Short answer
Stryker had approximately 56,000 employees globally on December 31, 2025, with approximately 28,000 in the United States, according to its Form 10-K filed February 11, 2026. That's up from about 53,000 a year earlier and 40,000 at the end of 2019. The 2025 increase came in the year Stryker acquired Inari Medical and sold its Spinal Implants business. Stryker reports the figure once a year, rounded to the nearest thousand.
- About 56,000 employees at December 31, 2025: about 28,000 in the US and 28,000 elsewhere (our calculation).
- Headcount has risen every year since 2018, from about 36,000 to 56,000.
- Jumps follow acquisitions: Wright Medical (November 2020), Vocera (February 2022) and Inari (February 2025).
- Net sales per employee were about $448,500 in 2025 (our calculation).
On this page
This page is for sellers sizing Stryker as an account, recruiters, analysts and anyone who needs a citable headcount. Every figure comes from Stryker Corporation's annual report on Form 10-K. Stryker's fiscal year is the calendar year.
Stryker employees by year
| Year | As of | Employees | In the US | Outside the US (our calculation) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | about 56,000 | about 28,000 | about 28,000 | 10-K filed February 11, 2026 |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | about 53,000 | about 27,000 | about 26,000 | 10-K filed February 12, 2025 |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | about 52,000 | about 27,000 | about 25,000 | 10-K filed February 14, 2024 |
| 2022 | December 31, 2022 | about 51,000 | about 27,000 | about 24,000 | 10-K filed February 10, 2023 |
| 2021 | December 31, 2021 | about 46,000 | about 25,000 | about 21,000 | 10-K filed February 11, 2022 |
| 2020 | December 31, 2020 | about 43,000 | about 24,000 | about 19,000 | 10-K filed February 11, 2021 |
| 2019 | December 31, 2019 | about 40,000 | not stated | not stated | 10-K filed February 6, 2020 |
| 2018 | December 31, 2018 | about 36,000 | not stated | not stated | 10-K filed February 7, 2019 |
Stryker rounds both figures to the nearest thousand, so the "outside the US" column, which subtracts one rounded number from another, can be off by up to 1,000.
What the number includes
The 2025 10-K says: "On December 31, 2025 we had approximately 56,000 employees globally, with approximately 28,000 employees in the United States."
- Employees only. The filing doesn't count contractors or third-party distributors, and doesn't give a full-time and part-time split.
- A snapshot of the company as it stood on December 31. The 2025 figure would include Inari, acquired in February 2025, and not the Spinal Implants business sold in April 2025. The 10-K doesn't give either business's headcount.
- Global. Stryker sells products "in approximately 61 countries through company-owned subsidiaries and branches as well as third-party dealers and distributors." Since 2022, more of the headcount growth has been outside the US than inside it (our calculation from the table).
- A year-end snapshot, at December 31.
The 10-K adds that more than 90% of employees take part in its annual engagement survey.
What changed and why
Stryker's filings don't explain each year's headcount change, but they do record the deals that changed the company's size.
- 2020: Wright Medical. Stryker completed its acquisition of Wright Medical Group N.V. in November 2020 for an aggregate purchase price of $4.1 billion ($5.6 billion including convertible notes). Headcount rose from about 40,000 to about 43,000 that year and to 46,000 the next.
- 2022: Vocera. Stryker acquired Vocera Communications, which the 10-K calls "a leader in digital care coordination and communication," in February 2022 for $2.6 billion net of cash acquired ($3.0 billion including convertible notes). Headcount rose from about 46,000 to about 51,000.
- 2023 and 2024: slower growth. About 1,000 a year, to 53,000.
- 2025: Inari in, Spinal Implants out. Stryker acquired Inari Medical, which makes minimally invasive products for treating venous thromboembolism, in February 2025 for $4,810 million net of cash acquired, and folded it with Neurovascular into a renamed Vascular business. In April 2025 it sold its Spinal Implants business to the Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC. Spinal Implants sales fell from $707 million in 2024 to $185 million in 2025. Net headcount rose about 3,000. The 10-K doesn't say how many employees arrived with Inari or left with Spinal Implants.
