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The year ahead offers both great uncertainty and opportunity for medtech companies.
In the Deloitte 2026 Life Sciences Outlook Survey, U.S.-based and international biopharma and medtech executives generally report confidence in their organization’s financial outlook for 2026, but are less optimistic about the health of the global economy. Survey respondents say factors such as regulatory issues, geopolitical strife, and the momentum of generative AI could impact their growth and influence their organizational strategies.
We present a few key takeaways from the survey, which was taken by 100 medtech C-suite respondents, to provide a benchmark for how leaders in the space are thinking about the year ahead.
U.S. Leaders Not as Optimistic as OUS Colleagues
U.S. medtech leaders are generally less optimistic than their international counterparts about the industry’s performance in 2026. The survey found that 68% of responding U.S. leaders have positive to cautiously positive expectations about revenue growth compared to 88% of responding non-U.S. executives.
Sheryl Jacobson, U.S. & Global Medtech Practice Leader for Deloitte Consulting, attributes the difference between international and U.S. outlooks to greater regulatory, economic, and geopolitical uncertainty in this country.
“It happens. New administration comes in. And, the [current and former] administrations are quite different in their approaches,” she said. “There have been so many changes in the last year that it’s hard for companies to figure out how to plan and where to make their big capital bets. That’s leading to a lack of optimism.”
U.S. biopharma leaders have a more pessimistic outlook than medtech leaders. Ms. Jacobson attributes differences in optimism to the extent to which companies in the two sectors have control over factors affecting their growth. Biopharma companies face uncertainty over proposed and enacted policy changes, primarily with drug pricing, which is a major driver of their profitability and impacts their ability to innovate, she said. In comparison, medtech companies face less uncertainty and have greater control over what is influencing their financial outlook.
Tariffs will impact financial performance in the medtech sector, but they represent a more defined problem, and companies are using sophisticated modeling to gauge that impact, resulting in less uncertainty, Ms. Jacobson added.
Medtech companies are also grappling with inflationary pressures, having absorbed the higher costs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, these companies have strategic levers they can pull to counter the pressures, including engaging in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.
“Medtech companies really need to right-size their portfolios,” Ms. Jacobson said. “M&A is something they can control, and that’s where they’re looking strategically.”
Trends Shaping Medtech Strategies
Survey respondents noted several trends they believe might affect their organizational performance and shape their growth strategies this year, including:
- growing regulatory and policy influences
- heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty
- persistent pricing, access, and portfolio pressures
- the acceleration of digital transformation and artificial intelligence, and
- evolving customer models and needs.
In response to these trends, surveyed executives identified strategies they believe necessary to maintain growth and resilience. These strategies encompass two main areas: cost management and innovation and technology.
According to the survey results, here are the ways that executives plan to execute these strategies this year.
Cost management—Leaders identified three main priorities: deploying AI tools, improving R&D or product development productivity, and optimizing pricing and access.
A closer look at responses from medtech executives shows:
- AI tools or training to help improve workforce productivity will be implemented by 31% of companies.
- In their plan to focus on operational efficiency, 47% of respondents say AI implementation will be their primary cost-containment strategy in 2026.
- Pricing, access, contracting, and reimbursement will be key areas of focus for 37% of organizations.
Innovation and technology as growth drivers—Key strategies leaders cite include new device launches, strategic M&A and partnerships, and investing in AI-enabled platforms.
Here’s a closer look at the survey responses:
- Executives intend to focus on AI and digital solutions, with AI-driven diagnostics (49%) and expansion into adjacent product categories (46%) cited as their top product development priorities.
- M&A is a top near-term strategic priority for 51% of leaders.
- More than half of executives (53%) see investments in AI-enabled platforms as a key growth driver for 2026. Specifically, 82% of executives see health IT and AI-enhanced workflow solutions as immediate revenue drivers.
A Deeper Dive into Medtech Strategies
Ms. Jacobson said that medtech companies are continuing to invest heavily in their digital foundations, including upgrading enterprise resource planning systems and improving customer engagement platforms. These investments are essential, she noted, because many medtech organizations struggle with poor data quality.
