Despite the significant uncertainty brought about by the current tariff issues, the industry still hopes to see more merger and acquisition transactions in fields such as orthopedics and interventional cardiology; major merger targets are expected to gradually shift towards publicly listed companies.

Recently, the ranking of the top 100 global medical device companies was released. Based on the 2024 annual revenue, Medtronic ranked first with a revenue of $33 billion; Johnson & Johnson ranked second with a revenue of $30.4 billion; Abbott and Danaher followed closely with revenues of $27.9 billion and $24 billion, respectively. Other medical device companies in the top ten include Stryker, Siemens Healthineers, BD Medical, GE Healthcare, and Philips, all with revenues around $20 billion.

In recent years, mergers and acquisitions in the medical device sector have driven the trend of "the strong getting stronger" among giant companies, benefiting from the ample cash flow of large enterprises. By acquiring and integrating a significant number of innovative technologies, medical device giants have further solidified their positions in certain specific fields.

In 2024, Johnson & Johnson announced two major acquisitions, purchasing cardiovascular medical device company Shockwave for $13.1 billion and atrial shunt manufacturer V-Wave for $1.7 billion. Medtronic acquired Fortimedix Surgical, an innovative medical device company in the endoscopy field. BD Medical acquired the entire line of critical care products from Edwards Lifesciences for $4.2 billion in cash.

Since 2025, the enthusiasm for mergers and acquisitions among major medical device companies has not waned. In January of this year, orthopedic giant Stryker announced its acquisition of venous thromboembolism (VTE) medical device company Inari Medical for a total cash consideration of $4.9 billion; Siemens Healthineers completed the acquisition of industrial simulation and analytics software provider Altair for $10 billion; Medtronic acquired part of the intellectual property used for the development of the next-generation PEEK intervertebral fusion devices from Nanovis, a nano-surface technology supplier; Medtronic also increased its investment in Contego Medical, a provider of blood revascularization therapy solutions.

Despite the current tariff issues bringing significant uncertainty to the industry, there is still anticipation for more mergers and acquisitions. As the U.S. IPO market warms up, the motivation for private companies to be acquired may decrease, and the share prices of listed companies are far from reaching their peak. It is expected that major M&A targets will gradually shift towards listed companies in the future.

Regarding the popular acquisition targets in the medical device industry, analysts believe that as more large medical device companies bet on the peripheral vascular market, leading companies in this field are worth paying attention to; surgical robots remain a hot sector that requires significant investment in research and development, and private companies urgently need the resources of large companies to survive; in addition, fields such as orthopedics and interventional cardiology will continue to be "strategic tracks."

Johnson & Johnson expects to continue expanding its interventional cardiology product portfolio. Tim Schmid, the global chairman of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, stated last year that the company would triple its market size through acquisitions.

Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato has invested over $30 billion in mergers and acquisitions for the company's medical technology business within less than two years of taking office. In addition to the acquisition of Shockwave, Johnson & Johnson has also acquired artificial heart manufacturer Abiomed and heart implant developer Laminar in the past two years.

Du Anqing previously stated that the company will continue to maintain its momentum in mergers and acquisitions, including small acquisitions and large deals, in order to achieve long-term growth. This is related to Johnson & Johnson's strong cash flow and balance sheet. Although the company mentioned in its recent quarterly financial report that its medical technology business might face a profit loss of $400 million in the fiscal year 2026 due to tariffs, industry insiders believe that Johnson & Johnson still has considerable flexibility to consider various types of transactions.

"A company's abundant cash flow is the foundation for carrying out M&A transactions," Shen Yi, Danaher's Global Vice President and Head of Strategic Investment and M&A for the Asia-Pacific region, told the First Financial Daily. He also mentioned that Danaher's cash flow has exceeded the company's profits almost every quarter over the past decade.

"In over 400 M&A transactions in its past history, Danaher has made all acquisitions except for one mega deal valued at $200 billion in cash, with 85% of its cash being used for acquisitions," said Shen Yi.

Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha has indicated that the company will adopt a "top-down" precision strategy, focusing on small-scale acquisitions. Martha did not disclose specific targets, but he emphasized the importance of small acquisitions and portfolio management.

Boston Scientific Corporation has also been quite active in mergers and acquisitions over the past year, benefiting from its relatively strong profit margins in recent years. Analysts predict that the company's PFA pulsed field ablation product, Farapulse, will drive continued profit growth in 2025. In 2024, Farapulse's annual revenue exceeded $1 billion.