So, here's the thing about robotic surgery: it's not just a cool tech story anymore. It's a business that's growing, and Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) just showed how well that business is doing. The company reported its first-quarter 2026 results after the market closed on Tuesday, and the numbers were solid.
Let's get straight to the good stuff. Intuitive Surgical posted revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter. That beat what the analysts were expecting, which was around $2.62 billion, according to market data. On the bottom line, adjusted earnings came in at $2.50 per share, also topping the estimate of $2.10 per share. So, a double beat. Nice.
What's driving this? Well, total revenue jumped 23% compared to the same quarter last year. The company says it's seeing growth in procedure volume, more placements of its da Vinci systems, and an expanding installed base of its da Vinci and Ion systems. Basically, more robots are going into hospitals, and those robots are being used more often.
Breaking it down a bit: revenue from instruments and accessories—the stuff that gets used up during surgeries—was $1.69 billion, up from $1.37 billion a year ago. Revenue from the systems themselves was $651 million, up from $523 million. Worldwide procedures grew by about 17% year-over-year. And the company placed 431 da Vinci surgical systems this quarter, compared to 367 in the prior year's quarter. The total installed base of da Vinci systems now stands at 11,395 as of March 31.
On the financial management side, Intuitive Surgical bought back 2.3 million shares of its own stock during the quarter. It also finished the period with a hefty $7.98 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments. That's a lot of dry powder.
"We are pleased with company performance this quarter, which was marked by expanded adoption of our da Vinci, Ion, and digital platforms," said Dave Rosa, CEO of Intuitive Surgical. "We remain deeply committed to supporting customers globally in their pursuit of the quintuple aim: achieving better patient outcomes, improving patient and care team experiences, lowering the total cost to treat, and expanding access to high-quality, minimally invasive care."
Looking ahead, the company is feeling confident enough to nudge its guidance higher. It now expects full-year 2026 worldwide da Vinci procedures to increase by about 13.5% to 15.5%. That's up from its prior guidance of 13% to 15%. For gross profit margin in 2026, it's projecting a range of 67.5% to 68.5% of revenue, compared to 67.6% in 2025. Company executives will dive deeper into all of this on an earnings call scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.
As for the stock's immediate reaction? Intuitive Surgical shares were down a slight 0.33% in after-hours trading on Tuesday, sitting at $449.80 at the time of publication, according to market data. Sometimes the market takes a beat to digest even good news.
.jpeg)
