2023 Performance Showdown of IVD Giants: Roche, Abbott, Danaher, and Siemens Healthineers

As of now, the 2023 annual reports of the international IVD giants Roche, Abbott, Danaher, and Siemens Healthineers (referred to as "Roche, Abbott, Danaher, and Siemens") have all been disclosed. Today, the editor will take you through a comparison of the revenue data of these four leading international IVD companies.

Roche's total sales in 2023 were 58.7 billion Swiss francs (approximately 489.3 billion RMB), a year-on-year increase of 1%, with a net profit of 12.36 billion Swiss francs, a year-on-year decrease of 1%.

In 2023, Roche's pharmaceuticals business revenue was 44.6 billion Swiss francs, and its diagnostics business revenue was 14.1 billion Swiss francs (approximately 117.5 billion RMB), accounting for 24% of the total revenue. Sales of Roche Diagnostics' core business grew by 7%, with significant contributions from diagnostic solutions in cardiac testing, clinical chemistry, and advanced staining.

Overall, the diagnostics division reported sales of 14.1 billion Swiss francs, a decrease of 13%. This reflects an expected significant decline in demand for COVID-19 related products (with sales of 800 million Swiss francs in 2023 compared to 4.1 billion Swiss francs in 2022).

Roche Diagnostics CEO Matt Sause announced that multiple products will be launched in 2024, including the company's i601 fully automated mass spectrometry system, which will be integrated with Roche's existing serum workspace instruments to "make us more competitive in the core laboratory space."

The company also plans to launch its Cobas c703 high-throughput clinical chemistry solution and Cobas ISE Neo solution to "maintain our strong momentum in the core lab," Sause said.

Within the diagnostics division, molecular lab revenue fell by 36% for the full year of 2023, dropping from CHF 3.45 billion in 2022 to CHF 2.22 billion, accounting for 16% of diagnostic sales. Cervical cancer testing grew by 23%, blood screening increased by 13%, and core virology business rose by 6%, Sause noted.

Roche's R&D expenditure in 2023 was 13.2 billion Swiss francs, accounting for 22.49% of total revenue, highlighting Roche's commitment to innovation. In 2024, Roche expects group sales to grow in the mid-single-digit range (at constant exchange rates).

Abbott's total revenue in 2023 was $40.1 billion (approximately 287.7 billion RMB), of which the total revenue from the diagnostics business was $9.988 billion (approximately 71.6 billion RMB), accounting for 25% of the total revenue.

Abbott's revenue in the United States accounted for 38.5% of its total revenue in 2023, meaning that Abbott's foreign business revenue accounted for 62.5%. In terms of diagnostic business, Abbott's revenue in the United States accounted for 43.34% of its total revenue, meaning that Abbott's overseas diagnostic business revenue accounted for 56.66%.

In 2023, Abbott's diagnostics business fell by 39.4%, with a 49.3% decline in the U.S. market and a 28.7% drop in overseas markets. The diversification of its businesses has enabled Abbott to possess stronger risk resistance capabilities, particularly with the nutrition and medical devices segments growing by approximately 16%, largely filling the gap left by the decline in COVID-19 related business.

Abbott's Diagnostic Business: Excluding the Impact of COVID-19, Routine Operations Grew by 5.8%, with the U.S. Market Increasing by 1.3% and Overseas Markets by 8.5%. This May Also Indirectly Reflect That Overseas Markets Have Stronger Stability and Risk Resistance, Which Is Similarly True for China’s Domestically Produced Enterprises Today. Moreover, China Must Also Factor in the Impact of Centralized Procurement.

In Abbott's diagnostics business segment, Core Laboratory revenue increased by 5.5% year-over-year to $5.159 billion; Molecular revenue fell by 42.3% to $574 million, Point-of-Care (POC) business revenue grew by 7.5% year-over-year to $565 million; Rapid Diagnostics revenue dropped by 63.3% year-over-year to $3.69 billion.

Abbott's performance across its business segments in 2023 was similar to that in China, with significant declines in molecular and rapid testing businesses, mainly due to the disappearance of demand for COVID-19 nucleic acid and antigen tests. However, what surprised the editor was that the fastest-growing segment was POCT, which is somewhat different from the situation in China.

Danaher's revenue in 2023 was $23.9 billion (approximately 171.5 billion RMB), of which diagnostic business revenue was $9.577 billion (approximately 68.7 billion RMB), accounting for 40% of total revenue, a year-on-year decrease of 11.72%.

Danaher Corporation President and CEO Rainer M. Blair stated: "We achieved revenue exceeding expectations in every segment during the fourth quarter, driven by respiratory product revenue from Cepheid. Higher-than-expected revenue, combined with strong execution by our team, allowed us to surpass our profit and cash flow expectations in a dynamic market environment. Additionally, the recently completed acquisition ofAbcam"The acquisition has strengthened our product portfolio and expanded our capabilities in the highly attractive proteomics market."

