{"id":5631,"date":"2022-04-04T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=5631"},"modified":"2025-11-07T11:24:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T03:24:18","slug":"intuitive-surgical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/","title":{"rendered":"How does dominated Intuitive Surgical make money?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#The_parent_company_of_Da_Vinci_Robots\" >The parent company of Da Vinci Robots<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#Its_already_subscription\" >It&#8217;s already subscription<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#How_is_the_performance\" >How is the performance?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#2021s_annual_report\" >2021&#8217;s annual report<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#What_about_competitors\" >What about competitors?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#The_versatile_Da_Vinci_robot\" >The versatile Da Vinci robot<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#The_Lord_of_patent\" >The Lord of patent<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#How_is_the_valuation\" >How is the valuation?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#How_is_the_share_price_performing\" >How is the share price performing?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_parent_company_of_Da_Vinci_Robots\"><\/span><strong>The parent company of Da Vinci Robots<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There should be no one who does not know about the Da Vinci medical surgical robot from Intuitive Surgical, right? Da Vinci Medical Surgical Robot is now more famous than this company. I mentioned this company in the preface of my book k &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.books.com.tw\/products\/0010889106?sloc=main\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mentioned this company in subsections 3-4, pages 152-153 of my book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.books.com.tw\/products\/0010935641?sloc=main\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Rules of 10 Baggers<\/a>&#8220;, when I discussed the major pharmaceutical and medical device companies in the US stock market; especially the entire subsections 5-3 , are used to introduce the company Intuitive Surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_already_subscription\"><\/span><strong>It&#8217;s already subscription<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Da Vinci medical surgical robot, the cheapest one (please note that I use the word cheapest model) costs $1.5 million. This looks like a good deal, doesn&#8217;t it? But intuitive surgery find ways to make more money. After Da Vinci&#8217;s medical surgical robot is sold to you, you will be charged for follow-up training, maintenance, and consumables; this is amazing. An estimated $500,000 per year. In particular, all its consumables are designed to be used only once, and after one surgery  is opened, all of them have to be replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proportion of surgical consumables (mainly instruments and accessories) revenue has increased from 29.8% in 2005 to 56.3% in 2020. Its robotic arm locks up forcefully after ten uses and needs to be replaced. Not only that, but the relevant consumables are designed to only use the original products of Intuitive Surgery (other medical surgical robots, some consumables are not mandatory to be supplied by the original factory), which cuts off the hospital&#8217;s efforts to use third-party low-cost The dream of reducing product costs is completely blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As far as 2022 is concerned, Around 75% of the company&#8217;s total revenue is recurring (mainly the consumables mentioned above), 75% is a high number, largely stemming from replacement instruments and accessories. This gives Intuitive a cushion that most companies don&#8217;t have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_the_performance\"><\/span><strong>How is the performance?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s how Intuitive Surgery performed in 2021:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Business index<\/td><td>Number<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Da Vinci medical surgical robot installed numbers<\/td><td>6,730<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Procedures Proceeded<\/td><td>1,594,000<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2021s_annual_report\"><\/span><strong>2021&#8217;s annual report<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td>US$ million<\/td><td>Annual growth rate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Total revenue<\/td><td>5710.1<\/td><td>+31.02%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Product revenue <\/td><td>4793.9<\/td><td>+33.74%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Service revenue<\/td><td>916.2<\/td><td>+26.58%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Gross margin rate<\/td><td>69%<\/td><td>+300 bps<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Net income<\/td><td>1704.6<\/td><td>+60.72%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It has been listed for 22 years, and the revenue growth rate can still be 31%!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_about_competitors\"><\/span><strong>What about competitors?