Why Medtronic’s Strong Earnings Are Good News for Its Rivals

Published On: November 25th, 2009

Shares of Medtronic were up about 5% in midday trading today. No surprise there, given that the company just reported higher-than-expected profits.

But shares of Boston Scientific and St. Jude, two of Medtronic’s main competitors, were also both up by more than 4% by lunchtime. What gives?

All three companies sell ICDs, implantable devices that monitor the heart and deliver a shock if it falls into an abnormal rhythm. The market for the devices — which can cost tens of thousands of dollars a piece — grew quickly in the first few years of the decade. But growth stalled in recent years as doctors questioned whether the devices were overused.

Last month, earnings reports from Boston Scientific and St. Jude suggested that demand for ICDs might be even weaker than expected. But on a conference call today, Medtronic’s CEO said he hadn’t seen a slowdown in the overall market for the devices — good news not only for Medtronic, but also for its competitors.

The concerns raised by Boston Scientific and St. Jude may have had more to do with a slow summer season than with any changes in the fundamentals of the market, according to a Leerink Swann analyst quoted by Dow Jones Newswires.

Photo: Medtronic via Bloomberg

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Why Medtronic’s Strong Earnings Are Good News for Its Rivals

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