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GMED Stock Surges 43.6% in a Year: What's Driving the Rally?

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Key Takeaways

  • GMED gained 43.6% in a year, outperforming its industry and the S&P 500 on strong business momentum.
  • GMED saw U.S. Spine and Enabling Technologies growth, with Enabling Technologies revenues up 21.1%.
  • GMED remains debt-free with strong operating cash flow, despite higher SG&A and currency headwinds.

Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) shares have surged 43.6% over the past year, showing impressive momentum. It has significantly outperformed the industry’s 6.5% decline and the S&P 500 composite’s 23.8% gain.  

With healthy fundamentals and strong growth opportunities, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company appears to be a solid wealth creator for its investors at the moment.

Based in Audubon, PA, Globus Medical develops and commercializes healthcare solutions for patients with musculoskeletal disorders. The company has two major product categories — Musculoskeletal Solutions and Enabling Technologies. Musculoskeletal Solutions primarily consists of implantable devices, biologics, accessories and unique surgical instruments, used in an expansive range of spinal, orthopedic and neurosurgical procedures. Enabling Technologies is an advanced computer-assisted intelligent system that’s designed to enhance surgeons’ capabilities and streamline complicated surgical procedures for both patients and caregivers. 

Key Catalysts for GMED’s Growth

Globus Medical’s share price is trending upward, prompted by strong prospects in both the reporting segments. Within the Musculoskeletal arm, in the first quarter, U.S. Spine business marked its third straight quarter of 10% growth, with double-digit growth cited across standard fixation, minimally invasive surgery pedicle screws, expandable transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, anteriorlumbar interbody fusion, posterior cervical and cervical plating. Trauma revenue growth was driven by continued adoption of the core trauma portfolio and the Precice limb-lengthening portfolio, while the ANTHEM Elbow system continued to exceed expectations.

Within the Enabling Technologies arm, ExcelsiusGPS platform continues to support implant pull-through and cross-selling as surgeons adopt a more integrated workflow. The company also carries out continued deal activity with a mix shift toward leases and rentals versus outright sales. In the first quarter, Enabling Technologies’ revenues increased 21.1% year over year.

Investors are also impressed with its investment in R&D and product cadence, which acts as a core part of its competitive positioning. Consistent with this strategy, first-quarter R&D expenses accounted for 4.8% of sales. Management expects R&D spending to reach 5% to 6% of net sales for the full year, with investments increasing methodically as product development efforts progress.

The company’s early second-quarter FDA 510(k) clearances for patient-specific lumbar spacers and rods further support its strategy of integrating planning software, enabling technologies, and implants into a unified workflow, a move that could strengthen account relationships and increase procedure-level pull-through over time.

Globus Medical ended the first quarter of 2026 with $560.9 million of cash and cash equivalents and $68.9 million of short-term marketable securities. The company remains debt-free. Liquidity is also being replenished internally, with $202.4 million of operating cash flow generated in the quarter. This supports continued capital spending and buybacks alongside ongoing integration work.

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Factors That May Offset GMED’s Gains

The company operates in an environment of interest-rate uncertainty, inflation and geopolitical complexity that can disrupt supply chains and raise input costs.  SG&A was $297.8 million in first-quarter 2026, or 39.2% of sales, up from $242.8 million a year earlier, reflecting higher compensation and benefit costs on higher volume.

Additionally, Globus Medical recorded a $2.1 million foreign currency transaction loss in the first quarter, which directly affected other income and expenses. With foreign revenues and expenses concentrated across regions such as Japan, the Eurozone, the United Kingdom and Australia, currency volatility can also affect gross margin and operating expense leverage over time.

A Glance at GMED’s Estimates

In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share (EPS) has remained unchanged at $4.74. 

Revenues are projected to grow 8.7% to $3.20 billion in 2026, while the same for 2027 is expected to reach $3.41 billion (up 6.6%).  

Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Alcon (ALC - Free Report) , Integra LifeSciences (IART - Free Report) and Phibro Animal Health (PAHC - Free Report) . 

Alcon has an earnings yield of 5.1% against the industry’s negative 2.8% yield. Shares of the company have gained 22.8% compared with the industry’s 4.8% growth. ALC’s earnings topped estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, the average surprise being 3.7%.

ALC carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Integra LifeSciences, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an earnings yield of 16% against the industry’s negative 3% yield. Shares of the company have gained 22.8% compared with the industry’s 4.8% growth. IART’s earnings topped estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.8%.

Phibro Animal Health, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an earnings yield of 9.2% compared with the industry’s 2.8% yield. Shares of the company have climbed 43.1% against the industry’s 27.9% decline. PAHC’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.3%.

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