Details of Note: What Piqued My Interest in the Top 10 Company Reports

Annually, we produce a list of the top 10 revenue-producing orthopedic device manufacturing firms. While this undertaking still seems somewhat overwhelming when it “sneaks up” on me and my colleagues in late May, it undoubtedly affects our view of the industry. In writing our assigned reports then proofreading the remaining entries, we gain interesting perspectives on both the individual organizations and the industry at large. Insights on trends, technologies, innovation drivers, and more are all revealed throughout the reports. With that said, I wanted to take a company-by-company approach to share what I found most interesting from each company’s summary.

Stryker—The company’s willingness to “practice what they preach” in terms of its commitment to ESG stood out. Specifically, the news stating the organization would be leveraging the power generated by a wind farm for their North American (NA) facilities was pretty remarkable to hear. The Sunflower Wind project will create a 200-megawatt wind farm in Kansas and is part of the company’s pledge to be powered by 100% renewable energy sources by 2027. The electricity generated at this location is anticipated to account for 70% of Stryker’s total NA need over a 12-year period.
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DePuy Synthes—This observation is more about J&J as a whole. The company has been going through a substantial transformation, separating from its consumer health portion (spun out as Kenvue). If you dig back a few years, you’ll find reports stating that many investors were calling for this move to take place. The result leaves J&J as two halves—pharmaceuticals and medtech. Might these remaining pieces split at some point? Are there synergies enjoyed across them or are they run like two separate companies operating under a single banner?
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Zimmer Biomet—This company has impressed me in continuing to appear to be one of the most digitally savvy orthopedic device firms in the top 10. Funny enough, some of these capabilities are relegated to its “Other” segment in its annual report. Undoubtedly some of the coolest offerings of the firm, and it doesn’t even get a proper name. Zimmer Biomet, keep doing what you’re doing in being a leader for digital innovation, but give these technologies a proper division name!
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Smith+Nephew—Remember when everyone speculated on who was going to buy this firm? They’re still flying solo and that purchase price (if you were going to determine one) keeps growing. Anyone looking to get them for a song missed the boat. Look forward to continuing to follow their growth and innovations.
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Medtronic—Speaking of sales, is the orthopedic unit of Big Blue its red-headed stepchild (or is that the Patient Monitoring and Respiratory Interventions division that was to be sold)? On more than one occasion, members of industry have speculated its ortho unit would be sold off or spun out. Anything’s possible, but couldn’t the same be said of any other seemingly disjointed division of the company? Cardio, diabetes, and spine all under one roof? Will we see anything moved or its core competencies reassessed?
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Arthrex—Candidly, as a Jets fan, the Aaron Rodgers Achilles tendon technology was most of interest to me. But I was also thrilled to finally get this major industry player into the list as it always seemed like an odd anomaly not to include them (we’ve only previously ever reported on public companies that produce an annual report). Including them feels like we’ve developed a more complete list.
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Enovis—After its split from Colfax, Enovis wasted no time rolling up its sleeves, making a couple of acquisitions, and announcing a few products. The firm seems laser-focused on emerging as a major player, able to stand alongside its larger peers. The purchase of LimaCorporate should prove interesting; I will be interested to see what innovations are spawned.
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Globus Medical—Before reading this report, I was curious to see what was said of the NuVasive buy. The jump in revenue was the most notable aspect. A little too much ballyhoo, however, from the company’s president/CEO about how integrated the two entities already are. I hope it’s all true, but as someone who was part of an acquired company, I know those memories run deep. How many folks still say they are with Covidien, Bard, or St. Jude?
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Össur—A company providing prosthetics for those missing limbs. Quite the mission and I wish them all the best.
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Orthofix—Welcome back! Another company jumping substantially in revenue due to an acquisition. The integration of SeaSpine had a dramatic impact on this company’s 2023 fiscal. Now let’s see if they can keep the momentum going and what the next steps are.
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Which company were you most curious about or what detail did you find most interesting? As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. 

Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]