Investors are naturally worried about President Trump’s raft of reciprocal tariffs levied on more than 180 countries in early April.
Although he announced a 90-day pause on these tariffs and negotiated a lower tariff rate with China, markets remain on edge.
There is still considerable uncertainty as to how the situation will pan out, and there are fears of a full-blown trade war.
Inflation could rear its ugly head once again as the baseline tariffs push up the cost of doing business and disrupt supply chains.
During such troubling times, it’s a good idea to look at resilient healthcare stocks. These growth stocks can mitigate these headwinds and still come out fine over the long term.
Medtronic (NYSE: MDT)
Medtronic is a healthcare technology company with technologies and therapies that treat 70 health conditions that including cardiac devices, surgical robots, insulin pumps, and more.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2025 (9M FY2025) ending 24 January 2025, the company saw revenue rise 3.5% year on year to US$24.6 billion.
Operating profit improved by 10.5% year on year to US$4.5 billion.
Net profit climbed 19.3% year on year to US$3.6 billion.
Medtronic also generated higher free cash flow of US$3.1 billion for a 9.4% year-on-year increase.
The healthy free cash flow generation enabled the company to pay out a higher quarterly dividend of US$0.70 per share, up from US$0.69 a year earlier.
With Medtronic boasting 47 years of consecutive dividend increases, the company is now classified as one of the dividend aristocrats of the S&P 500 Index, defined as companies that raise their dividends without a pause for 25 years or more.
The company expects FY2025 organic revenue growth to be in the range of 4.75% to 5%.
For the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, Medtronic expects top and bottom-line growth with high-single-digit adjusted earnings per share growth.
The company saw a healthy cadence of product approvals, with around 120 approvals obtained in the last 12 months within key geographies.
Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG)
Intuitive Surgical is a pioneer in robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery.
The company develops, manufactures, and markets the da Vinci surgical system.
The business has continued to grow, posting an encouraging set of results for the first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025).
Revenue increased 19.2% year on year to US$2.3 billion while operating profit jumped 23.2% year on year to US$578.1 million.
Net profit stood at US$698.4 million, up 28.2% year on year.
Intuitive Surgical also generated a positive free cash flow of US$465 million, a sharp increase from the US$23.5 million churned out a year ago.
The number of worldwide da Vinci procedures grew by around 17% year on year, and the company placed 367 da Vinci surgical systems, more than the 313 in 1Q 2024.
The total installed base of da Vinci surgical systems increased to 10,189 systems as of 31 March 2025, registering a 15% year-on-year increase.
The company reported encouraging business developments recently.
In April, Intuitive Surgical announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the company’s fully wristed SP SureForm 45 stapler for use with da Vinci in thoracic, colorectal, and urological procedures.
Earlier this month, the US FDA cleared the da Vinci Single Port surgical system for transanal local excision/resection, thus helping to extend the system’s capabilities in colorectal surgery.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX)
Boston Scientific is a medical device company with a portfolio of products to improve patients’ lives.
The company has close to two-thirds of its sales from its Cardiovascular division, with the remainder from the Medical Surgery (MedSurg) segment.
For 1Q 2025, Boston Scientific reported a 20.9% year-on-year increase in revenue to US$4.7 billion.
Operating profit climbed 36.4% year on year to US$921 million, and net profit surged 36.2% year on year to US$674 million.
The company generated US$354 million of free cash flow for the quarter, reversing the free cash outflow of US$15 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
Boston Scientific completed the acquisition of Bolt Medical, the developer of an intravascular lithotripsy advanced laser-based platform for the treatment of coronary and peripheral artery disease.
During the quarter, the healthcare company also announced an agreement to acquire SoniVie, the developer of the TIVUS intravascular Ultrasound system, used for treating hypertension.
The company has set a revenue growth target of 8% to 10% per annum for 2024 to 2026 and believes this goal can be achieved through differentiated product launches.
Management also expects around 1.5 percentage points of operating margin expansion along with consistent free cash flow generation.
The team will focus on innovation and diversification into higher-growth markets to do so.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
