Top 10 medical device stocks to watch in 2026

Medical device companies design and manufacture the physical hardware used across clinical settings – glucose monitors, surgical implants, infusion systems, diagnostic equipment and the specialised packaging that keeps injectable drugs sterile. The ten US-listed companies on this list vary considerably in scope: Dexcom ($DXCM) focuses almost entirely on continuous glucose monitoring, while Abbott Laboratories ($ABT) runs medical devices as one segment of a broader business that also covers diagnostics, nutrition and branded generics.

How we built this list: We selected these companies based on their industry and ordered them by market capitalisation. Prices are updated daily, and the list and supporting content are reviewed roughly every quarter. All data is sourced from Stake. This list isn't a recommendation and isn't ordered by suitability.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Source: Stake market data. Figures in US$. Data updated as of 29 September 2026.

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1. Abbott ($ABT)

Abbott (ABT) share price over the last year: started at US$133.94, ended at US$100.95, a change of −24.6%. Range over the period: high US$134.59, low US$82.56. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$100.95 · Daily: -0.03% · Market cap: US$174.73B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

Abbott Laboratories ($ABT) makes and sells healthcare products across four business lines. Its Medical Devices segment covers cardiac rhythm management, electrophysiology, structural heart, heart failure, vascular care, neuromodulation and diabetes devices. The Diagnostic Products segment supplies testing systems to blood banks, hospitals, commercial laboratories and alternate-care sites worldwide.

Under CEO Robert Ford, $ABT employs around 115,000 people, with products reaching more than 160 countries. A Nutritional Products segment covers adult and paediatric ranges. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment handles branded generic drugs sold in international markets.

2. Medtronic ($MDT)

Medtronic (MDT) share price over the last year: started at US$95.24, ended at US$87.09, a change of −8.6%. Range over the period: high US$105.35, low US$73.75. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$87.09 · Daily: -2.7% · Market cap: US$114.48B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

Medtronic Public Limited Company ($MDT) makes hardware and software across a wide range of clinical specialties, covering cardiac rhythm management, neurological devices, spinal and orthopaedic implants, renal care and surgical navigation systems. The company is headquartered in Ireland, and CEO Geoff Martha leads a workforce of around 95,000 people. That scale of headcount reflects how many different product lines $MDT maintains across hospital departments and clinical settings.

The catalogue extends further into digestive and gastrointestinal care, ear, nose and throat tools, gynaecological equipment and patient monitoring. $MDT also develops software alongside its physical devices, including the CareLink suite of therapy management tools. A services arm rounds things out with care management, digital connectivity support and healthcare consulting for clinical providers.

3. BD ($BDX)

BD (BDX) share price over the last year: started at US$147.09, ended at US$181.97, a change of +23.7%. Range over the period: high US$192.00, low US$138.62. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$181.97 · Daily: -1.0% · Market cap: US$50.07B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

Becton, Dickinson and Company ($BDX) makes medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products used across hospitals, clinical labs and physician practices. Its five segments are BD Medical Essentials, BD Connected Care, BD BioPharma Systems, BD Interventional and BD Life Sciences, spanning medication delivery, specimen management, patient monitoring, urology and peripheral intervention, and diagnostic lab tools.

BD BioPharma Systems, one of the five segments, serves pharmaceutical manufacturers rather than clinical settings directly. Tom Polen leads the business, which employs 72,000 people.

4. Medline ($MDLN)

Medline (MDLN) share price over the last year: started at US$41.00, ended at US$34.98, a change of −14.7%. Range over the period: high US$49.99, low US$31.64. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$34.98 · Daily: -0.3% · Market cap: US$46.11B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

From gloves and wound dressings to surgical kits and lab diagnostics, Medline Inc. ($MDLN) manufactures and distributes the consumables that clinical settings go through every day. Its catalogue covers roughly 335,000 medical-surgical products, reaching hospitals, surgery centres, physician offices and post-acute care facilities.

