Although the COVID-19 Delta wave and hospital labor shortages did take a hefty toll on revenue for many companies in the third quarter, there is a silver lining. During recent earnings calls, several medtech executives mentioned that hospitals are getting better at juggling COVID cases with elective (or deferrable) surgery. COVID-19 will continue to be a wildcard in terms of forecasting financial results, but we expect surges in COVID cases to have a smaller impact on procedure volumes over time.

“Hospitals, just like anybody else, they innovate, and they find a way,” Boston Scientific CEO Mike Mahoney said. “… I think the [COVID] surges will calm, and the staffing shortages will likely linger a bit. But hospitals are pretty resilient in figuring out ways to drive volume.”