Boston Scientific Says Cyberattack Makes Its 2026 Sales and Profit Guidance Unlikely

Boston Scientific said the cyberattack that disrupted its global operations in late August is likely to have a material impact on its results for the third quarter and full year 2026, and that it is unlikely to meet the sales and earnings guidance it gave in July, according to a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing, dated Sept. 7 and reported under the item for material cybersecurity incidents, says the company believes "it is unlikely to meet the net sales growth and adjusted EPS guidance ranges for the third quarter and full year 2026 that the Company previously provided on July 29, 2026." It did not give new figures.

Boston Scientific said it intends to provide an update on its operational and financial outlook for the rest of 2026, including the expected effect of the incident, on its third-quarter conference call on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The company said it does not expect the incident to have a material impact on its long-term financial condition.

What the filing says happened

The company first disclosed the incident in an Aug. 26 filing, which said it had identified a cybersecurity incident on Aug. 25 that "resulted in a global disruption to the Company's operations." At that time, the company said it had not yet determined whether the incident was reasonably likely to have a material impact.

The Sept. 7 filing describes unauthorized activity on certain company systems that caused a network outage, affecting access to operating systems and business applications and the company's ability to manufacture products and to process and ship customer orders. The company said it had not identified evidence of ongoing unauthorized access and that its investigation remains ongoing.

According to the filing, the distribution network has been substantially restored, with major distribution centers processing and shipping orders at or above normal operating levels. Sterilization facilities are operational and manufacturing has resumed at most facilities worldwide, but the company said the timeline for a full operational recovery is uncertain.

"The Company anticipates recovering some portion of the impacted revenue as it continues to ramp operations globally, fulfill customer orders and reduce remaining backlogs, however the full impacts are not yet known," Boston Scientific said in the filing.

Analyst and market reaction

Boston Scientific's stock fell more than 4% to $45.73 on Tuesday morning, MedTech Dive reported. The outlet noted that the company had already cut its forecast two times this year as key businesses continue to struggle.

J.P. Morgan analysts contrasted the incident with a cyberattack that hit Stryker in March, according to MedTech Dive. They said Stryker lost sales of capital equipment, while Boston Scientific's lineup leans toward disposable products. "If you miss the procedure you miss the sale, which means Stryker will likely recapture more vs. [Boston Scientific]," the analysts wrote, as quoted by the outlet. They also noted that Stryker had nine to 10 months left in its year to recapture sales, compared with four months for Boston Scientific.

Stifel analysts wrote that the update was not surprising but that "with this announcement coming just two weeks after the initial attack, it also clearly underscores the attack's negative impact on [Boston Scientific's] operations," MedTech Dive reported.

MedTech Dive said the attack is one of a string of incidents to hit the medical device industry over the past six months, with Stryker, Medtronic, Intuitive and Abbott among the companies that have disclosed attacks.