Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG) stock analysis
Close on Nov 12, 2026Market cap $152.49BP/E 53.2Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Solid16 of 30 checks passed
Intuitive Surgical passes 16 of the 30 checks behind our score; 5 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 2/6
- Growth
- 4/6
- Past performance
- 4/6
- Financial health
- 6/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 22.6%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
No debt
Intuitive Surgical has no borrowings on its latest balance sheet.
Earnings grew over 5 years
Net income grew 21.9% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 17.4% a year over the last three fiscal years.
What to watch
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 35.5% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $449.53 is above our fair value estimate of $331.68.
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 18.0% over the last twelve months and averaged 14.9% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Earnings growth not accelerating
Net income grew 7.7% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 21.9% a year.
Valuation2/6
P/E below its 5-year median
Intuitive Surgical's P/E of 54.4 is below its own 5-year median of 70.6.
P/E above the industry
Intuitive Surgical's P/E of 54.4 is above the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median of 27.7.
EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median
Intuitive Surgical's EV/EBITDA of 46.3 is below its 5-year median of 62.2.
P/B above the industry
Intuitive Surgical's price-to-book of 9.75 is above the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median of 3.22.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $449.53 is above our fair value estimate of $331.68.
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 35.5% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Growth4/6
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 17.4% a year over the last three fiscal years.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 29.2% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth not accelerating
Net income grew 7.7% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 21.9% a year.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 20.5% over the last twelve months; the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median is 11.0%.
Guidance lowered
Intuitive Surgical lowered its the full year of 2026 Non-GAAP* operating expense growth outlook on Jul 16, 2026.
Gross margin improving
Gross margin was 67.2% over the last twelve months, against 66.4% a year earlier.
Past performance4/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 18.0% over the last twelve months and averaged 14.9% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 22.6%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
Intuitive Surgical's return on equity of 18.0% is above the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median of -31.3%.
Earnings grew over 5 years
Net income grew 21.9% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin below its 5-year average
Net margin was 25.5% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 26.5%.
Net margin above the industry
Intuitive Surgical's net margin of 25.5% is above the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median of -14.1%.
Financial health6/6
No debt
Intuitive Surgical has no borrowings on its latest balance sheet.
Debt not rising
With no debt today, leverage cannot have risen.
Debt covered by cash flow
There is no debt to cover.
Interest well covered
No meaningful interest expense to cover.
Short-term assets cover short-term debts
Current assets are 3.33 times current liabilities.
Low bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is 30.79; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
Intuitive Surgical has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$331.68
The share price is 36% above this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 45.0× | 70.6× | 27.7× | $372.15 | 47% |
| EV/EBITDA | 30.0× | 62.2× | 16.7× | $295.88 | 41% |
| P/B | 6.4× | 9.5× | 3.2× | $295.14 | 12% |
| Earnings powerleft out, too far from the others | 11.5% cost of equity | – | – | $38.10 | – |
| Fair value | $331.68 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 70.6
- Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median 27.7
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Low risk
- Average value traded per day
- $1.08B
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $600.98M
Downside
Medium risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 16.4%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 35%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- -0.74
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 1.32
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +20.5% | +17.4% | +18.2% | +15.5% | |
| Gross profit | +17.9% | +16.5% | +18.3% | +15.5% | |
| Operating income | +25.4% | +23.1% | +22.9% | +14.8% | |
| Net income | +23.0% | +29.3% | +21.9% | +17.1% | |
| EPS, diluted | +22.6% | +29.2% | +21.8% | +16.4% | |
| Free cash flow | +91.0% | +37.5% | +16.9% | +13.1% |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 14.6% | 11.8% | 16.7% | |
| Return on assets | 13.0% | 10.1% | 14.6% | |
| Current ratio | 5.45 | 6.86 | 4.87 | |
| Inventory turnover | 4.6× | 2.5× | 2.1× | |
| Capex to revenue | 2.0% | 7.8% | 5.4% | |
| Diluted shares | 354M | 361M | 363M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
Intuitive Surgical generated $10.84B from operations and spent $8.91B on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 40% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 28.4% | 0.51× | 1.14× | 16.7% |
| FY2024 | 27.8% | 0.49× | 1.15× | 15.6% |
| FY2023 | 25.2% | 0.50× | 1.17× | 14.8% |
| FY2022 | 21.3% | 0.47× | 1.16× | 11.5% |
| FY2021 | 29.9% | 0.46× | 1.14× | 15.8% |
| FY2020 | 24.3% | 0.42× | 1.16× | 11.8% |
| FY2019 | 30.8% | 0.51× | 1.18× | 18.5% |
| FY2018 | 30.3% | 0.55× | 1.19× | 19.7% |
| FY2017 | 21.4% | 0.51× | 1.16× | 12.7% |
| FY2016 | 27.3% | 0.48× | 1.13× | 14.6% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$2.86B
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$3.03B
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year15.0% → 15.2%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$3.03B vs $2.86B
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell– → –
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose4.07 → 4.87
- No dilutionShare count did not rise362M → 363M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year67.46% → 66.00%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose0.54 → 0.54
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