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Intuitive Surgical

NASDAQ: ISRG · USD

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Economic Moat Analysis—

Avantages concurrentiels, preuves datées et risques d’érosion.

Analyse à actualiser

Narrow avantage concurrentiel

The passages support a narrow installed-base advantage reinforced by repeat instrument and service demand and penalties for exiting fixed-payment leases. Growing procedures and recurring revenue demonstrate current customer engagement, but cancellable usage-based leases limit contractual protection. Realized revenue per procedure and system ASP benefited from product mix; broad pricing power and exceptional durability remain unproven.

Switching costs

Fixed-payment lease exit penalties create demonstrated financial switching friction, while growing instrument, service and operating lease revenue supports an installed-base relationship with repeat demand. These disclosures support a bounded advantage rather than proof that customers cannot switch platforms.

Durabilité
Lease terms generally extend from 12 to 84 months, and non-cancellable operating lease payments totaled $1,100.9 million at December 31, 2025. Recurring revenue growth continued through June 2026. Protection beyond contractual terms is less established because renewal rates, retraining costs and competitive replacement outcomes are absent.
Concurrents
CMR Surgical Ltd., Distalmotion SA, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic plc, Medicaroid Corporation, Noah Medical Corporation
Risques d’érosion
Customers can exit usage-based arrangements early, and utilization risk remains with Intuitive. Third parties already offer modified instruments extending labeled life. Named robotic competitors include both product introducers and prospective entrants, without company-specific competitive outcomes. Reimbursement limits, hospital purchasing pressure and service-related litigation could weaken monetization. Favorable product mix demonstrates realized revenue improvement but does not establish unrestricted repricing.
Ce qui invaliderait la thèse
The advantage would be undermined by sustained declines in instrument and service demand per installed system, material usage-based cancellations or lease-asset losses, widespread replacement by competing platforms, or legal changes enabling third-party servicing and instruments that materially reduce repeat revenue. Continued growth driven solely by new placements while existing-customer utilization and renewals deteriorate would also contradict the dependency thesis.
Preuves (7) · Contre-preuves (8)

Évolution depuis la dernière analyse

  • Retain the previous narrow verdict, with explicit differentiation between penalized fixed-payment exits and cancellable usage-based arrangements.
  • Pricing is now assessable from observed mix-driven increases in system ASP and instrument revenue per procedure, although like-for-like pricing power remains unproven.
  • Add actual PSU grants and vesting, ownership-guideline compliance, governance practices, and cash deployment evidence to assess management.
  • Recognize the favorable SIS trial outcome alongside its disclosed appeal; allegations alone do not establish misconduct or realized moat erosion.

Limites de l’analyse

  • Assessment uses only supplied passages. Source dates retain dateKind filed; the latest supplied operating report was filed July 21, 2026. Later developments are unestablished.
  • Named company coverage combines introduced products and announced entry. It does not establish each company's commercialization status, comparative performance, market share or realized displacement of Intuitive.
  • Repeat demand and customer dependency are assessed indirectly from procedures, recurring revenue and contractual friction. Cohort retention, renewal rates, switching expenditures and competitive replacement data are absent.
  • Issuer operating disclosures support current advantages, but ecosystem differentiation and clinical superiority are not independently demonstrated here. Network effects, relative cost advantage, efficient scale and durable intellectual-property exclusion are unestablished.
  • Product mix affects observed monetization and ASP; like-for-like price changes, discounting, repricing clauses and price elasticity are missing. Margin improvement includes tariff refunds and cost effects.
  • Proxy passages establish existing policies and ownership-guideline compliance, but complete beneficial ownership and compensation tables are absent. Some qualifying ownership includes time-vesting awards. Proposed plan amendments are not treated as adopted merely because they appear in the proxy.
  • Supplied litigation passages establish a favorable trial outcome and an appeal, but do not establish the appeal's eventual disposition or resolution of other complaints.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse

Ratios calculés à partir des publications annuelles. Une valeur manquante reste indisponible. Les graphiques détaillés sont accessibles dans les autres onglets.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse
PériodeGross marginOperating marginROICFCF margin
202169.3%31.9%—30.4%
202267.4%25.3%—15.4%
202366.4%24.8%—10.5%
202467.5%28.1%—15.6%
202566.0%29.3%—24.7%

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Données vérifiées insuffisantes pour attribuer un score.

Management—

Données vérifiées insuffisantes pour attribuer un score.

Sources et méthode

Analyse à actualiser · Mis à jour 18/10/2026 · Version 6

Interprétation IA fondée sur des extraits vérifiés. Les déclarations de l’entreprise et les limites de couverture restent explicites.

