Has BSX Stock Fallen Far Enough To Buy?

U.S. electrophysiology growth slowed sharply and standalone WATCHMAN referrals declined in the same window, leaving the rest of Boston Scientific unable to maintain its growth-stock multiple

Boston Scientific (BSX) shares have fallen 52.6% since late November 2025, while the S&P 500 gained 12.7% and rival Medtronic (MDT) fell 10.5%. The second quarter of 2026 does not explain a drop that size: organic sales grew 7% and adjusted EPS landed above the guided range. What repriced the stock is that the two franchises that made it a growth stock stalled at once.

FARAPULSE Won Its Market Faster Than It Could Defend It

The stock fell about 17.6% in a single session on February 4, 2026, after the company disclosed slower U.S. electrophysiology growth, prompting shareholder class-action lawsuits alleging disclosure deficiencies. The setup behind the U.S. shortfall is its own success: FARAPULSE moved U.S. atrial-fibrillation treatment to pulsed-field ablation faster than the company planned, and management now puts pulsed field at roughly 80% of that market. With little left to convert, growth must come from share, and management concedes it undercalled how much rivals would take. Organic electrophysiology sales grew 9% in the second quarter of 2026: 3% in the United States, 23% abroad.

New Stroke Data Is Slowing WATCHMAN Referrals

WATCHMAN, the device used to prevent stroke in atrial-fibrillation patients who cannot take blood thinners, still grew 4% globally in the second quarter of 2026, but it has a different problem, and it starts before the procedure. Management attributes the moderation to recent stroke-risk clinical data published since November 2025 for changing how physicians identify and refer patients. About a third of U.S. WATCHMAN procedures now happen alongside another procedure, and in the second quarter of 2026 those grew more than 60%; the stand-alone two-thirds fell at a low-teens rate against the same quarter of 2025. The growing part is the smaller part. Global WATCHMAN sales are guided flat to low single-digits for 2026, with management assuming no improvement in 2027.

The Remaining 75% Grows Below Market

Management puts everything outside electrophysiology and WATCHMAN at roughly 75% of revenue and expects it to grow about 6% in the second half of 2026. Interventional cardiology grew 15% organically in the second quarter of 2026 on complex coronary work and the AGENT drug-coated balloon. Companywide adjusted operating margin widened 70 basis points to 28.4%. Revenue over the past twelve months was $21.0 billion, so what stalled is the smaller part of a large and profitable device business. Strong margins on a large revenue base are what the Trefis High Quality Portfolio looks for in a holding.

The Checkpoints That Come Before 2028

So how long does the pressure last? Management’s own answer is that 2027 revenue growth lands below the 7% to 8% growth it estimates for its own end markets, with limited adjusted EPS growth and the recovery resting on 2028. A high-density mapping and ablation catheter and an entry into the ICE imaging market land earlier, in 2027. The wait is long, and the shares already sit near the bottom of a 52-week range of $42.63 to $108.14, at $48.17. Before reading a decline this steep as an entry rather than a value trap, watch U.S. electrophysiology, guided down mid-single-digits sequentially in the third quarter of 2026.

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