Is Intuitive Surgical’s Next Big Thing Already Here?
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Shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) have lost 17.5% over the past twelve months, while the S&P 500 has returned 9.8%. Yet the company grew its revenue by 20.5% over its last four quarters. Buyers may be overlooking one Intuitive robot that is growing much faster than the others. So which robot is it, and how far along is it?
Intuitive Surgical’s Single-Port Robot Is Growing Fastest
That system is Intuitive’s single-port robot, known as SP. Procedures using the SP grew 55% in fiscal Q3 2026, compared to 14% growth for overall da Vinci procedures and 31% for the Ion platform. Management said Intuitive placed a record 42 SP systems in the quarter, bringing the SP installed base to 487 systems. That marks a 42% increase from a year earlier.
The first sign that the SP is paying off appears in instrument sales, which matter most to Intuitive. The Instruments and Accessories segment made up 59.8% of fiscal 2025 revenue. In the quarter, da Vinci instrument revenue per procedure was about $1,860, compared to $1,800 a year earlier. Management said this rise came mainly from higher SP procedures and da Vinci 5 instruments.
How Big Is SP Within Intuitive Surgical’s Business?
The SP remains small. Its 487 systems sit within a worldwide installed base of more than 13,200 da Vinci and Ion systems. During the quarter, the SP accounted for 42 of the 546 da Vinci systems Intuitive placed. For a company of this size, the SP serves as an addition to growth rather than its main source.
The wider systems business it belongs to is growing faster than before. Systems segment revenue grew 25.8% in fiscal 2025, up from 17.0% growth in fiscal 2024. In fiscal Q3 2026, systems revenue reached $769 million, an increase of 30% from a year earlier.
The share price appears to assume less of that growth than it did a year ago. Intuitive stock traded at 12.3 times sales at the end of September 2026, compared to 16.6 times a year earlier. On November 6, 2026, the stock closed 23.6% below its highest close of the past year. Buyers still pay a large premium, though. At that November close, Intuitive traded at 13.6 times sales, compared to 3.1 times for the S&P 500. Both figures rest on the same four quarters of sales, so the move from 12.3 times to 13.6 times comes from the higher share price since September.
What Has To Go Right For Intuitive Surgical’s SP?
Management called the SP vessel sealer a key enabler for wider adoption of the SP platform, and the company plans a U.S. submission for the device in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The larger doubt centers on price. Management expects its instrument pricing actions and a policy-driven price cut in China to lower da Vinci instrument revenue per procedure by about 3% to 5% once fully implemented, holding the product mix constant. On a base of about $1,860 per procedure, that amounts to roughly $56 to $93 less per operation. Management said the shift toward the SP and the da Vinci 5 is not counted in that estimate and will add to revenue per procedure. To make up for the cut, the SP must grow fast enough alongside the da Vinci 5.
Part of that cut comes from extended-life instruments, which will roll out by country starting in the first half of 2027. Management also plans to update its estimate of the long-term opportunity in soft tissue surgery in January. The SP is already here and growing fast, but it remains a small part of the company. When Intuitive Surgical reports in January 2027, da Vinci instrument revenue per procedure will be the figure to watch.
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