Huachuang Securities released a research report stating that a platform-based business system spanning multiple sectors and regions is the ideal model for leading medical device companies to maintain long-term stable development. In the consumables sector, high-growth areas within cardiovascular medicine—such as electrophysiology, neurointervention, structural heart disease, and heart failure—remain highly active. Additionally, the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) segment continues to experience strong growth, with promising long-term prospects for corresponding domestic enterprises. Overseas medical equipment leaders have adopted a cautious outlook for their China business in 2026, creating opportunities for domestic manufacturers to accelerate import substitution amid market pressures. Based on perspectives from international industry leaders, the brokerage anticipates that the domestic in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) sector may gradually bottom out and show marginal improvement by 2026, suggesting investors watch for inflection points among leading domestic IVD companies. Key viewpoints from Huachuang Securities are summarized below:
Overseas medical device leaders exhibited a four-part structural trend in 2025: "platform stability, equipment under pressure, consumables divergence, and IVD bottoming out." In terms of total revenue from device-related operations in 2025, platform-based companies generally maintained mid-to-high single-digit or double-digit year-on-year growth, demonstrating steady performance. Most equipment-focused companies faced growth pressure, with Intuitive Surgical in the surgical robotics field being a notable exception, posting high growth of 20.5%. Growth among consumables companies varied significantly depending on their specific segments. IVD companies were generally under pressure, with bioMérieux being the only one achieving mid-single-digit growth.
Within consumables, the cardiovascular sector grew faster than other mature consumables segments, with overall cardiovascular revenue increasing by 14% year-on-year—significantly higher than orthopedics, surgery, and ophthalmology. Electrophysiology, in particular, saw impressive growth of 22%, driven by the adoption of pulsed-field ablation (PFA) techniques. Boston Scientific reported a 73% year-on-year increase in electrophysiology in 2025, while Medtronic's electrophysiology business grew by approximately 50%, 71%, and 80% over three quarters starting from fiscal Q1 2026, indicating sustained upward momentum. Neurointervention and heart failure segments also showed rapid growth, with the overall U.S. cardiovascular market expanding at a higher rate. In other consumables areas, CGM performed strongly, with Abbott and Dexcom continuing to report high growth.
In the medical equipment sector, Intuitive Surgical stood out in the surgical robotics field with revenue growth of 21%. However, China-market equipment operations of companies such as GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips, and Olympus faced pressure due to extended tender cycles, volume-based procurement policies, and intensified domestic competition. Leading equipment manufacturers maintain a high proportion of recurring revenue—for instance, recurring revenue at GE Healthcare exceeds 50%, while Olympus’s gastroenterology division also reaches around 50%. Intuitive Surgical derives as much as 75% of its revenue from surgical instruments, accessories, and services, indicating significant room for improvement for domestic players.
The IVD sector experienced an overall revenue decline of 2% year-on-year. Point-of-care testing (POCT) dropped by 11.9%, largely due to the high baseline effect of COVID-19 related products at companies like Abbott. Central laboratory segments (including biochemistry, immunology, hematology, and coagulation) declined by 2.6%, affected by changing medical policies in China’s IVD market. China-based operations of major international IVD companies all registered declines.
Risk factors include: 1) geopolitical tensions exceeding expectations; 2) government fiscal spending falling short of projections; 3) risks associated with volume-based procurement price cuts in certain regions; and 4) technological iteration risks for specific products.