Stryker is a world-renowned medical technology company founded by Homer Stryker, MD, in 1941. Dr. Stryker created the company to produce medical products making surgery and recovery faster and more effective for patients.
Here are 22 things to note:
1. Ronda Stryker surpassed Oprah Winfrey on Forbes' 2014 list of global billionaires. She is tied with Steven Spielberg with an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion. Ronda Stryker was one of the donors behind a $100 million gift to launch the new WMU School of Medicine. The program will be named the Western Michigan Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine.
2. Dr. Stryker opened his medical practice in Kalamazoo Michigan. After receiving purchasing orders for his turning frame, he began selling his innovations in January 1941.
3. In January 1955, Dr. Stryker's son, Lee Stryker, became general manager of Stryker. He became the company's president in January 1968. Lee Stryker unfortunately died while piloting his own place on July 25, 1976. At the time of his death, he had boosted the company to 280 employees and $10 million. By 1990, Stryker annual sales increased to approximately $280 million. Stryker Canada was incorporated in the same year.
4. As of 2014, Stryker had more than 26,000 employees worldwide and more than 5,300 patents owned globally.
5. Business guru, Jim Collins, named Stryker a 20-Mile March Company in his book, Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck — Why Some Thrive Despite Them All. Collins writes, "When John Brown became CEO of Stryker in 1977, he deliberately set a performance benchmark to drive consistent progress. John Brown understood that if you want to achieve consistent performance you need both parts of a 20-Mile March: a lower bound and an upper bound, a hurdle that you jump over and a ceiling that you will not rise above, the ambition to achieve the self-control to hold back."
Finance
6. Stryker reported a slight net sales increase in the first quarter of 2015 to $2.4 billion, but the earnings soared to 220 percent driven by a nearly 6 percent organic sales growth. Net sales in 2014 amounted to $9,675.
7. The orthopedics net sales hit $1 billion for the quarter, a 2.4 percent increase.
8. Stryker sales in the United States are showing modest growth — up 8.5 percent in the first quarter.
9. The company expects sales growth in the range of 6 percent to 7 percent, including, organic sales growth in the range of 5 percent to 6 percent for 2015. The adjusted diluted net sales earnings per share are expected in the range of $1.15 to $1.20 for the second quarter and $4.95 to $5.10 for the full year.
10. Rumors swirled in 2014 about whether Stryker would acquire fellow orthopedic device company giant Smith & Nephew. There were talks between the two, but Stryker withdrew after it became known that Medtronic was interested. Ultimately, Medtronic pursued Smith & Nephew competitor Covidien, leaving Smith & Nephew open for acquisition. While the two companies remain independent for now, some analysts think it's a matter of time before Smith & Nephew is acquired, and Stryker is still a contender.
11. In March 2015, Stryker announced an additional $2 billion of share repurchase authorization, increasing their total remaining authorization to more than $2.5 billion. However, CEO Mr. Lobo maintains mergers and acquisitions will remain the breadth of the company's product and service offerings, and will continue to the primary focus for Stryker's long-term growth strategy.
12. Stryker's Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.345 per share payable on July 13, 2015 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 30, 2015. The per share dividend is an increase of 13 percent compared to the previous year, yet unchanged from the previous quarter.
13. Stryker shares have a one year low of $77.87 and the one year high of $98.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94 and a 200-day moving average of $93. The company's market cap amounted to $35.82 billion with a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.41.
14. Analysts at Zack upgraded Stryker stock from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, setting a $108.00 price target. The company currently has a consensus rating of "buy" and an average target price of $99.47.
5. Over the last three years, Stryker has accumulated $3,390 million in mergers and acquisitions, $1,187 million in dividends and $525 million in share repurchase. These figures comprise a total of $5,102 million in capital allocation.
16. As opposed to other large orthopedic companies acquiring other large and mid-sized companies for growth — including Zimmer's acquisition of Biomet and Medtronic's acquisition of Covidien — Stryker has acquired several smaller companies over the past few years.
Projects & Acquisitions
17. Stryker had a series of acquisitions in 2014. They purchased Patient Technologies for $120 million and Berchtold for an enterprise value of $172 million. The company acquired MAKO Surgical more than a year ago for $1.65 billion, and the line continues to make progress.
18. Stryker announced an exclusive partnership agreement with Neurological, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics America, in January 2014. Stryker will promote and sell Neurologica's Bodytom portable full body CT scanner in conjunction with the Stryker NAV3i Surgical Navigation Platform.
19. Stryker's success hasn't come without roadblocks. The company recalled the Neptune 2 Waste Management System, reflecting usability testing and feedback from more than 1,000 customers. They also recently decided to move forward with the settlement program related to the Rejuvenate Modular Neck hip stem and/or ABG II Modular-Neck hip stem from the company's subsidiary Howmedical Osteonics.
20. Stryker Orthopaedics' business forged a relationship with the PGA Tour that designated Stryker's products as the "Official Joint Replacement Products of the PGA Tour and Champions Tour." The relationship furthered Stryker's goal of educating golf fans about joint health through its on-site joint health destination, the Stryker Mobility Zone. The Stryker Mobility Zone has orthopedic surgeons educate fans about hip and knee treatment options and how Stryker products may help patients regain mobility.
Company news
21. High-profile leaders at Stryker include Ramesh Subrahmanian, international group president and Kevin Lobo, chairman and CEO. Mr. Lobo, 49, has been CEO of Stryker since October 1, 2012 and has served as president of Stryker since 2012. His total calculated compensation for the fiscal 2014 year was $9,120,147.
22. Stryker was named for the fourteenth year in a row FORTUNE World's Most Admired Companies list, placing sixth in the Medical Products & Equipment Industry category. Stryker also qualified for Fortune 500 list for 2015, ranking number 300, increasing six spots from previous years.