By Jof Enriquez
Second-quarter earnings reports from medical device companies show Stryker Corporation increased sales across three segments, while St. Jude Medical and Boston Scientific overcame sluggish sales in heart rhythm management to post modest overall earnings growth.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) saw decreased worldwide medical device sales overall, but posted slight gains after excluding acquisitions and divestitures. Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) saw its Q2 revenues drop slightly. 
Stryker reported that consolidated net sales increased 2.9 percent, to $2.4 billion, during the second quarter. Net sales of orthopedics rose 0.6 percent, MedSurg grew by 3.9 percent, and neurotechnology and spine surged 6.4 percent.
In the same period, Stryker’s net earnings increased 206.3 percent to $392 million. Reported diluted net earnings per share of $1.03 increased 212.1 percent in the quarter. The company reported revenue of $2.43 billion, beating analysts’ expectations.
“We continue to execute well across our businesses and delivered organic sales growth of approximately 7 percent in the second quarter,” said Kevin A. Lobo, Stryker chairman and CEO, in the announcement. “Our strong first half performance and positive momentum is reflected in our raised guidance and underscores the strength of our people and diversified portfolio.”
Stryker ended the second quarter with $4.3 billion in cash and marketable securities — including repatriated case amounting to about $700 million in the first half of the year — with an additional $1 billion more expected late in this year, and over $2 billion available for share repurchase. The company says it likely will allocate the capital for future acquisitions.