The Covid-19 pandemic has scythed vast sums from joint makers’ Q2 sales. But Medtronic’s summer earnings were better than those for its spring quarter.
Success or failure on the stock markets this year depended almost entirely on whether a company’s devices could be used to treat coronavirus patients.
As Smiths Group delays its split partly so it can focus on ventilator production, the US FDA grants emergency authorisation to other breathing devices to treat Covid-19.
Some medtech stocks did decline in 2018, but many more increased in value.