Hagens Berman opens Stryker investigation after CFO disclosure wipes out over $10 billion in market cap

CFO disclosure triggers 8.8% share drop on September 8

On September 8, 2026, Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK) shares fell $26.70, or 8.8%, after Chief Financial Officer Preston Wells told the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference that a manufacturing issue previously believed to be resolved was still affecting the company's peripheral vascular business. The decline erased more than $10 billion of Stryker's market capitalization in a single session, according to the September 23, 2026 release from national shareholders rights firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. Wells told the conference the problem was "not allowing us to reach a full supply of inventory at all of our customers" and "quite frankly, not allowing us to go out and really win new business," and added that it "is continuing into the third quarter and will certainly continue – we expect it to continue a little bit into the fourth quarter as well."

Earlier assurances had already prompted a 6.4% decline

The September 8 disclosure contradicted guidance Stryker management gave when reporting second-quarter results on July 30, 2026. At that time, Stryker said its Peripheral Vascular unit faced supply disruptions that had caused "a meaningful backorder situation with lost sales in the quarter," but assured investors that "[w]e have addressed the issue and backorder should reach a manageable level by the end of Q3." During the related earnings call, CEO Kevin Lobo declined to detail the root cause, saying only that "it did cause a significant backorder specific to one plant in the Inari business" and that "[t]he backorder is pretty elevated right now." The following trading day, shares slid $22.34, or 6.4%, Hagens Berman said. The peripheral vascular unit traces to Stryker's February 2025 acquisition of Inari Medical.

Hagens Berman opens probe into disclosure timing

The September 23, 2026 release announced that Hagens Berman has opened an investigation into whether Stryker was sufficiently transparent about the manufacturing issue and, if not, whether the company may have violated federal securities laws. "We're focused on when Stryker knew its Peripheral Vascular manufacturing problem hadn't been resolved and would persist beyond Q3," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the probe. The firm is asking Stryker investors and whistleblowers with non-public information to come forward, and notes that SEC Whistleblower program participants may receive up to 30 percent of any successful recovery.