Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) Stock Price & How to Invest

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is the dominant maker of robotic-assisted surgery systems, best known for the da Vinci platform used in minimally invasive procedures across urology, gynecology, general surgery, and other specialties. Its business model is razor-and-blade: Intuitive sells or places the large capital systems, then earns high-margin recurring revenue from the single-use instruments and accessories consumed in each procedure, plus service contracts. As the installed base of systems grows and procedure volumes rise, recurring revenue compounds. The company has expanded its platform with newer systems (including the da Vinci 5 and the Ion platform for lung biopsy), and benefits from surgeon training, hospital workflow integration, and a large library of validated procedures that create high switching costs. Intuitive went public in 2000 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

The numbers have kept compounding. Revenue reached about $10.1 billion in fiscal 2025 (from $8.35 billion in 2024) and about $11.0 billion over the trailing twelve months, with net income of about $3.1 billion, a 28% profit margin and a 34% operating margin. Q2 2026 revenue of about $2.89 billion rose roughly 18.5% year over year, and EPS of $2.80 beat the $2.50 consensus, the fourth straight quarterly beat. The share price has moved the other way: at about $429 on October 16, 2026 ISRG is down about 24% year to date and about 1% over one year, after a 52-week range of $329 to $604, as investors weighed new competition from Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson against the premium multiple. The stock has rebounded about 23% over the past three months. Intuitive remains the clear leader in surgical robotics with a wide moat, a debt-free balance sheet with about $5.2 billion of cash, and a valuation that still prices in those qualities.

ISRG trades at a premium valuation (about 49 times trailing earnings and 14 times sales as of October 2026), so any slowdown in procedure growth, system placements, or margins can compress the multiple sharply; the stock's 24% decline in 2026 despite double-digit growth shows how that can play out. Competition is intensifying as Medtronic (Hugo), Johnson & Johnson and others bring rival surgical-robotics platforms to market, and October 2026 commentary has focused on new robotics competition. Hospital capital budgets are cyclical and can defer system purchases in tight economic periods. Reimbursement changes, regulatory scrutiny of new systems, and any safety or recall issues are risks. The company is also exposed to global healthcare-spending trends, tariffs and currency, and the high valuation leaves little room for execution missteps.

30 analysts publish price targets on ISRG, averaging $478.53 against a $426.70 price as of October 2026, or +12.1%. The published targets run from $324.00 to $685.00, a wide spread, and the ratings split 26 buy, 7 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 0 raises and 8 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full ISRG forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Intuitive Surgical, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Razor-and-blade recurring revenue. Intuitive earns the majority of revenue from the single-use instruments, accessories, and service contracts consumed every time a da Vinci procedure runs, not just from selling systems. The most optimistic published target, $685.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. ISRG trades at a premium valuation (about 49 times trailing earnings and 14 times sales as of October 2026), so any slowdown in procedure growth, system placements, or margins can compress the multiple sharply; the stock's 24% decline in 2026 despite double-digit growth shows how that can play out. The most pessimistic target, $324.00, is roughly what ISRG is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on ISRG, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Yes. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) has had 2 share splits in the last 10 years:

• 3:1 on October 6, 2017, so every share held became 3 shares.
• 3:1 on October 5, 2021, so every share held became 3 shares.

A split changes the share count and the price per share and leaves the value of a holding unchanged. Someone holding $1,000 of ISRG the day before the 3:1 split held $1,000 the day after, in more shares at a proportionally lower price. Historical prices from before the date are normally shown split-adjusted, which is why a long-run chart shows no cliff.

Splits matter mainly because they make older price figures confusing to compare by hand, and because a board choosing to split is usually signalling that the price has run up far enough to feel awkward for smaller buyers. Neither is a reason to buy or sell.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Intuitive Surgical, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$11.0B
• Q2 2026 revenue growth: ~18.5% YoY
• Gross / operating margin: ~67% / ~34%
• Net income (TTM): ~$3.1B (EPS ~$8.72)
• P/E (trailing / forward): ~49x / ~35x
• Dividend: None
• Market cap: ~$152B
• Balance sheet: ~$5.2B cash, no debt

At about $429 on October 16, 2026, Intuitive trades near 49 times trailing earnings and 35 times forward earnings, cheaper than at the start of the year after a 24% share-price decline while earnings kept growing about 26%. The premium is still the central debate: bulls point to the durability of the razor-and-blade model and four straight earnings beats, while bears point to multiple-compression risk if procedure growth slows or Medtronic and J&J gain share. Q3 2026 results on October 20 carry a consensus of about $2.64 EPS on $2.91 billion of revenue.

If you want ISRG exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

These are the investment theses ISRG naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.

Other names that sit close to ISRG: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get ISRG exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (BOTZ, ROBO, ROBT), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so ISRG sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where ISRG fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is a wide-moat medtech compounder whose recurring instrument and service revenue grows with procedure volume on a large installed base. In a portfolio it behaves as a high-quality healthcare growth holding with strong margins, no debt and durable demand, balanced by a premium valuation (about 49 times trailing and 35 times forward earnings as of mid-October 2026) and rising robotics competition. Q3 2026 results on October 20 are the next test.

Whether ISRG is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is ISRG a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the ISRG stock forecast.

For income investors, whether ISRG pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does ISRG pay a dividend? And to weigh ISRG against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: ISRG vs ABB and ISRG vs ROK.