By Anthony O. Goriainoff
Shares in Smith & Nephew fell after the company said its U.S. knee implant business declined.
Shares in early European trade were down 2% at 11.365 pounds, leading the FTSE 100 index fallers.
The London-listed medical technology company said that for the quarter ended March 28, U.S. Knee Implants fell 10.3% both on a reported and an underlying basis. This was offset by strength in sports medicine.
Its orthopedics division saw underlying growth of 0.8%, versus analyst expectations of 2.2%. This reflected the decline in U.S. Knees as well as softness in Trauma & Extremities.
Still, revenue rose to $1.50 billion from $1.40 billion in the year-prior period.
The board also said it was launching a $500 million buyback program, representing around 3.5% of its current market cap.
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said they continued to see a potential downside to guidance in future periods despite the quarter's positive results. RBC said that although it expected investors to be reassured by the in-line revenue delivery and the buyback program, it didn't see the results as "materially de-risking 2026 guidance at this stage."
Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2026 04:33 ET (08:33 GMT)
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