Méthode quality-scores-2 : six catégories de même poids. Le score global exige une couverture complète. Les données manquantes ne valent pas zéro. Les évaluations qualitatives sont des interprétations sourcées, pas des probabilités. 1/6 · 22/10/2026

Moat—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Prévisibilité94

Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.

Nondeclining revenue years (%)
100.00
Revenue growth volatility (pp)
4.23
Positive FCF years (%)
100.00
FCF margin volatility (pp)
7.19

Solidité financière—

Missing required inputs: debtFcfGrade, netDebtEbitGrade, interestCoverageGrade. Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.

currentRatioGrade
100.00
Current ratio (x)
4.87

Allocation du capital—

Missing required inputs: operatingReturn. Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.

3-year average dilution (%)
0.12
3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
8.09
cashConversionGrade
65.13

Qualité du management—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Preuves

Customers generally do not have the right to exit or terminate a fixed-payment lease without incurring a penalty.

MD&A / fixed-payment lease termination penalties · Dépôt 21/07/2026

Leases have terms that generally range from 12 to 84 months and are usually collateralized by a security interest in the underlying assets.

Lease accounting / customer lease duration and collateral · Dépôt 03/02/2026

Future lease payments (excluding non-lease elements and contingent payments related to usage-based arrangements) related to the non-cancellable portion of operating leases as of December 31, 2025, are as follows (in millions): Fiscal Year Amount 2026 $ 326.1 2027 269.7 2028 208.6 2029 151.1 2030 83.5 2031 and thereafter 61.9 Total $ 1,100.9 Lessee Information The Company enters into operating leases primarily for real estate, automobiles, and certain equipment.

Lessor disclosures / non-cancellable operating lease payment schedule · Dépôt 03/02/2026

Recurring revenue during the periods presented was as follows: Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Instruments and accessories revenue $ 1,734.9 $ 1,474.1 $ 3,421.3 $ 2,841.8 Service revenue 472.4 391.2 906.1 754.2 Operating lease revenue 261.8 213.8 512.0 409.0 Total recurring revenue $ 2,469.1 $ 2,079.1 $ 4,839.4 $ 4,005.0 % of Total revenue 85% 85% 85% 85% 40 Gross Profit Product Our product gross profit during the periods presented was as follows (dollars in millions): Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 2025 $ Change % Change 2026 2025 $ Change % Change Product gross profit (1) $ 1,642.9 $ 1,362.6 $ 280.3 21% $3,200.0 $2,582.3 $ 617.7 24% Product gross profit margin 67.9% 66.5% 67.3% 65.6% ________ (1) Includes the following expenses: Share-based compensation $ 28.8 $ 30.3 $ (1.5) (5)% $58.1 $60.5 $ (2.4) (4)% Intangible asset amortization $ 20.0 $ 2.3 $ 17.7 770% $25.8 $4.5 $ 21.3 473% Product gross profit margin increased for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2025, primarily driven by IEEPA tariff refunds, lower logistics costs, and fixed overhead leverage, partially offset by higher intangible asset amortization.

MD&A / recurring revenue and product gross profit results · Dépôt 21/07/2026

The increase in instruments and accessories revenue was primarily driven by approximately 15% higher da Vinci procedure volume, approximately 36% higher Ion procedure volume, and higher da Vinci instruments and accessories revenue per procedure, driven by the da Vinci 5 and da Vinci SP instruments and accessories mix.

MD&A / procedure growth and instrument revenue per procedure · Dépôt 21/07/2026

Service revenue increased by 20% to $906 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $754 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025.

MD&A / six-month service revenue results · Dépôt 21/07/2026

The increase in service revenue was primarily driven by a larger installed base of systems producing service revenue and favorable product mix, particularly from da Vinci 5 surgical system placements.

MD&A / issuer attribution of service growth to installed base and product mix · Dépôt 21/07/2026

However, because of the variability in revenue recognized for usage-based lease arrangements, including our customers’ ability to exit or cancel those arrangements prior to the end of the lease term, there is no guarantee that we will recuperate the cost of the usage-based leased system, which, in turn, could adversely impact our gross profit margins if utilization of those systems is different from our expectations.

MD&A / usage-based cancellation rights and system cost recovery risk · Dépôt 21/07/2026

Third parties have offered, and may continue to offer, instruments that have been modified to support the use of some of our limited-use instruments beyond their labeled life.

