ASCs comprised nearly 10 percent of Stryker's knee business last year, and the company expects the move of orthopedic surgeries to the outpatient setting will continue.
"As we think about our focus from our offense standpoint, as we think about the ASC, we are seeing the shift [outpatient] happen across our product line," said Preston Wells, Stryker's vice president of investor relations, during the company's 2021 earnings call Jan. 27, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha. "We expect that to continue to grow. There is an opportunity for [ASC business] to continue to grow over time. Certainly there are capacity constraints as ASCs are built out that will allow it to continue to grow faster."
He said the timeline for expanding the company's ASC business would depend on how quickly surgery centers are able to grow joint replacement volume so surgeons can take their cases from hospitals to ASCs.
"We are here and actually helping to make that transition happen," he said.
The pandemic continued to affect Stryker's business, but the company was still able to surpass $17 billion in revenue last year, and Kevin Lobo, Stryker's chair and CEO, said he is confident in the company's outlook over the next year.
"We continue to execute on our key growth strategies, including the expansion of our ASC offense, continued product innovation and category leadership across our business," he said.
Stryker's Mako robotic joint replacement technology continues to thrive, with about 1,500 robots placed. There were 27 percent more robots installed in 2021 than in 2020.
"The strong double-digit growth also underscores our ongoing success installing robots in major teaching institutions, ASCs and competitive accounts, as well as our focus on expanding into international markets," said Mr. Wells. "In the fourth quarter, we saw a meaningful increase in the percentage of robots installed into competitive accounts."