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ORTHOWORLD has released the 2026 edition of THE ORTHOPAEDIC INDUSTRY ANNUAL REPORT®, a comprehensive look at the major trends and key companies that are shaping the $65 billion global market and the forces that will impact the future.
The report features regulatory clearances, funding activity, mergers & acquisitions and an index of orthopedic companies worldwide categorized by market segment and product focus. It also provides forecasts for key market segments, sales data for public and private orthopedic companies and segment forecasts through 2029.
Key developments are highlighted in this year’s report, such as:
- Knee replacement generated 17% of all orthopedic revenue in 2025, growing 5.3% year over year
- Spine underwent large, mature market competitive disruption
- Trauma became highly consolidated, with Stryker and Johnson & Johnson MedTech accounting for 60% of global segment sales
- Sports Medicine saw increased investment in muscle, tendon and cartilage solutions designed to decrease revisions and preserve joint health
- Orthobiologics companies like Kuros Biosciences and BONESUPPORT experienced rapid growth due to focused U.S. strategies
- Enabling Technology faced greater competition as new companies entered the market and established players built ecosystems
“The orthopedic market isn’t just expanding—the dynamics of where and how growth occurs are changing,” said Mike Evers, Senior Market Analyst at ORTHOWORLD. “This report breaks down those shifts across segments, competitors and geographies so teams can make confident, more informed decisions.”
Evers added additional insights to several important movements that drove orthopedic revenue.
Steady Growth Ahead. The orthopedic market continued to perform well in 2025, thanks to high procedural volume and strong demand for capital equipment.
Patient demographics remain a major growth driver as the generation that includes individuals over age 65 continues to expand rapidly and older individuals maintain active lifestyles later in life. Patients are also entering the orthopedic care continuum earlier than ever, and companies are developing new products designed to capture patients across a wider range of care stages.
Capital spending is on the rise, and global financial markets have so far avoided a major recession. Inflation peaked at 9% in 2022, leveled off at approximately 3% last year and is expected to remain relatively stable in 2026. Unemployment levels also remain steady.
Based on these market dynamics, growth in orthopedics is expected to normalize somewhat over the next several years with revenues exceeding $78 billion by 2029.
Digital is King. Between 2016 and 2020, enabling technology and digital assets accounted for 13% of orthopedic M&A activity. Since 2021, that activity has accelerated to 18% and digital’s portion of orthopedic funding announcements has also increased from 15% to 23% in category share.
The biggest players in orthopedics are prioritizing the development of comprehensive and integrated technology ecosystems to close the feedback loop of data-driven surgery and increase surgeon adoption of enabling technology.
Although surgeon adoption of robotic systems remains in the 20% range, orthopedic companies are developing solutions designed to meet surgeons where they are along the adoption curve. Handheld, user-friendly robotic handpieces and intuitive, streamlined robots are giving surgeons optionality in taking the leap into robotic-assisted surgery.
Trauma on the Rise. The segment’s sales grew to $9.6 billion in 2025, 5.8% more than the year before. Core trauma continues to exceed revenue expectations while the foot and ankle segment has slowed due to softening procedural volumes, which have remained inconsistent since a general downturn began in 2023.
Although foot and ankle, once considered an area of significant growth potential, has been sluggish in recent years, orthopedic companies saw signs of recovery during the second half of 2025 and remain hopeful that the market will continue to improve throughout the rest of this year.
Core trauma, meanwhile, is gaining momentum because of favorable patient demographics and new products that are advancing patient care, including innovative plating systems and the promising development of digital and enabling technologies designed for this market segment.
Joint Health Prioritized. Biologics have the potential to work in tandem with new implant designs and enabling technologies to significantly improve spine surgery outcomes.
The knee osteoarthritis epidemic presents another growth opportunity for the therapies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that osteoarthritis affects 32.5 million U.S. adults and causes an annual economic burden of approximately $137 billion, which has more than doubled over the past decade.
Orthopedic companies are also investing in the development of biologics to address this unmet clinical need, including for younger patients who are increasingly interested in conservative first-line treatment options that have the potential to prevent or delay joint replacement surgery.
All in all, there’s a lot to be excited about in taking stock of the industry’s current performance and looking ahead to what’s coming next.
“Orthopedics is entering a period of accelerated change — from shifting competitive dynamics in spine to rapid growth in orthobiologics and enabling technologies,” said Carolyn LaWell, Chief Content Officer at ORTHOWORLD. “This year’s report helps industry leaders cut through that complexity with clear, data-driven insight into where the market is moving and why.”
THE ORTHOPAEDIC INDUSTRY ANNUAL REPORT is available to ORTHOWORLD Members.
