Bull of the Day: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. ISRG is expected to grow earnings by the double digits in 2026 and 2027. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is still the industry leader in robotic-assisted surgery.

Intuitive Surgical is the pioneer in robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery. It manufactures and markets the da Vinci surgical system around the world.

Intuitive Surgical Beats on Earnings Again in Q4 2025

On Jan 22, 2026, Intuitive Surgical reported its fourth quarter 2025 earnings and it beat on the Zacks Consensus for the twelfth quarter in a row. Earnings were $2.53 compared to the Zacks Consensus of $2.25, for a beat of $0.28.

Worldwide procedures of both da Vinci and Ion grew about 18% year-over-year. Da Vinci procedures rose 17% and Ion procedures grew 44%.

The company placed 532 da Vinci surgical systems in the quarter, up from 493 in the fourth quarter of 2024.

It’s da Vinci surgical system installed base grew to 11,106 systems as of Dec 31, 2025, up 12% compared with 9,902 systems at the end of 2024. It grew the Ion endoluminal system installed base to 995 systems, up 24% compared with 805 systems as of Dec 31, 2024.

Fourth quarter revenue jumped 19% to $2.87 billion from $2.41 billion a year ago. It was boosted by growth in procedure volume, higher da Vinci system placements, and an increase in the installed base of systems.

Is da Vinci Procedure Growth Slowing?

Intuitive Surgical has been one of the top growth stocks for over 20 years.

For the 2026 outlook, Intuitive Surgical said that worldwide da Vinci procedure growth would be in the range of 13% to 15%. That’s below the 2025 growth of 18%.

Analysts Are Still Bullish on Intuitive Surgical for 2026

The analysts, however, liked what they saw for the fourth quarter of 2025 and are bullish on both 2026 and 2027.

Eight estimates are higher, and one lower, in the last week for 2026. It has pushed the Zacks Consensus up to $10.01 from $9.61 in that period. That’s earnings growth of 12.1% as the company made $8.93 in 2025.

2027 looks similar. Six estimates were revised higher in the last 7 days, pushing up the 2027 Zacks Consensus Estimate to $11.33 from $11.00. That’s another 13.3% earnings growth.

This is what it looks like on the 5-year price and consensus chart.

Shares of Intuitive Surgical Lag: Buying Opportunity?

Intuitive Surgical shares are up 103% over the last 5 years, beating the S&P 500 return of 87%. However, over the last year, shares have lagged the S&P 500.

Could this be a buying opportunity?

Intuitive Surgical is not a cheap stock on a price-to-earnings (P/E) basis. It has never been. You are buying it for the growth.

It trades with a forward P/E of 52, even with the shares being weak in 2026. It’s PEG ratio, which measures growth and value, isn’t any better. It’s PEG is 3.3, which is a little stretched.

But no other competitors have been able to break the lock of the da Vinci system on robotic-assisted surgery. The company continues to grow earnings in the double digits.

For investors who always wanted to buy Intuitive Surgical, this share weakness is providing an opportunity. Be sure to keep it on your watch list.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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