Five years ago, there were two distinct groups within the U.S. medical and scientific equipment industry: laser and X-ray manufacturers, and other medical equipment manufacturers. The laser and X-ray manufacturers had lower total warranty costs, but much higher warranty expense rates, meaning they were spending a lower total amount, but larger proportion of revenue, on warranty, compared to the other medical equipment manufacturers.

In January 2023, General Electric spun-off its medical division as GE HealthCare, as part of GE's split into three companies. In its first annual report, GE HealthCare provided historical data beginning in 2021. GE HealthCare primarily manufactures medical imaging and X-ray systems.

Now, with GE HealthCare in the X-ray and laser group, warranty costs and expense rates for the two groups are fairly similar to each other. Along with GE HealthCare's introduction, a few companies in the "other" group ceased reporting over the last few years, bringing the warranty expenses of the two groups even closer together.

The Companies

To create this newsletter, we gathered data from 211 U.S.-based manufacturers of medical and scientific equipment, which reported warranty expenses between 2003 and 2025. Of those manufacturers, 47 published warranty expenses in 2025.

We divided the industry into two key sub-groups, laser and X-ray manufacturers, and other medical equipment manufacturers. There were 31 manufacturers in the laser and X-ray group, and 180 in the other group.

In the laser and X-ray industry sub-group, the largest manufacturers were: GE HealthCare Technologies Inc., Dentsply Sirona Inc., Keysight Technologies Inc., Varex Imaging Corp., and Hologic Inc.

In the other medical and scientific equipment sub-group, the largest manufacturers were: DexCom Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc., Tandem Diabetes Care Inc., National Vision Holdings Inc., Illumina Inc., Insulet Corp., Steris plc, Align Technology Inc., Bruker Corp., Inogen Inc., and ICU Medical Inc.

A few major players in the industry ceased reporting in recent years. Danaher Corp. stopped publishing its warranty expenses in 2023. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. stopped reporting its warranty expenses in 2021.

In 2021, Varian Medical Systems Inc. was acquired by the Germany-based Siemens Healthineers AG. In the same year, Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. was acquired by Baxter International Inc. In addition, in 2021, parts of MTS Systems Corp. were acquired by Illinois Tool Works Inc. and Amphenol Corp.

In 2022, Johnson & Johnson acquired Abiomed Inc., which now operates as a stand-alone business within Johnson & Johnson's MedTech segment.

In 2023, Berkeley Lights Inc. and IsoPlexis Corp. merged to form PhenomeX, which was then acquired by Bruker Cellular Analysis Inc.

In February 2023, Invacare Holdings Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and ceased reporting. HTG Molecular Diagnostics Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2023, and did not file an annual report for the year.

Cue Health Inc. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2024, a month after it was de-listed from the Nasdaq for failing to publish its financial results in a timely manner.

Hearing aid manufacturer Eargo Inc. went private in January 2024, and did not file a 2023 annual report.

Cutera Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2025, and did not publish an annual report. In February 2025, Avinger Inc. stockholders voted in favor of a voluntary dissolution and liquidation of the company.

In September 2025, Biolase Inc., maker of dental lasers, was acquired by MegaGen Implant, maker of dental implants.

Methodology

For each manufacturer, we perused their annual reports and quarterly financial statements, and extracted three key warranty metrics: the amount of claims paid, the amount of accruals made, and the end-balance of the warranty reserve fund.

In addition, we gathered data on the amount of capital equipment sold, which, in this industry, is typically product revenue minus consumables. Many, though not all, companies in this industry segment their revenue data this way. Whenever possible, all service, licensing, royalties, and investment revenue was also subtracted. The goal was to get as close as possible to the revenue generated just from the sale of goods that carry limited warranties.

Using these revenue data, we also calculated two additional warranty expense rates: claims as a percentage of sales (the claims rate), and accruals as a percentage of sales (the accrual rate).

Warranty Claims Totals

Figure 1 shows the total warranty claims paid by the U.S.-based manufacturers of medical and scientific equipment, from 2003 to 2025.

In the laser and X-ray group, GE HealthCare paid $214 million in warranty claims in 2025, a -3% decrease from 2024.

Dentsply Sirona paid $31 million in warranty claims in 2025, a -11% decrease. Keysight Technologies paid $26 million in claims, a -4% decrease. Varex Imaging paid $16 million in claims, a -13% decrease.

In the other medical equipment group, DexCom paid $69 million in warranty claims in 2025, a 27% increase. Agilent paid $53 million in warranty claims, a -7% decrease. National Vision Holdings paid $38 million in warranty claims, an 8% increase. Tandem Diabetes Care paid $37 million, a 2% increase.

Illumina paid $29 million in warranty claims in 2025, a -36% decrease. Insulet paid $22 million in warranty claims, a 10% increase. Steris paid $19 million in claims, a 6% increase. Bruker paid $18 million, a 14% increase. ICU Medical paid $18 million, a -6% decrease. Align Technology paid $12 million in warranty claims, an -8% decrease

Warranty Accrual Totals

Figure 2 shows the total warranty accruals set aside by the U.S.-based medical and scientific equipment manufacturers, from 2003 to 2025.

