Earlier this year, Intuitive Surgical warned that supplies may be tight in the months ahead as it continues to roll out the latest iteration of its da Vinci robot. And, while the company has made some gains—installing some 110 da Vinci 5 systems in the third quarter of this year, versus 70 in the quarter prior—Intuitive held to its previous timeline, saying it plans to have production scaled up and running up for a broader launch in mid-2025.
At the same time, the need for robotic, minimally invasive operations remains high, though shortages of IV fluids in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton may end up crimping the number of elective surgeries.
Intuitive reported an 18% increase in procedure volume compared to the same three-month period in 2023—outperforming estimates—driven by a worldwide base of about 9,500 systems.
That level of demand, in addition to beating profit forecasts, helped push the company’s stock price to a record high at over $521 per share, with a gain of about 10% in the day’s trading following its earnings release.
Since first debuting the multiport da Vinci 5 this past March, with its force feedback controls, 188 units have helped perform more than 12,000 procedures, according to CEO Gary Guthart, Ph.D. Counting the aforementioned 110, Intuitive placed a total of 379 da Vinci systems, including 21 of its single-port version.
“Our five-year procedure compound annual growth rate in multi-port has been 17%, with approximately 16 million total patients treated using da Vinci multiport platforms—of which approximately 10 million were in the past five years,” Guthart said on the company’s earnings call with investors. “Manufacturing, logistics and service capability have also increased over the past several years, helping ensure availability for our customers while managing margins.”
Earlier this month, the company obtained a regulatory clearance for da Vinci 5 in South Korea, spanning urologic, gynecologic, thoracoscopic and general surgeries, among others. As to expanding elsewhere, President David Rosa said the company is currently going “back and forth in the regulatory process in Japan” and that it also turned in its technical file as part of a submission for CE mark approval in Europe during the past quarter.
In terms of revenue, Intuitive brought in $2.04 billion, for a 17% gain over last year, resulting in $565 million in net income. Instrument and accessory sales accounted for $1.26 billion—which included about 73% growth in hardware for the company’s endoluminal Ion system, used in about 25,000 robotic bronchoscopy procedures during the quarter.
“In the U.S., I think Ion is progressing well in its first indication of biopsying suspicious lung nodules,” Guthart said, adding that it should reach “double-digit prevalence in terms of total biopsy use” while the company works to obtain additional indications for the platform inside the lung.
In its projections for the remainder of this year, Intuitive said it expects to close out 2024 with between 16% and 17% annual procedure growth—however, the company said those forecasts don’t account for recent hurricane-related impacts.
On the earnings call, Intuitive also noted that the company’s vice president, treasurer and investor relations head, Brian King, had departed the company. King has been named head of finance for OccamLabs, a structural heart medtech startup based in Santa Cruz, California.