$MDLN operates through two segments – Medline Brand, which groups its own products across front-line care, surgical solutions and laboratory diagnostics, and Supply Chain Solutions, which procures national-brand products and provides logistics services to domestic and international customers. James Boyle leads the business, which employs 45,000 people.

5. Dexcom ($DXCM)

Dexcom (DXCM) share price over the last year: started at US$67.29, ended at US$86.64, a change of +28.8%. Range over the period: high US$92.34, low US$54.84. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$86.64 · Daily: -0.05% · Market cap: US$32.71B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

Dexcom ($DXCM) builds continuous glucose monitoring systems – hardware and software that track blood sugar in real time rather than relying on periodic finger-stick readings. Its G7 device is cleared for adults and children aged two and up living with type I or type II diabetes, including those with gestational diabetes or at risk of hypoglycemia.

The Stelo biosensor takes a different angle: it's designed for people with type II diabetes who don't use insulin, and it was the first over-the-counter glucose biosensor in the U.S. The Dexcom Share system extends that monitoring further, letting caregivers and clinicians view readings remotely through a companion app. CEO Jake Leach leads a company of around 11,000 people whose entire product focus sits within CGM and metabolic health.

6. West Pharmaceutical Services ($WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) share price over the last year: started at US$262.33, ended at US$376.63, a change of +43.6%. Range over the period: high US$376.63, low US$230.95. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$376.63 · Daily: 0.3% · Market cap: US$26.44B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

West Pharmaceutical Services ($WST) sits at a specific but critical point in the drug supply chain: it makes the components that keep injectable medicines safe and stable before they reach a patient. Its Proprietary Products segment covers the stoppers, seals and containment systems that go on vials and prefilled syringes, along with analytical lab services for biologic, generic and pharmaceutical drug customers.

The West Vantage segment takes things further, handling the design, manufacture and automated assembly of complex devices and combination products for pharmaceutical, diagnostic and medical device companies. $WST also maintains technology-sharing collaborations with affiliates in Japan and Mexico, extending its manufacturing relationships across those markets. The company employs 10,800 people and is led by CEO Michel Lagarde.

7. STERIS ($STE)

STERIS (STE) share price over the last year: started at US$247.44, ended at US$210.65, a change of −14.9%. Range over the period: high US$268.65, low US$199.40. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$210.65 · Daily: -0.2% · Market cap: US$20.57B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

STERIS Plc ($STE) sits at the intersection of healthcare and manufacturing, making the equipment and running the services that keep both operating rooms and drug production lines sterile. Its Healthcare segment works with hospitals on sterile processing departments and procedural centres like endoscopy suites. The Applied Sterilization Technologies segment – known internally as AST – runs a global network of contract sterilization and lab testing facilities for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The Life Sciences segment rounds out $STE's offering by supporting biopharmaceutical and medical device factories, particularly those built around aseptic manufacturing. Across all three segments, the company's portfolio covers consumables, capital equipment, equipment maintenance and specialty services. Chief executive Daniel Carestio leads a workforce of 17,937 people.

8. Zimmer Biomet ($ZBH)

Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) share price over the last year: started at US$98.50, ended at US$91.34, a change of −7.3%. Range over the period: high US$103.98, low US$79.58. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$91.34 · Daily: -0.3% · Market cap: US$17.48B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

Zimmer Biomet Holdings ($ZBH) builds its business around orthopedic reconstruction – the implants and hardware used when knees, hips and joints need replacing or repairing. Its knee portfolio covers several branded systems, among them the Persona Knee, Vanguard Knee and Oxford Partial Knee. On the hip side, $ZBH offers products like the Taperloc Hip System, Avenir Complete Hip System and G7 Acetabular System, covering modular and total replacement needs.

The company also runs the ROSA Robotics platform, an imageless system designed to support surgeons before, during and after a procedure. CEO Ivan Tornos leads a workforce of 17,000 people, operating across three segments: Americas, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), and Asia Pacific.

