Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2025

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

NOTE C – GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The gross carrying amount of goodwill and other intangible assets and the related accumulated amortization for intangible assets subject to amortization and accumulated goodwill impairment charges are as follows:


	As of September 30, 2025				As of December 31, 2024
(in millions)	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization/ Write-offs		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization/ Write-offs
Technology-related	$	14,634	$	(9,145)	$	14,327	$	(8,605)
Patents	492		(384)		481		(381)
Other intangible assets	2,451		(1,700)		2,380		(1,612)
Amortizable intangible assets	$	17,577	$	(11,228)	$	17,188	$	(10,598)

Goodwill	$	28,114	$	(9,900)	$	26,989	$	(9,900)

IPR&D	$	813			$	94

Indefinite-lived intangible assets	$	813			$	94

The increase in our balance of goodwill and intangible assets is related primarily to our recent acquisitions. Refer to Note B – Acquisitions and Strategic Investments for further detail.

The following represents a roll forward of our goodwill balance by reportable segment:


(in millions)	MedSurg		Cardiovascular		Total
Balance as of December 31, 2024	$	7,483	$	9,606	$	17,089


Goodwill acquired	159		850		1,008
Impact of foreign currency fluctuations and purchase price adjustments	44		72		117
Balance as of September 30, 2025	$	7,686	$	10,528	$	18,214

Goodwill and Other Intangible Asset Impairments

We did not record any goodwill impairment charges in the first nine months of 2025 or 2024. We test our goodwill balances in the second quarter of each year as of April 1 for impairment, or more frequently if impairment indicators are present or changes in circumstances suggest an impairment may exist.

We assess goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment, referred to as a component. We identified the following reporting units for purposes of our annual goodwill impairment test: Interventional Cardiology, Rhythm Management, Peripheral Interventions, Endoscopy, Urology and Neuromodulation. Based on the criteria prescribed in FASB ASC Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (FASB ASC Topic 350), we aggregated the Interventional Cardiology Therapies and Watchman components of our Cardiology operating segment into a single Interventional Cardiology reporting unit and aggregated the Cardiac Rhythm Management and Electrophysiology components of our Cardiology operating segment into a single Rhythm Management reporting unit.

In the second quarter of 2025, we performed our annual goodwill impairment test utilizing the qualitative approach described in FASB ASC Topic 350 for all reporting units. After assessing the totality of events, it was determined that it was not more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting units was less than their carrying value, and it was not deemed necessary to proceed to the quantitative test. There were no impairment indicators in the third quarter of 2025 that necessitated an interim impairment test.

In 2025, we recorded Intangible asset impairment charges of less than $1 million in the third quarter and recorded $46 million in the first nine months. In 2024, we did not record any Intangible asset impairment charges in the third quarter and recorded $276 million the first nine months. The impairment charges recorded in 2024 were associated with amortizable intangible assets established in connection with our acquisitions of Cryterion Medical, Inc. (Cryterion) and Devoro Medical, Inc. (Devoro), which were integrated into our Electrophysiology and Peripheral Interventions business units, respectively. Intangible assets acquired from Cryterion were impaired due to strong commercial adoption of our Farapulse™ Pulsed Field Ablation System and the resulting lower revenue projections and cannibalization of our cryoablation business in major markets like the U.S. Intangible assets acquired from Devoro were impaired following management's decision to cancel the related program in the second quarter of 2024. We calculated the fair value of our Cryterion and Devoro intangible assets as the present value of estimated future cash flows we expect to generate from the assets based on estimates and assumptions about future revenue contributions, cost structures and the remaining useful lives of the assets.

We review intangible assets subject to amortization quarterly to determine if any adverse conditions exist or a change in circumstances has occurred that would indicate impairment or a change in the remaining useful life. Conditions that may indicate impairment include, but are not limited to, a significant adverse change in legal factors or business climate that could affect the value of an asset, a product recall or an adverse action or assessment by a regulator. If we determine it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired based on our qualitative assessment of impairment indicators, we test the intangible asset for recoverability. If the carrying value of the intangible asset or asset group exceeds the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the intangible asset or asset group, we will write the carrying value down to fair value in the period impairment is identified. We test our indefinite-lived intangible assets at least annually during the third quarter for impairment and reassess their classification as indefinite-lived assets. In addition, we review our indefinite-lived intangible assets for classification and impairment more frequently if impairment indicators exist. During the third quarter of 2025, we performed our annual IPR&D impairment test and concluded the assets were not impaired. We also verified that the classification of IPR&D projects within our unaudited consolidated balance sheets continues to be appropriate.

Refer to Note A – Significant Accounting Policies to our audited financial statements contained in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of our annual goodwill and intangible asset impairment testing.