Zimmer Biomet Named to FORTUNE's 2026 List of America's Most Innovative Companies
First-time recognition reflects Zimmer Biomet's commitment to redefine musculoskeletal care
Zimmer Biomet has been named to FORTUNE’s 2026 America’s Most Innovative Companies list, a recognition that celebrates organizations leading the way in product innovation, process excellence and a culture that fuels creativity and continuous improvement. The annual ranking honors 300 U.S. companies transforming their industries through forward-thinking solutions and bold advancements across technology, operations and culture.
This year's list highlights companies demonstrating exceptional performance across three dimensions: product innovation, process innovation and innovation culture. Companies were scored based on expert analysis, employee sentiment and patent portfolio strength. Zimmer Biomet appears as #20 on the list and as the top-ranked organiztion in our home state of Indiana and top-ranked MedTech company.
Speaking about the Company’s inclusion on this prestigious list, Ivan Tornos, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, shared, “Being recognized among America’s Most Innovative Companies reinforces what I see every day: a team driven by purpose, inspired by our mission and ready to boldly redefine segments where our innovations matter most. We listen to our customers, we learn, we innovate and we bring to market breakthrough technologies that solve meaningful healthcare challenges. We are now in the midst of the biggest, boldest innovation cycle in Zimmer Biomet's nearly 100-year-old history, and we're just getting started."
Driving the Most Significant Innovation Cycle in Company History
Zimmer Biomet's innovation strategy is centered on addressing four critical challenges in orthopedics and musculoskeletal health: patient awareness, safety, efficiency and improved outcomes. From next generation robotics to smart implants, first-to-world infection-mitigating technologies and connected digital ecosystems, Zimmer Biomet is reshaping what is possible in musculoskeletal care.
Several recently launched technologies contributing to this recognition include:
- iTaperloc® Complete and iG7™ Hip System – The first-to-world total hip implant, with Japan Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) approval and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Breakthrough Device Designation, designed to inhibit bacterial adhesion on the implant surface.
- Persona IQ® The Smart Knee® – The first and only “smart” knee implant that captures patient-specific gait and range of motion metrics directly from the knee during patient monitoring to provide pos-operative recovery insights1,2 and trends.
- Oxford® Cementless Partial Knee – Celebrating 50 years of clinical heritage, the Oxford Partial Knee is the most widely used3 and clinically proven4,5 partial knee system in the world. It is also the only FDA-approved mobile cementless partial knee implant in the U.S. that has been shown to be efficient6,7 in the operating room and has been proved to have excellent survivorship8,9 worldwide.
- ROSA® Knee with OptimiZe™ – The newest version of the ROSA® Knee System to customize and enhance the surgeon’s experience with personalized and intelligent surgical planning, new positioning, tracking and alignment features to improve accuracy10 and reduce user variability11 — and offers the industry’s only automated kinematic alignment feature to resurface the knee with the goal of restoring its pre-arthritic position and native joint lines.
Complementing our innovative product portfolio, Zimmer Biomet launched MedTech’s first-of-its-kind global partnership with Arnold Schwarzenegger. As Chief Movement Officer for Zimmer Biomet, Schwarzenegger champions mobility and joint health and encourages people living with pain to seek qualified professionals to help them get back to doing what they love.
A Culture That Accelerates What's Next
FORTUNE's methodology recognizes not only the breakthroughs companies deliver, but also the environments that enable them. The ranking incorporates feedback from more than 37,000 experts, paired with in-depth patent analysis — a combination that reflects both internal and external assessments of a company’s innovative strength.
Zimmer Biomet’s culture of innovation is powered by teams across the globe who embrace curiosity, challenge convention and remain relentlessly focused on advancing care for patients. This first-time recognition on FORTUNE’s 2026 America’s Most Innovative Companies list is a testament to the dedication of our global team and our unwavering mission: to alleviate pain and improve the quality of life for people around the world.
1 Cushner FD, Yergler J, ElashoffB, Aubin PM, VertaP, Scuderi GR. Staying Ahead of the Curve: The Case for Recovery Curves in Total Knee Arthroplasty. The Journal of Arthroplasty. 2024;doi:10.1016/j.arth.2024.07.039
2 Cushner FD, Sculco PK, Long WJ. The Talking Knee Is a Reality: What Your Knee Can Tell You After Total Knee Arthroplasty. J OrthopaedicExperience and Innovation. 2022;2022
3 Data on file at Zimmer Biomet. Based on Market Analysis and Registry Data, gathered September 2017.
4 Price, A. and Svard, U. A Second Decade Lifetable Survival Analysis of the Oxford Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2011 Jan;469(1): 174-9.
5 Pandit et al. The clinical outcome of minimally invasive phase 3 Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. Bone Joint J 2015;97-B:1493–1500.
6 Pandit, H., et al. "Improved fixation in cementless unicompartmental knee replacement: five-year results of a randomized controlled trial." JBJS 95.15 (2013): 1365-1372.
7 Stempin R, Kaczmarek W, Stempin K, Dutka J. Midterm Results of Cementless and Cemented Unicondylar Knee Arthroplasty with Mobile Meniscal Bearing: A Prospective Cohort Study. Open Orthop J. 2017 Oct 31;11:1173-1178. doi: 10.2174/1874325001711011173. PMID: 29290853; PMCID: PMC5721307.
8 NJR- UK . The National Joint Registry 22st Annual Report 2025 London, 2024 [Available from: https://reports.njrcentre.org.uk/Portals/0/PDFdownloads/NJR%2022nd%20Annual%20Report%202025_Knees.pdf.
9 AOANJRR. Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry (AOANJRR). Hip, Knee & Shoulder Arthroplasty: 2023 Annual Report Adelaide, AOA2024 [updated 2024. Available from: https://aoanjrr.sahmri.com/documents/10180/1798900/AOANJRR+2024+Annual+Report.pdf/9d0bfe03-2282-8fc8-a424-b8d9abb82b1f?t=1727666185313.
10 Data on File. DVaR-DS250106-01 ROSA Knee System v1.5 Validation Report.
11 Data on File. FER-EMS230714-01 Formative Evaluation Report - July Lab 2023.
