Intuitive Surgical Stock Jumps on Earnings. Its Newest Surgical Robot Is Going Gangbusters.

Intuitive Surgical installed 427 da Vinci surgical systems in the third quarter, up from 379 in 2024. (Courtesy Intuitive Surgical)

Key Points

• Intuitive Surgical’s third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.40 per share and revenue of $2.51 billion exceeded analyst estimates.
• The company installed 427 da Vinci surgical systems, 240 of which were the new da Vinci 5, and procedure volumes grew approximately 20%.
• Intuitive Surgical raised its full-year worldwide da Vinci procedure growth forecast to 17% to 17.5% from 15.5% to 17%.

Intuitive Surgical , which sells high-tech robots that help doctors perform surgeries, has given investors a serious case of agita this year.

There have been worries about the progress of the rollout of its new surgery robot, the da Vinci 5, and worries about competitors getting into the business of refurbishing and reselling used Intuitive parts.

In early September, Intuitive shares fell 6% in a single day after top executives sounded a bit pessimistic at an investor conference. The stock was down 11.4% this year as of the end of the session Tuesday.

Then came the big reveal: On Tuesday evening, Intuitive reported earnings for the third quarter that blasted past consensus estimates. Adjusted earnings were $2.40 a share, more than 20% better than the $1.99 FactSet consensus estimate. Revenue of $2.51 billion also beat forecasts of $2.41 billion.

The stock recouped its losses overnight and was up 15.6% as by the time the market opened on Wednesday.

The results appear to have gone a long way to address the investor worries that have clouded the year for Intuitive. The da Vinci 5 rollout appears to be going gangbusters, pushing up the procedure volumes that bring recurring revenue to the company.

Intuitive installed 427 da Vinci surgical systems in the quarter, up from 379 in the same period last year. Even better news for Intuitive: It said that 240 of the newly-placed systems were the new da Vinci 5, which it has been rolling out since last year. The company placed 110 da Vinci 5 systems in the same quarter last year.

Intuitive said the number of procedures done using its devices grew roughly 20% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts had expected procedure volume to grow by 15.7%, according to FactSet.

The company said it now expects worldwide da Vinci procedure growth in the range of 17% to 17.5% this year, up from prior guidance of 15.5% to 17%. Growth in 2024 was 17%.

Analysts tied the increase in procedure growth to the new capabilities of the da Vinci 5. “We believe DV5’s ability to offer greater surgeon autonomy can ultimately help unlock additional overnight and weekend procedures, and ultimately represent a potentially underappreciated source of durable procedure growth,” Leerink Partners analyst Mike Kratky wrote on Wednesday.

Mizuho analysts noted that uptake of the da Vinci 5 in the U.S. offset weakness in Japan, China, and the U.K. Crucially, the third-quarter print shows that the company can maintain its “bellwether medtech growth status,” which is baked into its valuation, Mizuho added.

This vote of confidence comes against the backdrop of “recent commentary that pointed toward some degree of U.S. saturation,” the firm continued. Other players are attempting to break into the market, such as privately owned Restore Robotics, which restores and sells accessories for the da Vinci system at a cheaper price.

Commentary around potential impacts from Medicaid cuts and Affordable Care Act premiums remains neutral “as the company remains open to helping customers navigate individual headwinds to increase capacity and economics by any means,” analysts wrote. “For now, the utilization increase brought on by these new systems are offsetting any capital headwinds.

Mizuho analysts reiterated a Neutral rating on Intuitive stock and raised their price target slightly to $575 from $520.

While Mizuho sounded the alarm about saturation, analysts at Truist Securities argued that Intuitive was “well positioned to sustain its innovation lead” in what they see as a large, under-penetrated total addressable market.

Tariffs are nothing to sweat over, the firm continued. Speaking at a conference last month, Intuitive’s chief financial officer indicated the tariff environment was “dynamic,” saying the levies could have a higher impact in 2026.

Truist analysts conceded tariffs pose a near-term headwind. However, “it’s a manageable one in our view that we think investors will gradually begin to look through” given Intuitive’s 20-year lead in the market for surgical robots, Truist wrote.

The firm reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and boosted its price target to $620 from $525 on higher estimates.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com