Got $10,000? This Under‑the‑Radar Medical Device Giant Could Be a Millionaire Maker by 2036.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) has a huge 64 price-to-earnings ratio. Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), a competitor in the medical device niche, has a P/E ratio of 26. There's an opportunity here for long-term investors who think in decades, not days.

The da Vinci story

The big story about Intuitive Surgical is that it is a leader in surgical robotics thanks to its da Vinci surgical systems. At the end of 2025, it had 11,106 da Vinci systems installed, up 12% year over year. That said, the number of surgeries performed by da Vinci systems rose 18% year over year. Very clearly, there is material demand for the company's robots in the medical community and among patients.

Image source: Getty Images.

The key, however, is that only about 25% of the company's revenue come from sales of new robots. The rest is derived from what amounts to parts and services. These annuity-like income streams are the real flywheel of the business, and they grow in size with each new da Vinci system sold.

There's room for Medtronic, too

That said, Intuitive Surgical stock is rather expensive at the moment. Medtronic trades at a much more attractive valuation. And, here's the important part, Medtronic has its own surgical robot called Hugo. Hugo isn't as far along as the da Vinci system, developmentally, but it is catching up. And that means there could be a significant growth opportunity ahead for Medtronic.

However, there's more to Medtronic than just the Hugo surgical robot. It is one of the world's largest and most diversified medical device companies. So there's a solid core supporting the push into surgical robotics. And there's no reason to believe that it can't find a space beside Intuitive Surgical in the fast-growing surgical robotics business. Notably, the FDA approved Hugo for use in the United States in late 2025.

You get more with Medtronic

As noted, Medtronic's business is more diversified than Intuitive Surgical's. However, you also get something else. Unlike Intuitive Surgical, Medtronic pays a dividend, offering an attractive 2.9% yield. And it is closing in on Dividend King status, with just a couple of years to go before its annual dividend increase streak hits 50 years.

A $10,000 investment in Medtronic will buy around 100 shares of the stock. As it builds out its Hugo surgical system's installed base over the next 10 years, Wall Street could start to place a higher valuation on the stock. While it may not get the rich valuation afforded to Intuitive Surgical, a rising stock price would mean buying it today gets you both income and growth.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Medtronic. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool recommends Medtronic and 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.