‘Strongest growth in over a decade’: Heart tech helps Medtronic beat earnings expectations
Medtronic had a strong second quarter, reporting a worldwide revenue of $8.96 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) of $1.36. Both figures exceeded the company’s expectations.
Medtronic’s cardiovascular portfolio helped lead the way with a worldwide revenue of $3.44 billion, an increase of 9.3%.
“This was our strongest growth in over a decade, excluding the easy comparisons we had after the pandemic,” Thierry Piéton, Medtronic’s chief financial officer, explained during an earnings call.
PFA has been a game-changer for Medtronic
Ablation devices—particularly those built for pulsed field ablation (PFA)—played a critical role in Medtronic’s triumphant quarter. In fact, worldwide revenue was up 71% for cardiac ablation solutions, including a 128% increase in the United States.
Medtronic currently has two separate FDA-approved PFA offerings for the treatment of atrial fibrillation: the PulseSelect PFA System and the Affera Mapping and Ablation System with Sphere-9 Catheter. Geoff Martha, Medtronic’s CEO, said the Affera and Sphere-9 technologies have sold especially well since gaining FDA approval.
Medtronic's Affera Mapping and Ablation System with the Sphere-9 Catheter. Images courtesy of Medtronic.
“Physicians tell us they appreciate not only the shorter procedure times that they’re seeing with Affera, but increasingly they’re calling out its outstanding durability as well,” he said during the earnings call. “And demand continues to be extremely high, as we hear repeatedly from customers that they want to purchase additional Affera systems to expand into even more of their labs.”
Martha added that the company is still in the early stages of its PFA rollout; the company expects revenue to continue to climb as time goes on.
Medtronic seeing additional gains in EV-ICDs, TAVR, PFA
Medtronic’s cardiac rhythm management portfolio saw worldwide revenue increase by 5%, led by a nearly 80% jump in growth for the Aurora EV-ICD. In addition, worldwide revenue for the company’s structural heart portfolio increased by 7% thanks to the continued success of its Evolut transcatheter aortic valve replacement platform.
During the earnings call, Martha also shared his excitement about Medtronic’s Symplicity Spyral Renal Denervation System, noting that updated Medicare policies for this new technology are good news for clinicians and patients alike.
“Now in addition to a broad label from FDA, we have an excellent coverage outcome from CMS,” Martha said. “The final national coverage determination enables broad access and removes certain patient pathway barriers that were in the original proposal, including reducing in-person visits, removing a kidney function exclusion and cutting in half the time requirement for adherence to meds. It also highlights patient quality of life as an important consideration.”
As a result of the successful earning periods, Medtronic has raised its FY26 revenue growth and EPS guidance.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.