Why Did BSX Cut FY26 Guidance? CEO Details Three Unanticipated Factors At Bernstein Conference

• The guidance cut was primarily driven by a slowdown in growth in the standalone WATCHMAN business.
• Mahoney admitted the company provided more space for additional market share reduction as competitors continue to enter the electrophysiology business.
• Within the urology business, some niche competitors entered the core stone portfolio, and the Axonics overactive bladder business suffered from commercial disruption, the CEO added.

Shares of Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) declined over 10% on Wednesday and hit its lowest levels since October 2023 after the company's Chief Executive Officer, Mike Mahoney, offered a detailed explanation of the three ‘unanticipated’ impacts behind the guidance revision.

The company had earlier stated that the net sales growth for 2026, versus the prior-year period, is expected to be about 7% to 8.5% on a reported basis and 6.5% to 8.0% on an organic basis. Previously, Boston Scientific projected full-year net sales guidance of about 10.5% to 11.5% on a reported basis and 10.0% to 11% on an organic basis.

The Three Unanticipated Impacts

During the Bernstein conference, Mahoney stated that the year has been a bit of a challenge for the company.  

The guidance cut was driven by a slowdown in growth in the standalone WATCHMAN business. The company expects to see flat dollar growth in the second and third quarters, Mahoney added.

The second was electrophysiology (EP), where Mahoney admitted the company provided more space for additional market-share reduction as competitors continue to launch, but expects to maintain PFA market-share leadership.

“We really expect to expand the scope of procedures in EP,” said Mahoney. 

The CEO noted the third factor as the urology business, where the company saw some ‘softness’ in the performance. 

He said that some niche competitors have entered the core stone portfolio, and the Axonics overactive bladder business suffered from commercial disruption. The company has launched stone refreshes with pressure sensing and suction improvements, and hired roughly 100 new Axonics clinical reps. 

He further added that, “Urology won't be back to market growth this year but should improve from the first quarter performance."

The company will update its three-year plan — including FY27 and FY28 targets — after the third-quarter (Q3) earnings call. Boston Scientific continues to spend over 9% of revenue on internal R&D and maintains the largest venture fund in medtech.

Stifel Lowers BSX Price Target

Meanwhile, Stifel analyst Rick Wise lowered Boston Scientific’s price target to $75 from $85 and kept a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock. The firm stated that the WATCHMAN slowdown reflects continued weakness in standalone procedures, which has offset strength in concomitant workflows, leading to expectations for flat Q2 and Q3 revenue versus prior forecasts of sequential growth, according to TheFly. 

This dynamic is pushing revenue projections toward the low end of the company's guidance range, Stifel stated.

What Retails Thinks About BSX

The retail sentiment surrounding the stock has remained ‘bearish’ while message volumes remained ‘normal’ over the past 24 hours.

Shares of Boston Scientific have declined over 45% YTD.

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