In the laser and X-ray group, GE HealthCare set aside $208 million in warranty accruals in 2025, a 3% increase from 2024.

Dentsply Sirona set aside $28 million in warranty accruals, a -13% decrease from the year prior. Keysight Technologies set aside $25 million in warranty accruals, a 14% increase. Varex Imaging set aside $14 million in accruals, a -34% decrease.

Hologic set aside $5 million in warranty accruals in 2025, a -44% decrease. Novanta set aside $3 million in warranty accruals in 2025, a 136% increase from 2024. Mirion Technologies set aside $2 million in accruals, a 50% increase.

In the other medical equipment group, DexCom set aside $73 million in warranty accruals in 2025, a 55% increase from 2024. Agilent set aside $51 million in warranty accruals, a -12% decrease.

Tandem Diabetes Care set aside $39 million in warranty accruals in 2025, a -21% decrease. National Vision Holdings set aside $38 million in warranty accruals, a 9% increase. Illumina set aside $28 million in warranty accruals, a -33% decrease. Insulet set aside $25 million in accruals, an increase of 4%. Steris set aside $22 million in accruals, a 19% increase.

ICU Medical set aside $12 million in warranty accruals in 2025, an increase of 248% from 2024. On the flip side, ResMed set aside $2 million in accruals, a -84% decrease from 2024. Masimo set aside $3 million in accruals, a -70% decrease.

Warranty Expense Rates

Figure 3 shows the average quarterly warranty claims and accrual rates for the X-ray and laser subset of the medical and scientific equipment manufacturers, from 2003 to 2025.

Over 23 years, the U.S.-based X-ray and laser manufacturers had an average warranty claims rate of 1.49%, with a standard deviation of 0.45%, and an average warranty accrual rate of 1.51%, with a standard deviation of 0.50%.

In 2025, the X-ray and laser manufacturers had an average warranty claims rate of 1.33%. On a quarterly basis, the lowest average claims rate was 1.22% in the third quarter, and the highest was 1.44% in the fourth quarter.

The X-ray and laser manufacturers had an average warranty accrual rate of 1.26% in 2025. The quarterly averages ranged from 1.12% in the third quarter, to 1.39% in the fourth quarter.

Figure 4 shows the average quarterly warranty expense rates for the other U.S.-based medical and scientific equipment manufacturers, from 2003 to 2025.

Over 23 years, U.S.-based makers of other medical equipment had an average warranty claims rate of 0.67%, with a standard deviation of 0.14%, and an average warranty accrual rate of 0.68%, with a standard deviation of 0.15%.

In 2025, the other medical equipment manufacturers had an average warranty claims rate of 0.82%. The quarterly averages ranged from 0.73% in the third quarter, to 0.90% in the first quarter.

The other medical equipment manufacturers had an average warranty accrual rate of 0.82% in 2025. The quarterly averages ranged from 0.71% in the third quarter, to 0.90% in the first quarter.

Warranty Reserve Balances

Figure 5 shows the warranty reserve end-balances for the U.S.-based medical and scientific equipment manufacturers, from 2003 to 2025.

In the laser and X-ray group, GE HealthCare held $169 million in warranty reserves at the end of 2025, a 1% increase from the end of 2024.

Keysight Technologies held $18 million in warranty reserves at the end of 2025, a -3% decrease. Dentsply Sirona held $18 million in warranty reserves, a -14% decrease. Hologic held $10 million in warranty reserves, a -1% decrease. Varex Imaging held $9 million in warranty reserves, a -20% decrease.

In the other medical equipment group, Tandem Diabetes Care held $55 million in warranty reserves at the end of 2025, a 8% increase. ICU Medical held $42 million in warranty reserves, a -14% decrease. ResMed held $38 million in warranty reserves, a 6% increase. Bruker held $34 million in warranty reserves, a 3% increase.

Inogen held $28 million in warranty reserves in 2025, a 9% increase. Agilent Technologies held $28 million in reserves, a -7% decrease. Align Technology held $24 million in reserves, a -22% decrease.

Although it led the pack in both total warranty claims paid and accruals made, DexCom held just $10 million in warranty reserves at the end of 2025, a 76% increase from the end of 2024.

Check out the rest of our series of 23-year charts:

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• 23rd Annual Product Warranty Report
• U.S. Passenger Vehicle Warranty Expenses
• U.S. Truck & Bus Warranty Expenses
• U.S. Auto Parts & Powertrain Warranty Expenses
• U.S. Aerospace Warranty Expenses

Building Trades Sector

• U.S. New Home & Building Materials Warranty Expenses
• U.S. HVAC & Appliance Warranty Expenses Expenses
• U.S. Power Generation Equipment Warranty Expenses

Electronics Sector

• U.S. Electronics Warranty Report
• U.S. Semiconductor Warranty Expenses
• U.S. Telecom Equipment Warranty Expenses