Intuitive Surgical stock: Q3 growth meets $450 million charge

Intuitive Surgical reported strong third-quarter growth on October 20, 2026, but a proposed antitrust settlement reduced reported earnings. Revenue for the quarter ended September 30 reached 3.05 billion US dollars, up 22% from 2.51 billion US dollars a year earlier, according to the company's third-quarter earnings release.

Procedure growth supports revenue

Worldwide procedures using da Vinci and Ion systems increased about 15% year over year. Da Vinci procedures rose about 14%, while Ion procedures climbed about 31%. The company placed 546 da Vinci systems, compared with 427 in the year-earlier quarter, including 315 da Vinci 5 systems versus 240 previously.

Instruments and accessories revenue increased 18% to 1.80 billion US dollars. Systems revenue reached 769 million US dollars, up from 590 million US dollars, while services revenue rose to 482 million US dollars from 396 million US dollars. Intuitive said higher procedure volume, operating lease revenue and a larger installed base drove the increase.

Settlement weighs on reported profit

GAAP net income attributable to Intuitive Surgical fell to 523 million US dollars, or 1.49 US dollars per diluted share, from 704 million US dollars, or 1.95 US dollars, in the third quarter of 2025. The result included a 450 million US dollar pretax charge tied to a proposed settlement of previously disclosed antitrust litigation. The after-tax expense was 347 million US dollars, or 0.99 US dollars per diluted share.

On a non-GAAP basis, net income rose to 1.05 billion US dollars, or 3.00 US dollars per diluted share, from 867 million US dollars, or 2.40 US dollars, a year earlier. Intuitive also recorded a 22 million US dollar after-tax benefit from refunds for earlier tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The settlement includes a one-time payment and agreed injunctive relief, without an admission of liability or wrongdoing, and remains subject to court approval.

Outlook keeps adoption central

Management expects worldwide da Vinci procedure growth of 14% to 15% for 2026 and said it expects performance near the midpoint of that range. The company also forecasts a 2026 non-GAAP gross margin of 68.7% to 69.3% and operating expense growth of 11% to 13%, assuming tariffs currently in force remain through year-end.

Chief Executive Dave Rosa said customers performed more than 10,000 procedures per day on average during the quarter. The da Vinci installed base reached 12,094 systems at September 30, up 12% year over year, while the Ion installed base reached 1,152 systems, up 21%.

Stock and investor context

Intuitive Surgical stock traded at 404.63 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 11:11 CET on Friday, October 30, 2026. Investors are weighing recurring procedure growth and system adoption against litigation costs, tariff exposure and the need for continued investment in research and development.

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