By the numbers
Medtech Q1 sales: $8.64 billion
7.7% year-over-year growth
Cardiovascular: $2.38 billion
13% year-over-year growth
Orthopedic: $2.38 billion
6.3% year-over-year growth
Surgery: $2.51 billion
4.8% year-over-year growth
Vision: $1.37 billion
6.7% year-over-year growth
Johnson & Johnson has made a strategic shift to focus on higher growth medtech markets, moving away from slower growth segments like orthopedics. The strategy seems to be working for the healthcare giant.
In the first quarter, J&J’s medtech business, once again, saw its cardiovascular unit fuel growth for the segment. Recent acquisitions Abiomed and Shockwave increased sales by double digits. Meanwhile, sales in J&J’s electrophysiology business also grew in the double digits behind further pulsed field ablation success.
Tim Schmid, J&J’s worldwide chairman of medtech, told investors on a Tuesday earnings call that the new strategy is working.
“We are really excited to be now significantly embedded in the cardiovascular space beyond the leadership position we hold in electrophysiology,” Schmid said. “And with the acquisitions of both Abiomed and Shockwave, we’ve added two high-growth, high-margin businesses with tremendous trajectory for the future.”
J&J has recently made a point to shift its focus to higher growth markets in medtech, such as cardiovascular and surgical robotics. The strategy has led to the company planning to spin off its multibilliondollar orthopedics business due to its lower growth profile.
J&J has spent a lot of money as it reprioritizes its medtech focus. The company has shelled out nearly $30 billion on cardiovascular companies over the past several years, picking up Abiomed and Shockwave. J&J has also chased success in the PFA segment with its Varipulse platform, which has fueled growth for its electrophysiology unit.
When questioned about the future growth potential of the medtech business, Schmid said that J&J expects to move from mid-single-digit to high-single-digit growth over the next several years.
J&J’s medtech business brought in $8.64 billion in the first quarter of 2026, representing year-over-year growth of 7.7%. While three of J&J’s four medtech units — surgery, vision and orthopedics — grew sales in the single digits, the cardiovascular group stood out with 13% growth, bringing in $2.38 billion.
The Abiomed unit grew by 16.3% to $488 million, while the Shockwave unit grew by 18.5% to $305 million. The electrophysiology unit grew by 12.6% to nearly $1.5 billion.
Schmid called out both Abiomed and Shockwave as strong growth drivers for the company, detailing new product launches and trial results that will boost the businesses in the coming years.
Schmid downplayed an analyst’s question about a lower operational growth rate for the medtech business overall in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of last year.
“While we’re navigating a dynamic world and market like everybody else, for us, Q1 unfolded as we expected the year to start: seasonally quieter, but operationally solid,” Schmid said. “And this was also not a one-business or one-region quarter, as you’ve seen by the results. We saw growth across the board.”
