Stryker Corporation SYK
Stryker delivered 11.2% revenue growth to $25.1B in FY2025 with expanding gross margins (64.0% vs 61.9% in FY2024), but operating income fell to $4.89B from $5.06B as operating margin compressed from 22.4% to 19.5% — a deterioration that sits uncomfortably alongside a 34.1x trailing PE representing a 38.7% premium to the peer median of 24.6x. Net insider selling of $543M over 24 months and a slightly negative smart-money score of -0.0195 as of Q2 2026 reinforce caution, while the stock's $331.37 close below its 200-day MA of $340.92 signals unfinished technical repair.
Strong FCF of $4.28B and improving Q2 momentum per recent news support the franchise, but demonstrated operating-margin recovery is needed to justify the premium multiple.
What could go wrong
- Margin compression persists. FY2025 operating margin fell to 19.5% from 22.4% in FY2024, with operating income declining to $4.89B from $5.06B despite 11.2% revenue growth — if this continues into 2026, the premium valuation becomes harder to defend.
- Valuation premium. At 34.1x PE, SYK trades at a 38.7% premium to the peer median of 24.6x and 34.1% above the median EV/EBITDA of 16.5x, leaving little room for execution missteps.
- Persistent insider selling. Over the trailing 24 months, insiders net sold approximately 2.1M shares for $543M across 103 dispositions vs 55 acquisitions, with no cluster buying detected.
- Rising leverage. Total debt increased to $16.4B in FY2025 from $14.1B in FY2024, raising interest burden risk if rates remain elevated or if acquisition integration falters.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: FMP annual fundamentals + derived_metrics, fiscal year 2025 · FMP annual fundamentals + derived_metrics, FY2024 vs FY2025 · peer_relative composite, as of latest available data · insider summary, 24-month window. Orin's read on SYK; not advice.
Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings
50-day average 200-day average · volume below
On file
All SYK filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Capital Management | $7.1B | 0.2% of fund |
| Jpmorgan Chase & | $5.7B | 0.3% of fund |
| State Street | $4.9B | 0.1% of fund |
| Price T Rowe Associates /Md/ | $3.8B | 0.4% of fund |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $2.6B | 0.1% of fund |
| Wellington Management Group Llp | $2.6B | 0.4% of fund |
122 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 179 Form 4 filings, net −$661.3M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 30 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about SYK
Orin answers questions about SYK from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →Where it trades
| Metric | Now | Own median | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 28.1× | 41.4× | 26.4× |
| EV/EBITDA | 18.6× | 25.9× | — |
| P/S | 4.06× | 5.55× | — |
| P/B | 4.4× | 6.1× | — |
Its P/E sits below all 5 of the last 5 years (−2.82σ from its own mean).
10.5%
free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $4.3B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.
What Wall Street published
$372
$315 – $420 · +37% against today's price
- 37 buy or overweight
- 15 hold
- 0 underweight or sell
The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.
Against the companies it is compared to
| Company | Market cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross | Net | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SYKStryker Corporation | $105B | 28.1× | 18.6× | 65.2% | 14.4% | 16% |
| AMGNAmgen Inc. | $219B | 25.0× | 15.9× | 72.7% | 22.9% | 89% |
| BSXBoston Scientific Corporation | $66B | 18.0× | 13.8× | 71.2% | 17.5% | 15% |
| DHRDanaher Corporation | $156B | 39.2× | 24.9× | 58.5% | 15.9% | 8% |
| GILDGilead Sciences, Inc. | $188B | — | 331.4× | 79.6% | -10.6% | -16% |
| HCAHCA Healthcare, Inc. | $94B | 14.6× | 9.0× | 28.4% | 8.8% | -113% |
| MCKMcKesson Corporation | $103B | 23.5× | 15.3× | 3.6% | 1.1% | -194% |
| MDTMedtronic plc | $114B | 21.8× | 14.9× | 66.7% | 13.9% | 11% |
| PFEPfizer Inc. | $161B | 37.2× | 17.6× | 71.3% | 6.8% | 5% |
| VRTXVertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | $131B | 29.8× | 23.3× | 86.0% | 34.9% | 23% |
The median is of the 8 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 15.9% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.
What it has traded at
What its sector has traded at
Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.
Discounted cash flow
| Model | Fair value | Against | Computed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard DCF | $331 | $309.99 · +7% | 2026-06-10 |
| Levered DCF | $356 | $309.99 · +15% | 2026-06-10 |
The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.
Every estimate on one scale
The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.