For seasoned healthcare investors, Medtronic (MDT 0.72%) needs no introduction. The medical device specialist has been around for decades, successfully navigating one of the most highly regulated industries while generally delivering solid financial results and stock market performance. However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for Medtronic since 2019.
The company has encountered serious issues, causing the stock to perform, shall we say, not so well. Let’s see how much a $10,000 investment in Medtronic five years ago would be worth today and whether the company can do better in the next half-decade and beyond.
A barrage of challenges
Medtronic’s revenue partly depends on the volume of medical procedures performed with its devices. Physicians order more as needed. If a global pandemic sends the number of surgeries in the wrong direction for Medtronic’s purposes, the company’s sales…