Underlying conditions for business development
Macroeconomic conditions
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast from the World Economic Outlook Report of October 2025, global economic growth will slow slightly from 3.3% in calendar year 2024 to approximately 3.2% in calendar year 2025, thus to below the average growth of 3.8% in the first two decades of this century. The IMF is also assuming that industrialized countries will grow by 1.6% year-on-year in the 2025 calendar year, while economic growth in emerging and developing countries is estimated at around 4.2% in this period. The Chinese economy grew by 5.0% in the 2024 calendar year, the US economy by 2.8%, and the eurozone economy by 0.9%. For the 2025 calendar year, the IMF forecasts growth of 4.8% for the Chinese economy, 2.0% for the US economy, and 1.2% for the eurozone.
The median inflation rate in industrialized countries was 2.4% in the 2024 calendar year. A moderate reduction to approximately 2.3% is forecast for the 2025 calendar year. Against the backdrop of declining inflation, the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank lowered their key interest rates over the course of the fiscal year.
Situation in the medical technology industry
The development of the market for medical devices and accessories is based on fundamentally stable growth drivers. These are medical progress and megatrends, such as the demographic trends resulting from increasing life expectancy and population growth. Rising per capita income is increasing the demand for basic medical care in rapidly developing economies. Increasing healthcare expenditure and patient numbers are raising the importance of solutions designed to increase the efficiency of diagnostics and therapy, to improve the effectiveness of therapies for patients and to reduce costs for the healthcare system. In order to optimize such treatments, various workflows have been designed for clinical processes in hospitals and surgical centers. The approach behind such workflow solutions goes beyond the standalone use of devices. It achieves this by creating a connection between devices, consumables and patient data. By contrast, tighter regulations and different regional regulatory requirements pose a growing challenge with regard to product development and approval.
a) Market for ophthalmic products
The market for ophthalmic products in the broader sense includes devices and systems for the diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment of eye diseases, implants for ophthalmic surgery and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, contact lenses, contact lens care products, consumables – with the exception of glasses and glasses frames. According to Company estimates, the market had a global volume of approx. USD51.4b or €47.4b1 in revenue in 2024. The Group’s product range includes devices and systems, implants, consumables and instruments for ophthalmology and ophthalmic surgery. According to the Company’s estimates, these sub-markets had a volume of around USD15.3b (around €14.1b1) in 2024. On this basis, the Company estimates its market share by revenue in 2024 at around 11%, as in the prior year, and considers itself the second-largest supplier worldwide in this market behind ophthalmic surgery business Alcon.
The market for devices and systems, implants, consumables and instruments for ophthalmology recorded growth of around +3% in 2024 compared with the prior year, on a euro basis, and +4% in US dollars. In future, aside from annual fluctuations and subject to any global geopolitical and economic distortions, the Carl Zeiss Meditec Group expects the market for ophthalmic products to grow annually in the low to mid-single-digit percentage range, due to the intact demographic and other growth drivers.
b) Market for microsurgery products
Aside from ophthalmology, the Company also operates in the microsurgery market. Surgical microscopes are a major subsection of this market.
The applications are mainly in neuro- and spinal surgery, as well as in other areas, such as ENT, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and dental surgery.
According to the Company’s estimates, the relevant product segment of surgical microscopes had a total volume of approx. USD0.8b (or more than €0.7b)2.
With an estimated market share of over 50%, the Carl Zeiss Meditec Group is the largest supplier in this field in terms of revenue. The Carl Zeiss Meditec Group expects the market for microsurgical products to continue to grow in the low-to-mid-single digit percentage range in the medium term, as it did in fiscal year 2024/25, irrespective of year-to-year fluctuations.
1 At the average rate for fiscal year 2023/24 (€1 = USD1.0841)
2 At the average rate for fiscal year 2023/24 (€1 = USD1.0841)