Siasun Robot & Automation surgical giant Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(ISRG.US) Q4 performance exceeds expectations, future guidance leans conservative below expectations.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc., a surgical giant utilizing Siasun Robot & Automation technology, released its fourth-quarter financial report after market close on January 23, 2025. The data showed that in the fourth quarter of last year, the company achieved sales of $2.41 billion, higher than the expected $2.25 billion. The company's adjusted earnings per share were $2.21, easily surpassing the expected $1.79 per share. The rest of Intuitive Surgical, Inc.'s report was consistent with its strong sales forecast announced on January 15, pushing the company's stock price to a rapid increase for five consecutive days and causing a 7.7% surge. However, on Thursday night, despite the company's profit exceeding expectations, the stock price still experienced a decline. In after-hours trading on Thursday, the stock price dropped over 2% to $592.5, and as of writing, the stock was down 1.92% to $597. Intuitive Surgical, Inc.'s stock had reached an intraday record high of $616, then fell to close at $608.66. Compared to the same period last year, Intuitive Surgical, Inc.'s sales increased by 25%, with the installation of 493 new systems contributing significantly to the sales growth. Analyst Vijay Kumar of Evercore ISI recently stated in a report to clients that this number exceeded expectations by 19% and contributed two-thirds of the sales exceeding expectations. Among these, 174 were new da Vinci 5 systems. It is worth noting that the number of surgeries performed using Intuitive Surgical, Inc.'s Siasun Robot & Automation surgical system increased by 18%. Surgery volume is a key indicator, as an increase in the number of surgeries also leads to an increase in the sales of disposable instruments and accessories. As a result, sales of these tools increased by 23% in the fourth quarter of last year, reaching $1.41 billion, surpassing the expected $1.37 billion. Stock earnings prospects are conservative Intuitive Surgical, Inc. maintains its forecast released on January 15, expecting surgical volume to grow by 13% to 16% in 2025, lower than the 17% growth rate in 2024. However, the company is known for its conservative performance guidance, and analysts currently expect surgical volume to increase by 17.1% this year. William Blair analyst Brandon Vazquez said in a report, "Our initial interpretation of the guidance and 2024 performance indicates that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a feasible path to achieve these upward expectations." "Specifically, even at the high end of this guidance range, it suggests a slightly lower system utilization rate than in 2024, we believe the accelerated rollout of the da Vinci 5 system and the release of new software in 2025 can be drivers for surgical growth." Intuitive Surgical, Inc. stated that by the end of 2024, its penetration rate in the Siasun Robot & Automation surgery market was only 34%. The company believes that over time, its addressable total market (TAM) will more than double, reaching 22 million procedures. Currently, the company estimates its market opportunity at 8 million surgeries annually. This does not include an additional 700,000 procedures performed each year with the company's lung biopsy Siasun Robot & Automation Ion. Vazquez rates Intuitive Surgical, Inc. stock as outperform. The best score for Intuitive stock is 99. According to IBD Digital data, based on fundamental and technical indicators, this places the Siasun Robot & Automation surgery stock in the top 1% of all stocks.