Count Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -1.35%) among the biggest healthcare losers of 2026. The medical device stock is down close to 30% year to date. Its performance was even worse. By late July, Intuitive Surgical's share price had plunged more than 40% since the beginning of the year.
Despite this dismal trajectory, Wall Street remains overwhelmingly bullish about Intuitive Surgical. Of the 32 analysts surveyed by S&P Global (SPGI +0.52%) in September, 24 rated the stock as a "buy" or "strong buy." Only one of the other eight analysts recommended selling Intuitive.
But is Wall Street dead wrong about this beaten-down stock?
Image source: Intuitive Surgical.
Several headwinds
To be sure, a stock doesn't sink as much as Intuitive Surgical has so far this year without facing some serious headwinds. Intuitive's growth is slowing, which is especially problematic for a stock trading at a forward price-to-earnings multiple over 33.
The company isn't gaining as much traction in the Chinese market as it would like. Intuitive Surgical CEO David Rosa admitted in the 2026 second-quarter earnings call that "the environment remains challenging" in China due to increased competition and government pricing policies.
Speaking of increased competition, Intuitive Surgical faces more of it elsewhere, too. After having the robotic surgical systems market to itself for years, Intuitive now must battle healthcare giants Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -1.06%), Medtronic (MDT -0.92%), and Stryker (SYK -0.90%), as well as smaller rivals.
Government actions aren't just a problem for Intuitive in China, either. The expiration of subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans in the U.S. is also impacting procedure growth for the company's da Vinci surgical robots.
Then there's the impact of GLP-1 drugs. Intuitive Surgical CFO Jamie Samath noted in the Q2 call that U.S. da Vinci bariatric procedure volumes fell by high single digits during the quarter due to increasing GLP-1 usage.
NASDAQ: ISRG
Key Data Points
My honest answer
With all of these headwinds, is Wall Street wrong to be bullish about Intuitive Surgical? My honest answer is... not at all.
Yes, the headwinds are real. However, they're not showstoppers. For example, even with Intuitive's challenges in China, the company's revenue in Asia still jumped 20% year over year in Q2. Increased competition doesn't appear to be hurting Intuitive much outside of China.
Samath said that the ACA subsidies are only having a "modest adverse impact." And the effects of GLP-1 drugs on Intuitive's business seem to be primarily limited to bariatric procedures.
Importantly, Intuitive Surgical has tailwinds that are even bigger than its tailwinds over the long run. Aging demographic trends worldwide should drive demand for robotic surgical systems. Technological advances should expand the number of procedures that can be performed with robotic assistance.
I don't always agree with analysts. But I think Wall Street is 100% right to be upbeat about this healthcare stock.
