Intuitive Surgical (ISRG +2.04%) makes the da Vinci surgical robot. It is a leader in the surgical robotics niche of the broader healthcare sector. The company has been growing rapidly, with its installed base of robots increasing 12% in 2025, to 11,106 systems. The installed base grew to 11,395 in the first quarter of 2026.
Wall Street has rewarded the medical device company for its growth, with the stock up over 400% over the past decade. However, it goes through frequent and deep drawdowns, which could be an opportunity for investors right now.
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Intuitive Surgical is building a cash-flow machine
The big story with Intuitive Surgical isn't actually da Vinci robot sales. That segment of the business only accounts for around 25% of the top line. The big story is the sale of services, instruments, and accessories. Those are annuity-like revenue streams that grow with each new robot that gets installed. The flywheel here is very powerful, given the strong demand for robotic surgery. In the first quarter of 2026, there were 12% more da Vinci systems in place, but 17% more surgeries performed with da Vinci systems.
Investors are clearly aware of the long-term opportunity, given the stock's price advance over the past decade. But, as an aggressive growth stock, it goes through swings. Right now, the shares are experiencing a deep drawdown, with the stock off more than 30% from its all-time highs. That said, this is the third drawdown of at least that magnitude since 2020. It has experienced eight drawdowns of this magnitude since its IPO. Each time it has recovered and gone on to reach new highs.
NASDAQ: ISRG
Key Data Points
Notably, the average price-to-earnings ratio over the past five years is around 69x while the current P/E ratio is roughly 49x. It is an expensive stock and won't likely interest value investors. However, it is cheap relative to its own history. And each time the stock has pulled back as it has just done, it has eventually gone on to new highs. If you are an aggressive growth investor, it could still be a no-brainer buying opportunity.
Intuitive Surgical isn't for the faint of heart
To be fair, the deepest drawdown in Intuitive Surgical's history was a punishing 82%. So there's no reason this drawdown couldn't continue. However, that decline was early in the company's history. Its business is far more developed now, and it is generating strong recurring revenue from the sale of services, instruments, and accessories. Given the history here, more aggressive investors may want to risk buying Intuitive Surgical, expecting that Wall Street will again see the long-term opportunity in the reliable cash flow machine this highly focused and growth-oriented healthcare company is building.