Risk factors / existing third-party modified instrument offerings · Dépôt 03/02/2026

Companies that have introduced products in the field of robotic-assisted medical procedures, or have made explicit statements about their efforts to enter the field, include, but are not limited to, the following: Beijing Surgerii Robotics Company Limited; CMR Surgical Ltd.; Distalmotion SA; Harbin Sizhe Rui Intelligent Medical Equipment Co., Ltd.; Johnson & Johnson; Karl Storz SE & Co.

MD&A / companies introducing robotic products or announcing entry · Dépôt 21/07/2026

KG; Medicaroid Corporation; Medtronic plc; meerecompany Inc.; Noah Medical Corporation; Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Ltd.; Shanghai Microport Medbot (Group) Co., Ltd.; Shenzhen Edge Medical Co., Ltd.; and SS Innovations International, Inc.

MD&A / continuation of named robotic company coverage · Dépôt 21/07/2026

We cannot assure you that the rollout of the NHSA unified national framework or future actions by provincial or national healthcare agencies will not result in further pricing limits or pressures, which could have a material impact on procedure volumes and our instruments and accessories revenue in China.

MD&A / potential China reimbursement pricing pressures · Dépôt 21/07/2026

Numerous initiatives and reforms by legislators, regulators, and third-party payers to curb the rising cost of healthcare have catalyzed a consolidation of aggregate purchasing power within the markets in which we sell our products.

Risk factors / consolidation of healthcare purchasing power · Dépôt 03/02/2026

Three class action complaints were filed against the Company in the Northern District of California Court alleging antitrust allegations relating to the service and repair of certain instruments manufactured by the Company.

Legal proceedings / service and instrument repair antitrust complaints · Dépôt 03/02/2026

Impacts from inflationary pressures could be more pronounced and materially adversely impact aspects of our business where revenue streams and cost commitments are linked to contractual agreements that extend further into the future, as we may not be able to quickly or easily adjust pricing, reduce costs, or implement countermeasures.

Risk factors / difficulty adjusting pricing under longer contractual agreements · Dépôt 03/02/2026

As of the date of this report, the limits that have been implemented have not had a material impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations, as only a small portion of our installed base in China is currently located in impacted provinces.

MD&A / implemented China limits had no material impact as of the report date · Dépôt 21/07/2026

The higher first quarter 2026 ASP was largely driven by favorable product mix, including from da Vinci 5 sales, partially offset by an unfavorable geographical mix.

MD&A / realized first-quarter system ASP improvement and mix attribution · Dépôt 22/04/2026

For these usage-based lease arrangements, the lease fee is generally billed monthly in arrears based on a contractual per-use fee where usage is generally defined as the number of procedures performed with the system.

Lease accounting / contractual per-procedure usage fees · Dépôt 03/02/2026

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED) Six Months Ended June 30, in millions 2026 2025 Operating activities: Net income $ 1,649.2 $ 1,367.9 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and loss on disposal of property, plant, and equipment 371.2 289.6 Amortization of intangible and other assets 59.9 24.4 Accretion of discounts, amortization of premiums, and (gains) losses on investments, net (19.0) (27.4) Gain on sale of business and assets (7.9) — Deferred income taxes 370.3 (29.4) Share-based compensation expense 419.4 381.4 Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions: Accounts receivable (49.8) (44.1) Inventory (514.6) (494.2) Prepaids and other assets (179.0) (141.8) Accounts payable 21.4 72.4 Accrued compensation and employee benefits (229.7) (114.9) Deferred revenue 44.7 48.8 Other liabilities 36.8 (35.7) Net cash provided by operating activities 1,972.9 1,297.0 Investing activities: Purchase of investments (1,349.1) (691.8) Proceeds from sales of investments 0.1 249.1 Proceeds from maturities of investments 1,106.0 1,190.0 Proceeds from sale of assets 46.0 — Purchase of property, plant, and equipment (215.9) (271.9) Acquisition of business, net of cash, and intellectual property and other investing activities (528.2) (1.2) Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (941.1) 474.2 Financing activities: Proceeds from issuance of common stock relating to employee stock plans 187.4 183.7 Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards (365.4) (386.3) Repurchase of common stock (1,443.5) (181.0) Other financing activities (20.1) — Net cash used in financing activities (1,641.6) (383.6) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash 8.1 (3.5) Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash (601.7) 1,384.1 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period 3,407.4 2,062.4 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period $ 2,805.7 $ 3,446.5 Supplemental and non-cash disclosures: Equipment transfers, including operating lease assets, from inventory to property, plant, and equipment $ 419.3 $ 357.2 Acquisition of property, plant, and equipment in accounts payable and accrued liabilities 68.8 74.8 Unsettled common stock repurchases in accrued liabilities 63.5 — The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).