“A lot of medtech companies are essentially collections of acquisitions,” she said. “As a result, their systems are fragmented, and their data is fragmented.” Periods of disruption and uncertainty, she added, create an opportunity to address those challenges by getting the organization’s “house in order” — a step she viewed as critical for these companies to remain competitive going forward.
At the same time, continued product innovation remains central to success for 2026, said Ms. Jacobson. Incremental innovation helps sustain existing product lines, but she pointed to a growing emphasis on more transformational innovations that can materially improve patient outcomes. She added that companies investing in these breakthroughs are better positioned to protect margins and drive long-term growth.
To support that innovation, medtech leaders are focusing both on strengthening internal R&D and using M&A to fill capability or technology gaps. “If you don’t have products that meaningfully improve patient outcomes,” Ms. Jacobson said, “then margins alone won’t carry you forward.”
Challenging, But Exciting Times
As economic volatility and geopolitical conflicts continue, leaders should prepare for even more uncertainty in the year ahead, Ms. Jacobson said.
“This is where the classic scenario planning becomes just incredibly, incredibly important for their strategy,” she said. “They’re going to have to continue to manage under uncertainty and get even better at it.”
Yet despite the uncertainty, Ms. Jacobson said these are actually exciting times. The sheer amount of change that has and will take place presents great possibilities and opportunities, she said.
She believes medtech leaders can take advantage of the current environment by improving their organizations’ financial positions, fostering innovation in patient-facing and behind-the-scenes technology, and genuinely impacting care outcomes and the healthcare industry as a whole.
“I know the survey highlights areas of challenges and a lack of optimism, but there’s also just a lot of excitement about the potential of what they can do,” she said. “It’s a really exciting time to be a leader in medtech.”
The year ahead offers both great uncertainty and opportunity for medtech companies.
In the Deloitte 026 Life Sciences Outlook Survey, U.S.-based and international biopharma and medtech executives generally report confidence in their organization’s financial outlook for 2026, but are less optimistic about the health of the global...
The year ahead offers both great uncertainty and opportunity for medtech companies.
In the Deloitte 2026 Life Sciences Outlook Survey, U.S.-based and international biopharma and medtech executives generally report confidence in their organization’s financial outlook for 2026, but are less optimistic about the health of the global economy. Survey respondents say factors such as regulatory issues, geopolitical strife, and the momentum of generative AI could impact their growth and influence their organizational strategies.
We present a few key takeaways from the survey, which was taken by 100 medtech C-suite respondents, to provide a benchmark for how leaders in the space are thinking about the year ahead.
U.S. Leaders Not as Optimistic as OUS Colleagues
U.S. medtech leaders are generally less optimistic than their international counterparts about the industry’s performance in 2026. The survey found that 68% of responding U.S. leaders have positive to cautiously positive expectations about revenue growth compared to 88% of responding non-U.S. executives.
Sheryl Jacobson, U.S. & Global Medtech Practice Leader for Deloitte Consulting, attributes the difference between international and U.S. outlooks to greater regulatory, economic, and geopolitical uncertainty in this country.
“It happens. New administration comes in. And, the [current and former] administrations are quite different in their approaches,” she said. “There have been so many changes in the last year that it’s hard for companies to figure out how to plan and where to make their big capital bets. That’s leading to a lack of optimism.”
U.S. biopharma leaders have a more pessimistic outlook than medtech leaders. Ms. Jacobson attributes differences in optimism to the extent to which companies in the two sectors have control over factors affecting their growth. Biopharma companies face uncertainty over proposed and enacted policy changes, primarily with drug pricing, which is a major driver of their profitability and impacts their ability to innovate, she said. In comparison, medtech companies face less uncertainty and have greater control over what is influencing their financial outlook.
Tariffs will impact financial performance in the medtech sector, but they represent a more defined problem, and companies are using sophisticated modeling to gauge that impact, resulting in less uncertainty, Ms. Jacobson added.
