Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ Quick QuoteJNJ - Free Report) medical devices segment, known as MedTech, offers products in the orthopedics, surgery, cardiovascular and vision markets. The MedTech segment accounts for approximately 34% of J&J's total revenues. In MedTech, J&J is a global leader in electrophysiology, circulatory restoration and heart recovery. The company is increasingly focusing on high-growth opportunities in cardiovascular devices, surgical robotics and advanced vision technologies to drive long-term growth.

J&J’s MedTech performance fell below internal expectations in the third quarter, mainly due to challenges in international markets, particularly in Cardiovascular and Surgery, as well as continued softness in the Abiomed business.

Q3 Numbers of J&J’s MedTech Segment

Segment sales increased 2.5% year over year to $8.64 billion, with operational sales growing 2.5%. The segment's growth was substantially slower than the 7.7% reported sales growth recorded by the Innovative Medicine business. Moreover, MedTech revenues fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.77 billion.

MedTech Sales rose 4.8% in the United States and 0.1% outside of the United States on an operational basis.

Cardiovascular sales rose 4.3% to $2.31 billion. Electrophysiology revenues increased 4.9% to $1.49 billion, driven by procedure expansion, commercial execution and new product performance, partially offset by competitive pulsed field ablation or PFA pressures, particularly in Asia-Pacific. Shockwave sales grew 16.8% to $325 million, driven by continued adoption of coronary and peripheral products as well as new product launches.

Abiomed sales declined 2.3% to $412 million in the quarter due to lower patient volumes. Over the past two quarters, MedTech’s Abiomed sales have declined due to slow procedural volumes driven by usage patterns.  The slowdown followed a recent U.K. clinical trial that questioned the benefit of Impella devices in certain high-risk procedures, prompting physicians to reassess patient selection and adopt a more cautious approach to using the device. The impact of the U.K. study is expected to linger and hurt Abiomed’s growth until the PROTECT IV data is presented in 2027. PROTECT IV is a large clinical trial of the company’s Impella device in high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Worldwide Surgery declined 0.6% to $2.53 billion, primarily due to expanded volume-based procurement in China, the impact of J&J’s surgery transformation program, and Middle East disruptions to tender timing and ordering patterns. Worldwide orthopedics rose 3.2% to $2.35 billion, driven by new product launches and strong commercial execution. Worldwide Vision revenues increased 4.4% to $1.46 billion, driven primarily by higher growth in contact lenses and Surgical Vision, partially offset by inventory dynamics in contact lenses and disruptions in the Middle East in Surgical Vision.

Outlook for J&J’s MedTech in Q4 and Beyond

Although MedTech’s operational sales growth slowed in the second and third quarters of 2026, MedTech performance is projected to improve in the fourth quarter and beyond, supported by new product launches, improving commercial execution and stabilization in some of the businesses that faced challenges during the third quarter. The company emphasized that the underlying procedural environment remains stable across key markets, indicating that the recent slowdown primarily reflects company-specific and regional challenges rather than a broad-based deterioration in demand for medical devices. However, competitive pressures in electrophysiology, weakness in Abiomed and international market headwinds could continue to weigh on near-term growth.

J&J expects Surgery to return to growth in the fourth quarter, driven by continued U.S. growth and an acceleration in EMEA. MedTech growth is expected to strengthen further in 2027.

The FDA recently approved J&J’s OTTAVA, the world’s first table -integrated soft tissue robotic system, which is considered a key new product in its portfolio, along with the VARIPULSE pulsed field ablation system for atrial fibrillation. Increased adoption of these newly launched products should contribute to better growth in future quarters. The company expects U.S. approval of its next-generation VARIPULSE Pro catheter in the fourth quarter, following its recent approval in Japan, which should strengthen its position in the fast-growing pulsed field ablation market.

J&J’s Key Competitors in the Medical Devices Market

J&J’s MedTech unit faces strong competition from several major players in the medical device industry, such as Medtronic (MDT Quick QuoteMDT - Free Report) , Abbott, Stryker (SYK Quick QuoteSYK - Free Report) and Boston Scientific (BSX Quick QuoteBSX - Free Report) .

While Medtronic has a strong presence in cardiovascular, neuroscience and surgical technologies, Stryker is a major player in orthopedics and surgical equipment. Boston Scientific markets products for cardiovascular, endoscopy, urology and neuromodulation. Abbott is known for its medical devices across cardiovascular, diagnostics and diabetes care. 

JNJ’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

J&J’s shares have outperformed the industry so far this year. The stock has risen 33.8% this year compared with 18.1% appreciation of the industry. 

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From a valuation standpoint, J&J is slightly expensive. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 23.97 forward earnings, higher than 19.13 for the industry. The stock is also trading above its five-year mean of 15.66.

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has declined from $11.54 to $11.12 over the past 30 days, while that for 2027 earnings has declined from $12.83 per share to $11.55 over the same time frame.

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J&J has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present.

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