Why Intuitive Surgical Stock Dropped This Week
Key Points
Intuitive Surgical posted strong sales and profit gains in the second quarter.
But management issued a tepid forecast for the rest of 2026.
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Shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) fell this past week on concerns that the robotic surgery leader's growth is slowing.
Image source: Intuitive Surgical.
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Solid Q2 results
Intuitive saw a 16% year-over-year rise in worldwide procedures in the second quarter. Procedures with its da Vinci robotic surgical platform rose 15%, while procedures with its Ion robotic-assisted platform for minimally invasive lung biopsies surged 36%.
Intuitive placed 468 da Vinci and 55 Ion systems during the quarter. That contributed to a 12% increase in Intuitive's da Vinci installed base to 11,710 systems and a 21% jump in its Ion installed base to 1,096 systems.
In all, Intuitive's revenue climbed 19% to $2.9 billion, driven by higher system leasing fees and sales of instruments and accessories.
The robotic technology pioneer's adjusted net income, in turn, grew 25% to $1 billion, or $2.80 per share. That topped Wall Street's estimates, which had called for per-share profits of $2.50.
Intuitive's outlook indicates a slower pace of expansion
Yet investors appeared to focus more on Intuitive's guidance for the second half of 2026.
Management sees worldwide da Vinci procedure growth at the midpoint of its previously issued range of 13.5% to 15.5%. By besting expectations in the second quarter and not raising its full-year guidance, Intuitive is essentially forecasting slower growth for the rest of the year.
Wall Street responded with multiple price target cuts for Intuitive's stock, and many investors decided to sell their shares.
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Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.
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