Healthcare 360°: A Sector Under Pressure, Yet Still Strategic for Investors

A Strategic Sector in Transformation

In a context of stock market slowdown, restructuring in the real estate sector, and large-scale private equity operations, the launch of the Observatoire Santé 360° marks a significant step in analyzing the sector. Driven by Euryale Lab, Euryale's think tank, this tool offers a unique cross-sectional view on three major segments: real estate, financial markets, and private equity. The clear ambition is to provide a consolidated understanding of a sector that has become strategic, at the intersection of aging, the medicalization of regions, and technological innovation.

After a decade where healthcare stocks outperformed, rising interest rates and market normalization have changed the landscape. Capital flows are shifting, expectations are adjusting, and investors must now navigate a real estate sector downturn and a healthcare index underperformance in the first nine months of 2025.

However, healthcare real estate maintains its status as a defensive pillar. In the first nine months of 2025, investments reached 5 billion euros, already surpassing those of 2023 and 2024. Prime yields are between 5.50% and 5.90% for clinics, and around 5% for long-term care facilities, with slight compression in the Netherlands (4.9%) and the United Kingdom (4.8%). Sales operations conducted by major players such as Emeis—securing more than 1.45 billion euros—demonstrate the market's depth and confidence in its fundamentals.

In financial markets, the situation is different. In the United States, the beginning of interest rate cuts in September prompted investors to return to more cyclical sectors at the expense of healthcare stocks. Regulatory uncertainties also play a role: Medicare/Medicaid reform, trade tensions, and in Europe, the new Pharmaceutical Package adopted in June, which increases pressure on prices and margins for laboratories. The result is a relative underperformance, with a YTD of +2.68% for the S&P 500 Healthcare, +16.3% for the MSCI Europe Healthcare, and +6.48% for the CAC Healthcare, trailing behind the general indices.

Private Equity: The Return of Mega-Deals and the Rise of Innovative Models

While the listed markets take a breather, private equity in healthcare is experiencing a significant resurgence. The third quarter of 2025 was marked by several major transactions, including CapVest's acquisition of Stada for nearly $11 billion, the largest healthcare deal in Europe this year. Additionally, KKR and Stonepeak acquired Assura plc for $2 billion, Patient Square Capital took control of Premier Inc. ($2.6 billion), and Ardian Growth invested in Laboratoires Lehning (€220 million).

This momentum confirms the central role of private equity in funding healthcare innovation. Investors are turning to rapidly transforming sectors, notably group purchasing services, health tech, and care pathway optimization platforms. The accelerated digitization of the sector is creating new models that combine operational efficiency, data, and diagnostic improvement.

The Observatory also notes that healthcare represents:
– 5% of real estate markets,
– 10% of stock markets,
– 20% of private equity deals.

This cross-sector presence makes it a vital industry, both defensive, structural, and growth-driving.

To ensure analytical rigor, Euryale Lab relies on an independent scientific committee, which includes Claude Évin, Pierre Sabatier, Jean-Loup Durousset, Christian Deleuze, Jean-Jacques Zambrowski, Jean Dautry, and Géraldine Farjot. This committee, meeting twice a year, provides a comprehensive perspective involving medical, institutional, economic, and academic experts, helping to illuminate major issues: aging, dependency, budgetary pressure, and innovation.

By consolidating this data, the Health 360° Observatory now offers investors a quarterly compass capable of decoding trends in a sector that, despite cycles, remains one of the most resilient and strategic in the European economy.