Is This Robotics Firm a Giant In The Making?

Inside operating rooms across the globe, a revolution has been underway, one led by Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG).

Over the past five years, the company has more than doubled its profits, yet many argue that it’s still in the early innings of growth.

Key Points

• Intuitive Surgical has more than doubled profits in five years.

• The telesurgery market is projected to triple by 2030, with AI expected to further expand efficiency and access to care.

• Gross margins are holding just under 70% and robotic surgery volumes growing faster than global surgical demand.

Why Intuitive Is So Crucial

Intuitive is the pioneer behind the da Vinci surgical system, a robotic platform designed to help surgeons perform delicate and complex operations with greater precision.

The benefits are straightforward but profound, smaller incisions, reduced blood loss, shorter hospital stays, and faster recoveries for patients.

For hospitals, those outcomes can translate into lower complication rates and higher capacity, a win-win equation that makes adoption appealing despite the steep price tag.

As of June 2025, there were over 10,400 da Vinci systems installed worldwide, a 14% increase year over year.

More telling, procedure volume, the heartbeat of Intuitive’s recurring revenue, climbed again in the latest quarter.

The Next Frontier Is Telesurgery

If telehealth redefined primary care, telesurgery may well transform surgical medicine.

Earlier this year, Intuitive showcased a remarkable demonstration whereby two surgeons, one in Georgia and another in France, collaborated in real time on a simulated procedure using the company’s latest da Vinci 5 platform.

This wasn’t science fiction. It was a glimpse of how technology might address one of healthcare’s biggest inequities, access.

Imagine a world where patients in underserved regions can receive specialized surgical care without leaving their community hospital.

The telesurgery market, valued at just $2 billion in 2023, is projected to nearly 3x to $6 billion by 2030.

Business Strength Beneath the Surface

Intuitive has a strength in operating leverage that few realize. Over the last five years, the net income has grown faster than sales, signaling that as procedure volumes scale, profitability scales even more.

Even with tariffs creating a one-point drag on margins, management still expects gross margins to hold in the enviable 66%–67% range.

In addition, Intuitive’s systems carry not just upfront costs, often $2 million-plus per machine, but also a razor-and-blade model where hospitals pay for instruments, accessories, and service contracts.

That recurring stream now represents over three quarters of revenue, a level of predictability most medtech peers would envy.

What About the Stock?

Intuitive rarely looks “cheap.” Even after a double-digit percentage drop this year and a 52-week low, the shares still trade at over 60x trailing earnings and nearly 50x forward estimates. Skeptics will note that’s a rich price tag in a rising-rate environment.

But zoom out. Over the past decade, the stock has returned nearly 8x and that wasn’t driven by hype but by steadily expanding adoption curves, improving margins, and widening moats.

For perspective, global surgical volumes are expected to grow roughly 4% annually through 2030, yet robotic procedures are forecast to grow at a double-digit pace.

So, What Now?

Intuitive Surgical isn’t a quick trade but a long-horizon bet on the future of surgery. Yes, tariffs nibble at margins, and the valuation requires patience but when you consider the blend of scale, recurring revenue, and frontier opportunities like telesurgery and AI-enhanced robotics, the company checks boxes that few in healthcare can match.

If your investment horizon spans the next decade rather than the next quarter, Intuitive Surgical deserves a hard look.