Intuitive Surgical: A Price Too Steep?

by

Right, Intuitive Surgical. (ISRG +1.45%) They had a good year. A really good year. Revenue up, procedures through the roof, everyone’s happily robot-assisted. Honestly, it’s almost irritating how…competent they are. Makes a girl feel inadequate. Anyway, they reported all this, and the market, predictably, decided that means it’s time to pretend reality doesn’t exist and price the stock accordingly.

Which brings us to the question: is it worth the hype? Or are we all just collectively indulging in a very expensive fantasy? I’ve been staring at the numbers, and I’m leaning heavily towards the latter. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid business. It’s just…priced like it’s about to solve world hunger.

Let’s unpack this, shall we? Because frankly, I need a distraction from my own questionable life choices.

Firing on All Cylinders (and My Patience)

Look, I can admit when a company is doing things right. Intuitive Surgical is…efficient. They’re churning out robotic surgery systems and racking up procedures at an impressive rate. Fourth quarter revenue jumped 19% to around $2.9 billion. Full year? A neat $10.1 billion. It’s almost…annoying. Like that friend who always aces everything without even trying.

Procedure volume was up 18%, which is, admittedly, good. They placed 532 da Vinci systems, bringing the total installed base to over 11,100. That’s a lot of robots. Makes you wonder if they’re plotting something. (Probably not, but a girl can dream of a robot uprising.) The CEO, Dave Rosa, was all proud about 3.1 million procedures. Honestly, it just feels like a lot of numbers at this point.

A Decelerating Growth Outlook (or the Inevitable Return to Earth)

Here’s where things get interesting. Because growth, even impressive growth, doesn’t last forever. Management is guiding for procedure growth of 13% to 15% for 2026. Which, okay, still good. But a noticeable step down from the 18% they achieved last year. It’s like watching a marathon runner slow down in the final stretch. You know they’ve done well, but the finish line is looming, and things are about to get harder.

Now, some might say, “Oh, management is always conservative.” And they’re probably right. But even if they hit that higher end of the range, the stock is still…optimistic. Dangerously so. It’s like building a house of cards on top of a bouncy castle. Fun for a while, but ultimately unsustainable.

Loading widget...

Priced for Perfection (and My Impending Existential Crisis)

As of today, Intuitive Surgical has a market cap of around $175 billion and a P/E ratio of about 63. Let that sink in for a moment. 63. That’s…a lot. It means the market is expecting them to not just continue growing, but to grow at an increasingly rapid rate. And honestly, that feels…unrealistic. It’s like asking a perfectly good toaster to suddenly become a time machine. It’s not going to happen.

So, no, I don’t think it’s a buy right now. Is it a sell? Well, that depends on your risk tolerance and how much you enjoy watching money disappear. For those who already own it, holding might be the least painful option. They’ve got a solid business, a loyal customer base, and a decent runway for international expansion. But I’d stay on the sidelines. The valuation is just…terrifying. It’s like standing too close to a volcano. You know it’s beautiful, but you also know it could erupt at any moment.

At what valuation would I be interested? Probably around 45 times earnings. Which, let’s be honest, is probably never going to happen. But a girl can dream, right?

Read More

2026-03-12 07:02