Medtech companies are also grappling with inflationary pressures, having absorbed the higher costs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, these companies have strategic levers they can pull to counter the pressures, including engaging in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.
“Medtech companies really need to right-size their portfolios,” Ms. Jacobson said. “M&A is something they can control, and that’s where they’re looking strategically.”
Trends Shaping Medtech Strategies
Survey respondents noted several trends they believe might affect their organizational performance and shape their growth strategies this year, including:
- growing regulatory and policy influences
- heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty
- persistent pricing, access, and portfolio pressures
- the acceleration of digital transformation and artificial intelligence, and
- evolving customer models and needs.
In response to these trends, surveyed executives identified strategies they believe necessary to maintain growth and resilience. These strategies encompass two main areas: cost management and innovation and technology.
According to the survey results, here are the ways that executives plan to execute these strategies this year.
Cost management—Leaders identified three main priorities: deploying AI tools, improving R&D or product development productivity, and optimizing pricing and access.
A closer look at responses from medtech executives shows:
- AI tools or training to help improve workforce productivity will be implemented by 31% of companies.
- In their plan to focus on operational efficiency, 47% of respondents say AI implementation will be their primary cost-containment strategy in 2026.
- Pricing, access, contracting, and reimbursement will be key areas of focus for 37% of organizations.
Innovation and technology as growth drivers—Key strategies leaders cite include new device launches, strategic M&A and partnerships, and investing in AI-enabled platforms.
Here’s a closer look at the survey responses:
- Executives intend to focus on AI and digital solutions, with AI-driven diagnostics (49%) and expansion into adjacent product categories (46%) cited as their top product development priorities.
- M&A is a top near-term strategic priority for 51% of leaders.
- More than half of executives (53%) see investments in AI-enabled platforms as a key growth driver for 2026. Specifically, 82% of executives see health IT and AI-enhanced workflow solutions as immediate revenue drivers.
A Deeper Dive into Medtech Strategies
Ms. Jacobson said that medtech companies are continuing to invest heavily in their digital foundations, including upgrading enterprise resource planning systems and improving customer engagement platforms. These investments are essential, she noted, because many medtech organizations struggle with poor data quality.
“A lot of medtech companies are essentially collections of acquisitions,” she said. “As a result, their systems are fragmented, and their data is fragmented.” Periods of disruption and uncertainty, she added, create an opportunity to address those challenges by getting the organization’s “house in order” — a step she viewed as critical for these companies to remain competitive going forward.
At the same time, continued product innovation remains central to success for 2026, said Ms. Jacobson. Incremental innovation helps sustain existing product lines, but she pointed to a growing emphasis on more transformational innovations that can materially improve patient outcomes. She added that companies investing in these breakthroughs are better positioned to protect margins and drive long-term growth.
To support that innovation, medtech leaders are focusing both on strengthening internal R&D and using M&A to fill capability or technology gaps. “If you don’t have products that meaningfully improve patient outcomes,” Ms. Jacobson said, “then margins alone won’t carry you forward.”
Challenging, But Exciting Times
As economic volatility and geopolitical conflicts continue, leaders should prepare for even more uncertainty in the year ahead, Ms. Jacobson said.
“This is where the classic scenario planning becomes just incredibly, incredibly important for their strategy,” she said. “They’re going to have to continue to manage under uncertainty and get even better at it.”
Yet despite the uncertainty, Ms. Jacobson said these are actually exciting times. The sheer amount of change that has and will take place presents great possibilities and opportunities, she said.
She believes medtech leaders can take advantage of the current environment by improving their organizations’ financial positions, fostering innovation in patient-facing and behind-the-scenes technology, and genuinely impacting care outcomes and the healthcare industry as a whole.
“I know the survey highlights areas of challenges and a lack of optimism, but there’s also just a lot of excitement about the potential of what they can do,” she said. “It’s a really exciting time to be a leader in medtech.”
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KW
Karen Wagner is an ORTHOWORLD contributing editor. Much of her career has been spent writing about healthcare management and information technology.
