BSX: A Mild Panic & Some Perspective

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Right. Boston Scientific (BSX 17.50%). It closed at $75.50 today, down… well, quite a bit. 17.59%, to be precise. Honestly, it felt a bit dramatic. Like someone had cancelled all the hospital equipment orders. It seems they beat Q4 earnings expectations, which is good, obviously. But then came the 2026 guidance. And apparently, that wasn’t… enthusiastic enough. Or something. Trading volume was, shall we say, lively. 78.1 million shares. Which, if my calculations are correct (and let’s be honest, they often aren’t), is a lot. A lot of shares. It’s been a good run, really. IPO’d in 1992. A 1,664% increase since then. Still, today felt… off.

Units of BSX Sold in Moment of Weakness: 25. Deeply Regretted: Immediately. Hours Spent Refreshing Portfolio: 6. Attempts to Rationalize Decision: 14.

How the Markets Generally Behaved Today

The S&P 500 slipped 0.51% to 6,882. The Nasdaq Composite wasn’t much happier, falling 1.51% to 22,905. Apparently, large-cap growth names are feeling a bit… sensitive. Medtronic closed at $101.84 (-1.30%) and Stryker finished at $360.66 (-0.04%). Which, if you think about it, suggests this wasn’t a sector-wide meltdown. Just Boston Scientific having a slightly bad day. A slightly, dramatically bad day.

What This Means (Or Might Mean, Possibly) for Investors

They grew sales by 16% and adjusted EPS by 14% in Q4. Which is… good. Really good, actually. But then the 2026 EPS guidance came in one penny shy of what analysts were hoping for. One penny. It’s like being told your soufflé is perfect, except it’s missing a single raspberry. It feels… disproportionate. I suspect the market overreacted. Just a little. Okay, maybe a lot. But still. They’re guiding for $4.2 billion in free cash flow in 2026, which, let’s face it, is a substantial amount of cash.

Number of Times I’ve Told Myself “Buy the Dip”: 8. Number of Times I’ve Actually Bought the Dip: 1. Current Level of Self-Discipline: Alarmingly Low.

Their Cardiovascular segment grew sales by 18%, and the MedSurg unit increased revenue by 12%. They’ve been compounding investor returns by 18% annually since 2016. And growing sales by double-digits for 12 straight quarters. So, despite today’s… performance, Boston Scientific looks pretty strong. Honestly. It just feels like a bit of an overreaction. A perfectly good company, briefly gripped by a mild, market-induced panic. And, if I’m being honest, a little bit of me panicked too.

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2026-02-05 01:22