Unaudited cash flow statement / operating cash generation, investment and financing spending · Dépôt 21/07/2026

•As of June 30, 2026, we had $8.63 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, compared to $9.03 billion as of December 31, 2025.

MD&A / cash, cash equivalents and investments · Dépôt 21/07/2026

Common stock, 600.0 shares authorized, $0.001 par value, 353.9 shares and 355.1 shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2026, and December 31, 2025, respectively

Balance sheet / common shares outstanding at June 2026 and December 2025 · Dépôt 21/07/2026

Performance Stock Units The Company grants performance stock units (“PSUs”) to officers and other key employees subject to three-year cliff vesting and pre-established, quantitative goals.

Share-based compensation / actual PSU grants and three-year vesting terms · Dépôt 21/07/2026

The 2023 PSU awards vested in the first quarter of 2026.

Share-based compensation / completed vesting of 2023 PSU awards · Dépôt 21/07/2026

The 2025 PSU grant metrics are focused on relative adjusted operating margin as compared to selected peers, da Vinci and Ion procedure growth in 2026 compared to 2024, and da Vinci and Ion procedure growth in 2027 compared to 2024.

Share-based compensation / 2025 PSU performance metrics · Dépôt 21/07/2026

Each of the individuals subject to the Officer Minimum Ownership Requirement met the guidelines as of December 31, 2025.

Executive compensation / actual compliance with officer ownership guidelines · Dépôt 13/03/2026

For purposes of determining stock ownership levels, the following forms of equity interests are included: (i) shares owned outright by the CEO, President, or Executive Vice President or by his or her spouse or children sharing the same household; (ii) shares held in trust for the benefit of the CEO, President, or Executive Vice President or for the benefit of his or her spouse or children sharing the same household; (iii) shares held through a fund or other entity as to which the CEO, President, or Executive Vice President has control; (iv) common stock, stock units, or other stock equivalents obtained through the exercise of stock options or vesting of Company equity awards; and (v) shares of common stock underlying outstanding restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards, in each case, that vest solely based on the passage of time or where the performance goals have been achieved.

Executive compensation / equity interests counted toward ownership guidelines · Dépôt 13/03/2026

•Strong Board independence (8 out of 10 director nominees are independent) •Lead independent director •Executive Chair and CEO positions are separate •100% of Board committee members are independent •All directors stand for election annually for one-year terms •Majority voting and director resignation policy in uncontested director elections •Newly revised and comprehensive Code of Business Conduct and Ethics •Proactive Board oversight of enterprise risks and risk management program •Bylaws provide for proxy access for stockholders •Single class of stock with equal voting rights •Robust stock ownership requirements for directors and executive officers •Stockholder right to call a special meeting •Simple majority vote for charter and bylaw amendments •Prohibition on transactions involving hedging, pledging, or short sales under our Insider Trading Policy Stockholder Engagement We value the opinions of our stockholders and remain committed to engaging with our investors in ongoing, constructive dialogue.

Corporate governance / disclosed governance practices and director nominees · Dépôt 13/03/2026

We have a Clawback Policy that complies with the SEC and Nasdaq listing standards and provides that the Company shall recover certain erroneously paid incentive-based compensation, including cash incentive or performance-vesting equity compensation of our current and former executive officers in the event that the Company is required to prepare an accounting restatement.

Corporate governance / existing incentive compensation clawback policy · Dépôt 13/03/2026

Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.

Independent auditor report / effective internal control opinion at December 31, 2025 · Dépôt 03/02/2026

On January 28, 2025, after the close of both plaintiff’s and Intuitive’s cases in chief, the Court found in Intuitive’s favor on all of SIS’s antitrust claims and stayed Intuitive’s counterclaims.

Legal proceedings / January 2025 trial outcome on SIS antitrust claims · Dépôt 03/02/2026

On February 27, 2025, SIS filed a Notice of Appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Legal proceedings / February 2025 notice of appeal · Dépôt 03/02/2026

•As of June 30, 2026, we had an Ion system installed base of approximately 1,096 systems, an increase of 21% compared to an installed base of approximately 905 systems as of June 30, 2025.

MD&A / June 2026 Ion installed-base growth · Dépôt 21/07/2026

Historique des publications

Historique des publications
VersionMis à jourAvantage concurrentiel
622/10/2026narrow
519/10/2026narrow
418/10/2026narrow
318/10/2026narrow
218/10/2026narrow
118/10/2026Indisponible

Sources

Méthode et limites de l’analyse · Comprendre ce concept