Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Stock Is Down 25% Year to Date. History Says Patient Investors Get Rewarded.
Key Points
Intuitive Surgical is a dominant force in robotic surgery systems.
It makes most of its money from selling servicing and supplies.
Business may be slowing a bit, but its future still looks bright.
If you're not familiar with Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG), you might want to be. Here's why. Check out its long-term track record:
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Average Annual Gain |
|---|---|
Year-to-date |
(25.48%) |
1 year |
(3.14%) |
3 years |
15.61% |
5 years |
5.3% |
10 years |
18.20% |
15 years |
16.44% |
Data source: Morningstar.com, as of Oct. 13, 2026.
As you can see, the past year has underwhelmed investors. But that's not reason to give up on the company -- because history has shown that patient investors can be well rewarded. Indeed, the stock slid some 26% in 2022, only to pop by 27% in 2023 and 55% in 2024.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Meet Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical has become an 800-pound gorilla in the realm of robotic surgical systems, with a recent market value of nearly $150 billion. Here are some eye-opening stats about it:
- It has over 11,700 robotic surgical systems installed globally -- in more than 70 countries. (And these systems generally cost more than $1 million apiece -- often much more.)
- It's growing at a good clip. In its second quarter, Intuitive placed 468 da Vinci systems, up from 395 in the year-prior quarter, and representing a total growth in its installed base of 12% year over year.
- Its second-quarter revenue jumped 19% year over year, to $2.9 billion.
If you're a dividend enthusiast, as I am, you may be disappointed to learn that Intuitive Surgical's dividend yield is, well, 0%. (I'd argue that it makes up for that loss with solid share-price appreciation over the long term.) But note that it does repurchase shares now and then, and the effect of that delivers value to shareholders, as remaining shares become more valuable. Thus, incorporating buybacks, the company recently sported a "total" yield of 2.4%.
Should you invest in Intuitive Surgical?
There are ample reasons to consider investing in Intuitive Surgical, along with a few potential concerns:
- The company has multiple ways to grow: It can (and does) introduce new or updated systems now and then, it aims to gain additional approvals for its systems to do more kinds of procedures (such as, recently bronchoscopies), and it's expanding its reach internationally.
- Its business model is sticky -- and attractive: It makes money from selling costly systems, yes, but it generates more (much more) revenue from selling servicing and supplies for those systems. And that's recurring income -- which is music to a savvy investor's ears.
- Its stock seems reasonably valued or somewhat undervalued at recent levels. Its recent forward-looking price-to-earnings ratio, for example, is 35, well below the five-year average of 52. (Both of those numbers are on the steep side, though.)
- It does face increasing competition, not only in systems, but also in accessories and instruments.
- Weight-loss drugs, now wildly popular, are likely to put pressure on robotic bariatric surgeries.
- The company's growth has cooled a bit.
I'll divulge that I'm a shareholder, myself, with no plans to sell out of this stock anytime in the foreseeable future. I'm not terribly concerned that its shares have retreated a bit. I still see further growth ahead.
Selena Maranjian has positions in Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2028 $520 calls on Intuitive Surgical and short January 2028 $530 calls on Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.