Zimmer Biomet lifts guidance as hips and robotics power growth

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ZBH) raised its 2026 sales and adjusted earnings targets after third-quarter revenue reached US$2.063 billion, up 3.1% on a reported basis and 3.7% excluding currency movements. The orthopaedic-device maker’s adjusted diluted earnings per share held at US$1.90, but GAAP diluted EPS fell 13.8% to US$1.00, leaving a sharper split between its underlying performance measure and statutory result.

Full-Year Guidance Moves Higher

Zimmer Biomet now expects 2026 reported revenue growth of 4.4% to 4.9%, compared with its previous range of 3.9% to 4.9%. Constant-currency growth is forecast at 4.1% to 4.6%, while organic constant-currency growth, which excludes the contribution from the Paragon 28 acquisition through its first anniversary, has been lifted to 3.0% to 3.5% from 2.25% to 3.25%.

The company also nudged its full-year adjusted diluted EPS range to US$8.50-US$8.60 from US$8.47-US$8.59. That is a non-GAAP measure, and Zimmer Biomet says a prospective reconciliation to GAAP EPS is not available without unreasonable effort because the timing and scale of excluded restructuring, acquisition-related, legal and tax items remain uncertain.

Hips and Technology Outpace Knees

The quarter’s growth was uneven across product lines. Hips rose 7.0% on a constant-currency basis, S.E.T. products, covering sports medicine, biologics, foot and ankle, trauma and related categories, increased 7.1%, and technology and data, bone cement and surgical products climbed 13.0%.

Knees, Zimmer Biomet’s largest reported product category at US$767.5 million of quarterly sales, moved in the opposite direction, declining 2.6% on a constant-currency basis. US knee revenue fell 2.0%, while international knee sales dropped 3.4% on the same measure. The company said its Hips, S.E.T., Technology & Data, Bone Cement and Surgical franchises represent about two-thirds of its business and grew at upper-single-digit or double-digit rates, but the filing does not quantify how much of the guidance increase depends on each category.

Cash Generation Strong as Statutory Profit Falls

GAAP net earnings attributable to Zimmer Biomet fell to US$191.6 million from US$230.9 million a year earlier, while operating profit declined to US$307.6 million from US$351.3 million. The company generated US$560.0 million in operating cash flow and US$372.4 million in free cash flow during the quarter, lifting nine-month free cash flow to US$926.5 million.

Capital allocation remains part of the picture: Zimmer Biomet repurchased US$579.3 million of common stock in the first nine months, while net debt stood at US$7.104 billion at September 30, up from US$6.927 billion at the end of 2025. The figures give the upgraded earnings outlook some cash-flow support, but also leave execution on growth and leverage relevant to the next update.