One of the most dramatic single-stock moments I can recall on the ASX occurred yesterday. It revolved around ASX 200 blue chip share, healthcare stock, and hearing-loss pioneer Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH). Cochlear stock is an ASX staple, having first listed on our stock exchange back in 1995.
Since then, it has carved out a reputation as being one of the ASX 200's most reliable blue chips, with a leading position in the global hearing loss industry. For years, investors were used to strong and steady returns from this company, resulting in it habitually trading at a lofty valuation. It was arguably the very definition of a sleep-well-at-night stock.
Well, anyone who currently owns this stock probably didn't sleep too well last night. Yesterday, we saw one of the most shocking trading updates in ASX history. Certainly in Cochlear's.
As we covered at the time, Cochlear told investors to expect the company to bring in between $290 million and $330 million in underlying net profit over the 2026 financial year. That's down from the previous guidance of $435 million to $460 million. Ouch.
This downgrade seems to be a consequence of a perfect storm of negativity for Cochlear. The company is being buffeted by supply chain challenges, in part due to the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But the company is also dealing with hospital capacity constraints and falling referrals.
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Cochlear stock crashes 40% lower: How much have investors lost?
Investors reacted with cold fury to this news yesterday. After closing at $167.94 a share on Tuesday evening, Cochlear tanked a brutal 40.71% in yesterday's trading alone to finish at just $99.58 a share.
Today, the selling has continued, with Cochlear stock down another 3.1% at the time of writing to $96.40 a share. At this pricing, the ASX 200 healthcare share has now lost 63% of its value in 2026 to date, and 63.7% over the past 12 months. Cochlear stock is also down more than 72% from the most recent record high of over $348 a share, seen back in July 2024.
To put this drop in some more context, the first time Cochlear hit $97 a share was way back in February of 2016. So, at least at this point in time, investors who bought Cochlear shares ten years ago have nothing to show for it except some dividend payments.
No doubt owners of Cochlear stock will be hoping that the company can stage a profitable comeback. But we shall have to wait and see what happens next.
At the current Cochlear stock price, this ASX 200 healthcare share has a market capitalisation of $6.41 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 18.6.
