Medline Inc. (MDLN)

Medline Inc., founded in 1966, is the largest provider of medical-surgical (med-surg) products and supply chain solutions serving all points of care, based on total net sales, delivering mission-critical products used daily across hospitals, surgery centers, physician offices, and post-acute facilities. The company operates through two reportable segments, Medline Brand and Supply Chain Solutions, both supported by a Prime Vendor model, a differentiated distribution network, and a robust commercial platform. Across both segments, Medline offers approximately 335,000 med-surg products, including surgical and procedural kits, gloves and protective apparel, urological and incontinence care, wound care, and consumable lab and diagnostics products.

The Medline Brand segment offers roughly 190,000 products organized into three categories: Front Line Care (wound care, exam gloves, skin care, incontinence products, cleaning supplies, textiles, hand sanitizer, durable medical equipment, and infection control products), Surgical Solutions (surgical procedure trays, drapes and gowns, PPE, sterile wraps, surgical instruments, surgeon's gloves, procedure kits, and orthopedic implants), and Laboratory and Diagnostics (point of care testing, analyzers and instrumentation, lab consumables, diagnostic instruments, vital signs monitors, and anatomic pathology/phlebotomy products). The Supply Chain Solutions segment offers approximately 145,000 med-surg products from over 1,300 third-party suppliers, including nearly all leading national brands, along with supply chain optimization services such as consulting, outsourced warehouse and technology management, put-away-ready packaging, third-party logistics, inventory rationalization, and route planning. Medline's Prime Vendor model involves multi-year (typically five-year) distribution agreements under which customers use Medline for the vast majority of their med-surg needs, driving cost savings, high retention (greater than 98% average over five years), and incremental conversion to higher-margin Medline Brand products.

The company operates a differentiated distribution network of 70 global distribution centers, warehouses, cross-docks, and transship facilities (45 in the U.S.), utilizing AI and robotics across more than 26 million square feet of U.S. warehouse space, and a fleet of over 2,100 MedTrans trucks providing next-day delivery to 95% of its U.S. customer base. Its commercial platform includes a U.S. team of approximately 4,000 people spanning account management, product specialization, clinical resources, and supply chain expertise. Medline manufactures about one-third of its Medline Brand products (primarily Class I and II medical devices) through 30 manufacturing facilities (24 in North America) and sources the remainder through a network of more than 600 global partners across roughly 40 countries.

The company holds more than 2,300 granted patents and over 450 FDA 510(k) clearances, has launched more than 250 new products over the last three years, and owns notable brands including Medline, Curad, Microtek, Hudson, and Proxima. Competitors include leading med-surg manufacturers as well as major distributors such as McKesson, Cardinal Health, Owens & Minor, and Henry Schein. As of December 31, 2025, Medline employed over 45,000 people worldwide, with over 26,000 in the United States and significant workforces in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, India, Canada, Slovakia, France, China, Japan, Germany, and Australia; no international market represents more than 3% of net sales.