Stryker makes money every time a surgeon picks up one of its tools or implants one of its devices. The company sells surgical equipment, joint replacement implants, robotic surgery systems, emergency medical equipment, and stroke treatment devices to hospitals and doctors in about 61 countries. When a patient needs a new knee, hip, or shoulder, or when a stroke victim arrives in an emergency room, there is a good chance a Stryker product is involved. The company earns revenue each time a procedure happens, no procedure, no sale. Its two main divisions are MedSurg and Neurotechnology (surgical tools, cameras, emergency equipment, and vascular products) and Orthopaedics (joint replacement implants and the Mako robotic surgery platform). The diagram below traces where the money goes.

Five years of financial data tell a consistent story: Stryker is growing steadily and generating more cash each year. Revenue climbed from $17.1 billion in 2021 to $25.1 billion in 2025. That is growth of about 47% over four years. Operating cash flow followed the same direction, rising from $3.3 billion in 2021 to $5.0 billion in 2025. Free cash flow, the money left after paying for factories and equipment, grew from $2.7 billion to $4.3 billion over the same period.

Gross margin, which measures how much money is left after making the products, stayed remarkably stable. It ran between 62.8% and 64.1% every year from 2021 through 2025. That kind of stability means Stryker has been able to hold its pricing and keep its manufacturing costs in check even through a period of high inflation. In 2025 the company reported net sales growth of 11.2% and operating income of $4.9 billion. The fastest-growing part of the business was Vascular, which jumped 50.6% in 2025 after Stryker acquired Inari Medical, a company that makes devices to treat dangerous blood clots in veins.

The debt picture is less straightforward. Net debt was $9.5 billion in 2021, rose to $11.2 billion in 2022, came back down to $9.9 billion in 2024, then climbed again to $11.8 billion in 2025. The 2025 jump happened because Stryker spent $4.96 billion acquiring Inari Medical and other companies. Stryker issued new bonds in early 2025 totalling $3.0 billion to help fund those deals. The company has consistently used debt to pay for acquisitions, which is how it has grown so quickly. Interest expense rose sharply as a result, reaching $607 million in 2025 compared to $363 million in 2023.

Alongside the Inari deal, Stryker also divested its Spinal Implants business. Spinal Implants revenue collapsed from $707 million in 2024 to $185 million in 2025 as the sale completed. This was not a collapse in demand, it was a deliberate strategic exit. Stryker took a $456 million goodwill impairment charge in 2024 related to the spine business before selling it. The exit shrank the Orthopaedics segment's headline growth rate in 2025 to 4.3%, even though the underlying business excluding spine grew at 9.6%.

Stryker faces several specific risks that are worth understanding clearly. The most pressing is pricing pressure from governments and large hospital groups. China uses a system called volume-based procurement, where the government negotiates very low prices for large quantities of medical devices. If more countries adopt similar systems, Stryker's ability to hold its current margins comes under pressure. The company has also flagged new US tariffs on imported goods as a cost risk in 2025.

Supply chain fragility is a second documented risk. Stryker relies on single suppliers for certain materials and components that cannot easily be swapped out. A disruption at one of those suppliers could halt production of specific products. Third, product liability lawsuits remain an active concern. Stryker is still resolving claims over hip implants that caused patient injuries, and new European rules are making it easier for patients in multiple countries to sue simultaneously. Recall-related charges appeared in every year from 2023 to 2025.

Regulatory compliance is a fourth risk. The European Union's Medical Device Regulation requires Stryker to update its quality systems, labels, and product documentation across its entire range by deadlines that run through 2028. Stryker says it is on track, but compliance failures could result in fines, import bans, or loss of permission to sell in government healthcare programs. Finally, cybersecurity is listed as a high-severity risk. Stryker relies heavily on information technology systems and cloud services. A successful cyberattack could disrupt operations and expose patient data.

The Mako robotic surgery platform sits at the centre of Stryker's long-term growth story in Orthopaedics. More than two million robotic procedures have now been performed on Mako systems worldwide. In 2025 Stryker launched the Mako 4 platform and received clearance for a robotic revision hip surgery application, which is described as Stryker's first-to-market robotic revision hip procedure. Mako Shoulder was also in limited release in 2025, with full commercial launch in the US planned for early 2026. The logic here is that hospitals that buy a Mako robot become long-term customers for the implants that go with it.