Intuitive Beats Expectations Despite COVID-19 Challenges

Intuitive Surgical managed to beat earnings expectations despite disruptions caused by the Omicron variants. The Sunnyvale, CA-based company came out with quarterly earnings of $1.30 per share vs earnings of $1.19 per share a year ago.  

The company said that worldwide da Vinci procedures increased about 19% compared with 4Q20, driven primarily by growth in U.S. general surgery procedures and growth in OU.S. markets.

Intuitive Surgical said that 4Q20 reflected significant disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 4Q21 reflected a COVID-19 resurgence later in the quarter, which also impacted our procedures. The compound annual growth rate between 4Q19 and 4Q21 was about 13%.

Ryan Zimmerman, an analyst with BTIG, wrote that Intuitive was still in a significant position in the surgical robotics space.

“We love the long-term potential of robotic surgery,” Zimmerman wrote in research notes. “We see Intuitive Surgical as the clear leader in the space with new product cycles, sustainable growth even in the midst of COVID, and strong operating leverage in outer years. We think COVID has put a spotlight on computer-aided surgery given the benefits afforded to clinical outcomes, which will help continue to drive adoption over time. At ~67x NTM EPS, and with expenses growing meaningfully in FY21 and beyond, we would wait for the shares to come back down to a more attractive entry point.”