As a result, Boston Scientific slashed its earnings and sales guidance for the third quarter in a row. The company now forecasts full-year revenue growth of 4.25 percent, compared with a previous range of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent. The new guidance, released along with third-quarter results, is a far cry from what was projected at the beginning of the year, when Boston Scientific outlined 2026 sales growth expectations of 10.5 percent to 11.5 percent. Boston Scientific also cut its adjusted earnings per share guidance, dropping it to a range of $3.16 to $3.18 from a range of $3.28 to $3.32. In February, the company forecast adjusted EPS growth in a range of $3.43 to $3.49. The company’s stock price was down by nearly seven percent to $42.02 when the market opened Wednesday.
Boston Scientific attributed previous sales guidance cuts to ongoing challenges in its Watchman and electrophysiology businesses, which have traditionally been key growth drivers for the company. Those challenges continued in the third quarter. The company’s chief executive officer, Mike Mahoney said on a Wednesday earnings call that Watchman sales declined by six percent and electrophysiology by five percent. For comparison, Watchman sales grew by nearly 30 percent in 2025, and electrophysiology has seen as much as triple-digit growth in past years, fueled by sales of pulsed field ablation devices. Mahoney told investors that the slowdown in the left atrial appendage closure market, which includes Watchman, is due to changes in patient identification and referral patterns, while electrophysiology was challenged by new technologies and competitive pressures in PFA.
The company also dealt with a cyberattack in the third quarter that temporarily shut down ordering, manufacturing and shipping capabilities. There was a roughly $150 million hit to revenue from the cyberattack in the third quarter, according to the company. Overall, Boston Scientific brought in $5.14 billion in revenue in the third quarter, representing growth of 1.5 percent. The medical device company’s challenges are likely to continue. Boston Scientific forecast a sales decline in the fourth quarter of three percent to one percent. Furthermore, Mahoney said that the company will be challenged to grow sales and adjusted EPS next year.
Amid these struggles, Boston Scientific pushed back its timing for closing its $14.5 billion purchase of Penumbra. The company now expects to close the deal in early 2027. When the deal was announced in January, Boston Scientific said it would close the acquisition this year. “The regulatory process has taken a bit of time. We’re still very confident in closing the transaction, but based on some of the discussions with the regulatory authorities, we anticipate the early first quarter close,” Mahoney said.