9. Solventum ($SOLV)

Solventum (SOLV) share price over the last year: started at US$73.00, ended at US$89.32, a change of +22.4%. Range over the period: high US$92.44, low US$62.49. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$89.32 · Daily: -0.2% · Market cap: US$15.24B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

Solventum Corporation ($SOLV) pulls together three distinct healthcare businesses under one roof. Chief executive Bryan Hanson leads the company's 20,000 employees across its MedSurg, Dental Solutions, and Health Information Systems segments.

MedSurg covers a wide range of clinical products – from negative pressure wound therapy and advanced wound dressings through to sterilization assurance, surgical supplies, stethoscopes, and medical electrodes. It also supplies medical technology components to other manufacturers as an original equipment manufacturer, meaning some of its output ends up inside other companies' products rather than under the $SOLV name.

Dental Solutions produces brackets, aligners, and restorative cement for dental and orthodontic use. Health Information Systems takes a different approach entirely, selling software to hospital systems for tasks like computer-assisted physician documentation and coding automation – the administrative layer that sits behind clinical care.

The combination of physical products and software means $SOLV operates across both the hardware and the digital infrastructure sides of healthcare delivery.

10. Baxter International ($BAX)

Baxter International (BAX) share price over the last year: started at US$22.77, ended at US$23.48, a change of +3.1%. Range over the period: high US$28.35, low US$15.80. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$23.48 · Daily: -0.04% · Market cap: US$12.14B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Healthcare Equipment

Baxter International ($BAX) operates across three segments that together cover a broad stretch of hospital and clinical infrastructure. The Medical Products and Therapies segment produces sterile IV solutions, infusion systems, parenteral nutrition therapies and surgical sealants. Its Healthcare Systems and Technologies segment runs connected care hardware – smart bed systems, patient monitoring, respiratory health devices and operating room integration technology. The Pharmaceuticals segment rounds things out with specialty injectables, inhaled anesthesia and drug compounding services.

All of this ends up in hospitals, rehabilitation centres and ambulatory surgery centres. CEO Andrew Hider leads a workforce of 37,500 people. $BAX sits squarely in the middle of the clinical environment – the equipment, fluids and medications that clinicians reach for daily, rather than consumer-facing devices.

Common questions

How do I invest in medical device stocks in New Zealand?

The companies in this article are individual U.S.-listed stocks, so you'll need a share trading platform that provides access to U.S. markets. You search by ticker and place an order the same way you would for any listed share.

What are the key risks of medical device stocks?

Some of the key risks include regulatory processes: devices require sign-off from bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before they can be sold, and approval can be delayed or refused. Reimbursement decisions by insurers and public health systems shape how widely a product is taken up once it clears that hurdle. For NZ investors, movements between the NZD and USD affect what shares cost to buy and what any proceeds are worth. Product liability – claims related to a device's safety or performance – is a recurring exposure across this industry.

How do the companies in this list differ from each other?

The companies here span a wide range of healthcare technology rather than a single device category. Some concentrate on one area: continuous glucose monitoring, orthopedic implants, or the containment and delivery systems that pharmaceutical companies depend on. Others operate across many product lines at once, combining cardiac devices, diagnostics and nutritional products under one roof. A handful are oriented more toward hospital supply chains and infection prevention consumables than toward devices patients interact with directly.

Disclaimer

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. When you invest, your capital is at risk. You should consider your own investment objectives, financial situation, and particular needs before making an investment decision. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may receive back less than your original investment. As always, do your own research and consider seeking appropriate financial advice before investing.

This is not personal financial advice nor a recommendation to invest in the securities listed. Any advice provided by Stake is of general nature only and does not take into account your specific circumstances. Trading and volume data from the Stake investing platform is for reference purposes only, the investment choices of others may not be appropriate for your needs and is not a reliable indicator of performance.

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