Blair continued, "2023 is a transformative year for Danaher. After the spin-off of Veralto, we have become a more focused life sciences and diagnostics innovator with stronger long-term growth and profitability prospects. Our unique portfolio and team’s execution based on DBS provide us with a solid foundation to deliver long-term shareholder value."

Danaher has three major business segments: biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics. Among them, the biotechnology segment generated revenue of $7.172 billion (approximately 51.5 billion RMB), and the life sciences segment generated revenue of $7.141 billion (approximately 51.2 billion RMB).

Danaher's net profit margin in 2023 was 17.57%, with a net profit of $24.06 billion (approximately 173 billion RMB) from its diagnostics business, which had a net profit margin of 25.12%.

In order to make a horizontal comparison of Roche, Danaher, and Siemens Healthineers' revenue data for 2023 (January to December), it is necessary to separately calculate Siemens Healthineers' revenue data for 2023. This involves taking Siemens Healthineers’ fiscal year 2023 revenue, subtracting the Q4 2022 revenue, and then adding the Q4 2023 revenue.

In the fiscal year 2023 (Q4 2022 to Q3 2023), Siemens Healthineers generated revenue of €21.68 billion, with a net profit of €3.081 billion, including diagnostic business revenue of €4.528 billion.

Siemens Healthineers Q1 2023 Revenue: EUR 5.08 Billion, Down 4.5% Year-over-Year; Diagnostic Business Revenue Declines 20.7% to EUR 1.147 Billion

Siemens Healthineers' First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2024 (October 1, 2023 ~ December 31, 2023) revenue was €5.18 billion (approximately 40.2 billion RMB), a year-on-year increase of 2%, with non-COVID-19 revenue growing by 7%. During the same period, diagnostic business revenue was €1.06 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8%.

Through calculation, it can be known that,Siemens Healthineers' revenue in 2023 (January to December) was €21.78 billion (approximately 169 billion RMB), with diagnostic business revenue at €4.44 billion (approximately 34.4 billion RMB), accounting for 20.4% of total revenue.

Siemens Healthineers' business operations are divided into four segments: Imaging, Diagnostics, Varian, and Advanced Therapies. In these segments, we are a globally leading provider.

As of September 30, 2023, Siemens Healthineers has approximately 71,000 employees, and Siemens AG holds more than 75% of the shares in Siemens Healthineers AG.

Siemens Healthineers has direct offices in more than 70 countries, with primary production and development bases located in Germany, the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom, and Slovakia, providing products and services to healthcare institutions in over 180 countries.

Siemens Healthineers' diagnostics division offers in vitro diagnostic products and services, with a portfolio covering various diagnostic testing settings from medical laboratories to critical care, emergency departments, and physician office labs, includingImmunochemistry, hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, blood gas analysis, and molecular testing.

The diagnostic product range also includes laboratory workflow solutions and information products integrated with Siemens Healthineers products to enhance the productivity of the company's customers.

In terms of total revenue, Roche> Abbott > Danaher > Siemens Healthineers, Roche is far ahead, Abbott significantly leads Danaher and Siemens Healthineers, while Siemens Healthineers and Danaher are very close, with a trend of potentially overtaking.

In terms of diagnostic business revenue, Roche > Abbott > Danaher > Siemens Healthineers. Roche still leads by a wide margin. Although Abbott ranks second, its advantage over Danaher is not significant, showing a trend of potentially being surpassed by Danaher. The gap between Siemens Healthineers and Danaher appears to be widening, with signs that Siemens Healthineers may be falling behind among the "Big Four." In the Chinese market, it has also started to be overtaken by Mindray.

In 2023, among the four major medical device and diagnostics companies—Roche, Abbott, Danaher, and Siemens Healthineers—Roche once again demonstrated its giant status in the global healthcare industry by maintaining a leading position in both total revenue and diagnostics business revenue.

Despite a significant decline in demand for COVID-related products, Roche has demonstrated strong business resilience and innovation capabilities, particularly with its diagnostics division achieving robust growth in core operations. Abbott followed closely behind, and although its diagnostics business experienced a downturn, the company maintained relatively stable overall performance through a diversified business strategy.

Danaher and Siemens Healthineers exhibit even fiercer competition, with their diagnostic business revenues being nearly equal, showcasing the intense rivalry and reallocation of market share within the industry. The performance of these four companies not only highlights the differences in their respective market strategies and business models but also reflects the shared challenges and opportunities faced by the global healthcare industry.

Looking to the future, the four major giants—Roche, Siemens Healthineers, Abbott, and Danaher—will continue to rely on their strong R&D capabilities and market insights to lead medical technology innovation, providing more and better healthcare solutions for patients worldwide.

As market demands continue to evolve and technology advances rapidly, this ongoing competition will drive every company to constantly seek breakthroughs in hopes of achieving even more impressive results in the future.

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