Revenue per employee
| Year | Net sales | Employees | Net sales per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $25,116 million | about 56,000 | about $448,500 |
| 2024 | $22,595 million | about 53,000 | about $426,300 |
| 2023 | $20,498 million | about 52,000 | about $394,200 |
For 2025: $25,116 million divided by 56,000 is about $448,500. Net sales grew 11.2% in 2025; headcount about 6% (our calculation).
By geography, 2025 net sales were $19,006 million in the US and $6,110 million internationally, so about 76% of sales come from the country where about half the employees work (our calculation). The 10-K doesn't say what the non-US employees do, and some may make or support products sold in the US, so don't read the split as a productivity gap.
| Segment | 2025 net sales | Share |
|---|---|---|
| MedSurg and Neurotechnology (Instruments, Endoscopy, Medical, Vascular, Neuro Cranial) | $15,647 million | 62% |
| Orthopaedics (Knees, Hips, Trauma and Extremities, Spinal Implants, Other) | $9,469 million | 38% |
Stryker doesn't split employees by segment.
Selling to a company of Stryker's size
General guidance, not a description of Stryker's internal process.
A 56,000 person medical device maker that grows partly by acquisition buys at two levels: the business that owns a product line, and the corporate functions that integrate what it buys.
- Find the business. Instruments, Endoscopy, Medical, Vascular, Neuro Cranial and the orthopaedic franchises make different products for different hospital buyers. A vendor for one rarely sells to all of them at once.
- Expect quality and regulatory review. Anything that touches product design, manufacturing or post-market data runs through quality systems built for medical device regulation.
- Integration creates projects. Each acquisition brings systems, sites and people to integrate; the 10-K lists "employee retention and workforce reductions, manufacturing integration costs and other integration-related activities" among its acquisition costs. Integration and data tools have a natural window after a deal closes.
- Sales tools matter. Stryker sells in about 61 countries through its own subsidiaries and branches and through dealers and distributors, so field sales, training and inventory tools are bought at scale.
For the customer side of the business, see our guide to selling to hospitals. For a research routine, see how to research an account.
Next step: compare Stryker with its peers on our list of the largest medical device companies.
Sources
- Stryker Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, Stryker Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 11 February 2026
- Stryker Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, Stryker Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 12 February 2025
- Stryker Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, Stryker Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 14 February 2024
- Stryker Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, Stryker Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 10 February 2023
- Stryker Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, Stryker Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 11 February 2022
- Stryker Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, Stryker Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 11 February 2021
- Stryker Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Stryker Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 6 February 2020
- Stryker Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, Stryker Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 7 February 2019
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many employees does Stryker have in the US?
About 28,000 at December 31, 2025, out of about 56,000 globally, according to Stryker's 10-K. The US figure was about 27,000 from 2022 to 2024, about 25,000 in 2021 and about 24,000 in 2020. Stryker started giving the US figure in its 2020 10-K; earlier reports give only the worldwide total.
Why did Stryker's employee count go up?
Mainly acquisitions and growth, as far as its filings show. Headcount rose from about 40,000 in 2019 to about 56,000 in 2025, a period in which Stryker bought Wright Medical (2020), Vocera (2022) and Inari Medical (2025) and grew net sales from $14.9 billion to $25.1 billion. The 10-Ks don't attribute specific headcount changes to each deal.
Did Stryker sell its spine business?
It sold its Spinal Implants business. Stryker's 10-K says it classified certain Spinal Implants assets as held for sale in November 2024 and completed the sale to the Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC in April 2025. Spinal Implants net sales were $707 million in 2024 and $185 million in 2025. The filing doesn't say how many employees moved with the business.
How much revenue does Stryker make per employee?
About $448,500 in 2025, by our calculation: net sales of $25,116 million divided by about 56,000 employees at year-end. That's up from about $426,300 in 2024 and $394,200 in 2023, because net sales grew faster than headcount. Both figures come from Stryker's 10-K; the headcount is rounded to the nearest thousand.
When does Stryker report its employee count?
Once a year, in the Employees section of Item 1 of its Form 10-K, filed in February. The count is as of December 31 and includes a US figure. The latest is about 56,000 employees, 28,000 in the US, as of December 31, 2025, from the 10-K filed February 11, 2026. Quarterly reports don't update it.