Stryker Corporation (SYK) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: Stryker Corporation

Updated on September 26, 2026 · accounts published on July 30, 2026

Reading of September 26, 2026: A solid, cash-generative business

Stryker trades at a P/E of 28.3 over the last 12 months, 7 % below its sector median, after a 25 % fall in the stock over the past year.

• Is Stryker expensive or cheap? Stryker's P/E is 7 % below its sector median, yet it traded cheaper in 58 % of the last decade's quarters.
• How is the business doing? Revenue grew 11 % over the last 12 months and the operating margin recovered to 22 %, after the lowest in 12 years in fiscal 2025.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt is 2.0× EBITDA in fiscal 2025, under the 2.5× healthy line for healthcare, and the dividend has risen 11 years running.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $3.62 when Stryker reports on October 29, 2026; it has beaten estimates in 7 of the last 8 quarters.
• Does Stryker invest enough in R&D and turn profit into cash? Stryker turned 132 % of fiscal 2025 net income into free cash flow, but spent only 6.3 % of revenue on R&D against a 15 % benchmark.

Is Stryker expensive or cheap?

Stryker trades at a P/E of 28.3 over the last 12 months, 4 % above its ten-year average of 27.2 and well inside a decade range of 20.2 to 34.5. It has traded cheaper in 58 % of the last 40 quarters, so this is a middle-of-the-road price. Against 223 healthcare peers with a median P/E of 30.4, it looks 7 % cheaper. The 25 % drop over the last 12 months, which leaves the stock 29 % below its 52-week high of $388.35, has pulled the multiple back to its historical norm. The free cash flow yield of 5.6 % is higher than the 4.2 % earnings yield.

How is the business doing?

Over the last 12 months Stryker grew revenue 11 % and EPS 8 %, with an operating margin of 22 %, in line with its 2014-2025 average of 21.9 %. The recovery matters because fiscal 2025 closed at 19.5 %, the weakest margin in 12 years, so the latest figures point to a rebound. ROIC of 9.8 % sits 4.1 points above the median of 354 sector peers, and it stayed above 10 % in 7 of the last 10 fiscal years, with 2017 the low at 7.0 %. A 16 % ROE and a 14 % net margin round out a profitable picture.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Stryker carried net debt of $33.67 per share in fiscal 2025 ($44.39 of debt against $10.73 of cash), equal to 12 % of the current share price. At 2.0× EBITDA, that load stays below the 2.5× level the sector considers healthy. Debt to equity of 0.62 and a current ratio of 2.16 over the last 12 months leave room to operate, and an Altman Z of 4.8 places the company in the safe zone, although the Piotroski score is a middling 6 of 9. The dividend yields 1.3 %, has grown for 11 consecutive fiscal years and absorbed 40 % of fiscal 2025 earnings.

What to expect from the next earnings?

Stryker reports next on October 29, 2026, with analysts expecting EPS of $3.62. The last report, on July 30, 2026, delivered $3.69 against $3.49 expected, a 6 % beat, and the company has topped EPS estimates in 7 of the last 8 quarters. Full-year expectations are steady: the 2026 EPS consensus moved from $15.01 to $14.99 over the last 11 days across 16 analysts, and the revenue consensus barely changed. Of the 52 analysts covering Stryker, 37 rate it a buy, 14 a hold and none a sell, so sentiment is already favourable going into the print.

Does Stryker invest enough in R&D and turn profit into cash?

In healthcare the R&D pipeline is the invisible asset: expiring patents are revenue that evaporates, so the sector is judged on innovation and cash flow. On innovation, Stryker spent 6.3 % of revenue on R&D in fiscal 2025, well short of the 15 % considered healthy, and its 64 % gross margin sits just under the 70 % typical of branded pharma. On cash it scores better: free cash flow reached 132 % of net income in fiscal 2025, above the 90 % bar, and EPS compounded 15 % a year from 2020 to 2025, nearly double the 8 % threshold. ROIC of 9.8 % still falls short of the 12 % mark.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.