Medical device listed enterprises in the third quarter results are coming out, whether the domestic market ushered in the inflection point?

In 2025, after going through multiple challenges such as the deepening of centralized procurement, pressure on the domestic market, intensified international competition, and parallel innovation-driven efforts, the financial report for the third quarter will undoubtedly become a key window to observe the industry’s pulse and trends.

Recently, the Q3 2025 financial reports of over 130 listed medical device companies in China have been successively disclosed. The median operating income reached 251 million yuan, while the median net profit attributable to shareholders was only 21 million yuan. Has the domestic medical device market reached the crucial “inflection point” that everyone has been looking forward to?

01

Revenue and net profit attributable to parent company: The high-value consumables and medical equipment markets are recovering, while the IVD sector remains “cold”

According to Joinchain’s statistics, in the third quarter of 2025, the proportion of domestic enterprises that achieved a year-on-year growth in operating income reached 49.25%. Among them, among the medical device companies with high-value consumables listed, represented by cardiovascular intervention and orthopedics, the proportion of companies that achieved year-on-year revenue growth reached 70.83%, indicating a significant market recovery. In the corresponding IVD field, only 31.48% of enterprises achieved a year-on-year positive growth in revenue.

Specifically, in various segmented markets, the top segmented fields of enterprises with a year-on-year revenue growth of over 20% include medical imaging, life support, cardiovascular intervention, etc. Among them, the revenue of some enterprises represented by Chunli Medical and Novel Beam has even increased by more than 50% year-on-year.

Among them, some sub-fields show a polarized trend. For example, in vitro diagnostics, medical imaging, life support and other fields are also among the top-ranked sub-fields of listed medical device companies whose revenue has dropped by more than 20% year-on-year.

02 

Research and development expenses: The proportion of invested funds in revenue remains stable

   In the third quarter of 2025, the proportion of listed medical device companies with year-on-year growth in domestic R&D investment reached 44.78%. Some listed companies in segmented fields such as in vitro diagnostics, clinical testing, and medical imaging further increased their R&D investment.

In terms of R&D funding investment, affected by the pressure on performance, the R&D investment of the vast majority of listed medical device companies remains in the range of 0 to 50 million yuan, accounting for 74.63% of the total number of enterprises; the number of enterprises with R&D investment exceeding 100 million yuan accounts for only 9.70%.

In terms of the proportion of R&D expenses to the revenue in the same period, most listed medical device enterprises still attach great importance to R&D investment, and the proportion of R&D expenses to revenue is mainly maintained in the range of 5% – 20%.

03 

Sales expenses: Sales expenditures and channel maintenance have become key investment focuses for domestic medical device enterprises

   In the third quarter of 2025, nearly 60% of domestic listed medical device companies saw an increase in their sales expenses compared to the same period last year, accounting for 59.70% of the total number of such enterprises. The competition in sales and distribution channels in segmented fields such as in vitro diagnostics, clinical testing, injection, infusion, nursing, and protective consumables is particularly fierce.

In terms of sales expense investment, the R&D investment of most listed medical device enterprises remains in the range of 0 to 50 million yuan, accounting for 58.21% of the total number of enterprises; the number of enterprises with sales expenses exceeding 100 million yuan accounts for 24.63%.

In terms of the proportion of sales expenses to revenue in the same period, most listed medical device companies have a relatively high level of investment in sales expenses, with the proportion of sales expenses to revenue mostly remaining in the range of 10-30%.

04

Summary

From the performance data of listed medical device companies in the third quarter, it can be seen that against the background of policies such as equipment renewal, county-level medical communities, and volume-based procurement, the industry has shifted from the “resource-driven” model that relied on sales channels in the past to a “dual-wheel drive” model that emphasizes both R&D innovation and market promotion.

Meanwhile, although domestic medical device enterprises have witnessed a certain degree of market recovery, they are also facing a new round of strategic choices: should they continue to “involve in internal competition” in the red ocean market by relying on high sales expenses, or should they delay the growth curve and invest a large amount of resources in innovative research and development?

Based on the financial data of various listed medical device companies in the third quarter, while maintaining stable and reasonable investment in research and development as well as sales expenses, improving the utilization rate of sales expenses and building a product matrix have become necessary conditions for most listed medical device companies to restore the growth of operating income and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company.

In the long run, investing resources in breakthroughs in core technologies, the layout of differentiated products, and the building of overseas expansion capabilities remains a “must” for constructing a company’s profit growth curve.Only products with core competitiveness can break out of the red ocean of domestic price wars and embrace the blue ocean of the global market.

China is encouraging China end uses for more domestic products in latest years. Thus, more and more overseas manufacturers are planning localization in China. BradyKnows localization team has extensive experiences in facility establishment, audit, supplier evaluation, manufacturing, registration, and marketing in China. Pls feel free to let us know any questions on China entry via info@bradyknowsmedical.com

Source：Joinchain Medical Device
Translated & edited： Bradyknown