, Differentiated Platforms: The company’s third-quarter performance highlighted solid momentum across its differentiated platforms. BioBrace adoption has broadened to more than 70 procedures, reflecting growing surgeon uptake and its versatility across soft-tissue repair applications.

AirSeal continues to see increased utilization, supported by well-established clinical benefits, such as reduced postoperative pain and shorter hospital stays. Buffalo Filter growth remains underpinned by expanding smoke-evacuation mandates and deeper integration into hospital protocols. Management views these platforms as foundational drivers of sustained growth and margin expansion over the long term.

Robotics Tailwinds & ASC Penetration Promising: Management highlighted a meaningful growth opportunity tied to the expansion of robotic surgery, spanning both Intuitive Surgical’s platforms and emerging international robotic systems. The redeployment of Intuitive Surgical’s Xi systems into ambulatory surgery centers and global markets is driving incremental AirSeal utilization, as these settings place a premium on reduced pain and shorter lengths of stay.

At the same time, the company is experiencing growing AirSeal adoption across non-da Vinci 5 robotic platforms internationally. Together, these trends reinforce a strong multi-year growth trajectory, supported by the ongoing shift toward robotic and minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Supply-Chain Improvements: The company reported meaningful progress in stabilizing its orthopedic supply chain, highlighted by record manufacturing volumes in the third quarter and a substantial reduction in critical SKU shortages. These improvements are translating into better product availability and supporting incremental growth within the orthopedics segment.

Management expects this momentum to extend into the fourth quarter as enhancements in procurement, planning, and production processes continue to take effect, enabling the recovery of previously constrained sales and contributing to margin stabilization over time.

Downsides

Tariff Pressuring Margins: Tariffs continue to represent a clear headwind, reducing gross margin by approximately 20 basis points in the third quarter. Management expects the impact to intensify in the fourth quarter, with tariffs weighing on gross margin by roughly 150 basis points. Given a six-month lag as tariff costs move through inventory, the company is still absorbing expenses incurred earlier in the year. As a result, near-term margins remain under pressure despite favorable sales mix and ongoing operational improvements, constraining the pace of EBITDA and bottom-line expansion.

Longer-Than-Expected Supply-Chain Recovery: Despite improved supply-chain conditions in the third quarter, management emphasized that the recovery is “not there yet” and remains a multi-quarter process. Earlier orthopedic supply constraints resulted in market share losses, and management anticipates a one- to two-quarter normalization period for customer purchasing behavior following the clearance of backorders. This delay is expected to temper revenue recovery and extend the earnings impact of prior operational disruptions.

dV5 Integration Constrains Near-Term AirSeal Adoption: CONMED’s AirSeal adoption is being delayed in procedures performed on Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci 5, which features an integrated insufflation system. This reduces the immediate need for hospitals to purchase AirSeal at the time of initial da Vinci 5 deployment. In addition, early AirSeal uptake on ISRG’s da Vinci 5 has been negatively affected by hospitals’ volume-commitment agreements with Intuitive Surgical.

While management views the da Vinci 5 launch as a longer-term opportunity and expects AirSeal adoption to increase once hospitals work through their committed procedure volumes, these dynamics are likely to weigh on AirSeal adoption in the near term.

Estimate Trend

CONMED is witnessing a rising estimate revision trend for 2025. In the past 60 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.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space areBoston Scientific Corporation (BSX - Free Report) and IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (IDXX - Free Report) .

Boston Scientific, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 16.4%. BSX’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 7.36%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Boston Scientific’s shares have lost 8.3% compared with the industry’s 5.4% decline over the past six months.

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 25.7% compared with the industry’s 7.2% growth over the past six months.

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