STERIS plc (STE)

Sterilization equipment and services. Read October 19, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending March 31, 2026, filed May 29, 2026. Ranked 24 of the 52 Healthcare companies read so far, by the share within reach now.

17,937 employees on average counted by segment: 12,496 in Healthcare split between medical equipment and its service work, 3,489 in contract sterilization, 837 in Life Sciences and 1,115 corporate.

The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.

What follows from the reading

Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 22% now, 34% at the end of 2027, 39% at the end of 2028, 41% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 41% desk work, 17% people work and 42% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 56% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 34% becomes checking a model's work and 8% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.

Headcount

17,937 employees as of March 31, 2026 (stated). The filing counts employees by segment, not by country; 73% of revenue is in the United States.

The filing: “Dur ing the course of fiscal 2026, we averaged approximately 18,000 employees throughout the world of which less than 12% are represented by work councils or labor unions.”

The workforce as industry patterns

What the filing says about the workforce: Average employees during fiscal 2026 by segment: Healthcare 12,496, AST 3,489, Life Sciences 837, Corporate 1,115, total 17,937; less than 12% represented by works councils or labor unions; 11,359 men and 5,662 women among other employees at March 31, 2026.

Companies read with the same leading pattern

Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

• Abbott Laboratories (ABT, 115,000 employees)18% now, 35% by 2028
• Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX, 72,000 employees)19% now, 36% by 2028
• Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX, 59,000 employees)19% now, 42% by 2028
• Stryker Corporation (SYK, 56,000 employees)19% now, 39% by 2028
• Baxter International Inc. (BAX, 37,500 employees)19% now, 37% by 2028
• Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN, 20,290 employees)19% now, 36% by 2028
• Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG, 17,021 employees)21% now, 41% by 2028

What the filing says about AI

8 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI in eight sentences, in its risk factors: reliance on platforms and tools that employ artificial intelligence, generative AI used by malicious actors for phishing and malware, and new laws and guidelines on AI use including the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.

• “In addition, we rely on networks and services, including internet sites, cloud and software-as-a-service solutions, data hosting, electronic payment systems, and processing facilities and tools and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, including some that employ artificial intelligence ("AI"), some of which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used by third-parties...”
• “For instance, generative AI and other artificial intelligence technologies may be used by malicious actors to create more targeted phishing narratives, develop sophisticated malware, spread false information about us or our products, or otherwise enhance the social engineering and attack capabilities of such malicious actors.”
• “Likewise, governments and regulatory bodies worldwide are actively developing new laws, regulations and ethical guidelines governing AI use, including the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act.”
• “Compliance with evolving and potentially inconsistent AI regulations across jurisdictions may be costly and complex.”
• “Failure to comply could result in significant penalties, restrictions on our use of AI, or reputational harm.”

Its annual reports, year by year

Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector

• Fiscal 20210median 0
• Fiscal 20220median 0
• Fiscal 20231median 1
• Fiscal 20242median 4
• Fiscal 20258median 10

Headcount by filing year

As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.

Limits of this reading

• The headcount is the filing's average for fiscal 2026 (17,937 in its table), not a count at a date; the collector's 18,000 is the rounded figure in the text.
• The Healthcare segment's count is split between equipment and service work by description.

Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001628280-26-039136, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.