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It would be an overstatement to say that it has no competition. However, intuition surgery is a medical devices company that focuses on medical surgical robot only. The other major competitors are all veterans who have been in the medical field for a long time. All of them have a lot of background. They have almost unlimited resources and abundant connections in medical institutions. Everyone is eyeing the achievements of intuitive surgery. Take it for nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the market share, <a href=\"https:\/\/pharmaintelligence.informa.com\/~\/media\/informa-shop-window\/pharma\/2020\/files\/article-packs\/mti-market-intel-report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">it took more than 80% of surgical robot market<\/a> these years. Yes, it dominates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_versatile_Da_Vinci_robot\"><\/span><strong>The versatile Da Vinci robot<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Medical surgical robots basically have functional limitations, or only specialize in a certain field, and there is no all-round medical surgical robot. The Da Vinci robot is no exception, but it should be the most versatile surgical robot, which means that it can perform the most types of surgical operations approved by the FDA. Officially documented in company documents, there are at least 10 major categories of approved surgeries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Lord_of_patent\"><\/span><strong>The Lord of patent<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Intuitive Surgery has a total of over 4,200 U.S. and foreign patents licensed in the field and has filed over 2,100 U.S. and foreign patent applications to date. This is due to the fact that when the company was founded, it was a technology-oriented company, focusing on patents. Without patent protection, products would be counterfeited immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_the_valuation\"><\/span><strong>How is the valuation?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following table shows the valuation of intuitive surgery by market as of 03\/15\/2022:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td>number<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stock price<\/td><td>270<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Market capitalization<\/td><td>US$ 96.983 billion<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>P\/E<\/td><td>57.94<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>P\/S<\/td><td>16.98<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This valuation level is no different from that of &#8220;top&#8221; technology companies, and it is higher than that of the top five technology stocks. You might think it&#8217;s too expensive. In my own experience of tracking it for more than 20 years, the stock of this company has never been cheap, and the price-earnings ratio is rarely below 50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the top five tech stocks, I suggest you refer to my other blog article &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/02\/five-technology-stocks-for-getting-started-in-u-s-stocks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Five technology stocks for better getting started in US stocks<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"178\" height=\"121\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/Freepik.jpg\" alt=\"Intuitive Surgical\" class=\"wp-image-13825\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">credit: Freepik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_the_share_price_performing\"><\/span><strong>How is the share price performing?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the beginning of 2022, the US stock market Nasdaq has entered a bear market, the broader market has entered a correction, and all stocks have plummeted across the board. Intuitive surgery is only down about 25%, and it&#8217;s one of the more resilient stocks, which is also reasonable. A recession or a stock market crash, or someone is sick, and they have to be treated with surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intuitive Surgery has undergone two stock splits since it went public; in 2017 and 2021, both of them are one-for-three splits. Since its listing in 2000, the stock has rised 13,200% as shown in the chart below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The annualized return rate for 22 years is an astonishing 24.85%! During the same period, the annualized return of the S&amp;P 500, which represents the U.S. stock market, was only 5.49%. Let&#8217;s take a look at its stock price chart, which is almost a perfect upward curve!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"546\" height=\"183\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/1-1600x1200-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/1-1600x1200-1.jpg 546w, https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/1-1600x1200-1-300x101.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 546px) 85vw, 546px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/11\/06\/hca-healthcare\/\">How does HCA Healthcare make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/17\/intuitive-surgical-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Intuitive Surgical, a company that essentially monopolizes surgical robots<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/06\/28\/chinese-robotics-companies\/\">Top Chinese Robotics Companies<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/04\/intuitive-surgical\/\">How does dominated Intuitive Surgical make money?&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/05\/03\/transmedics-ocs\/\">TransMedics, an expert in organ transplant care systems<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/05\/09\/top-10-robotics-companies\/\">Top 10 Robotics Companies in the World<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/09\/10\/robot-industry\/\">&#8220;Robot industry current status and application<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/11\/06\/abiomed-acquired-by-jnj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Abiomed acquired by Johnson &amp; Johnson<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/04\/14\/ge-spinoff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How did three listed companies make money after GE spinoff? What are the prospects?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/21\/how-johnson-johnson-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How the best AAA credit rating Johnson &amp; Johnson makes money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/07\/02\/abbott-laboratories\/\">Abbott, the world&#8217;s most important medical device and nutritional food supplier, how does it make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There should be no one who does not know about the Da Vinci medical surgical robot, right? Da Vinci Medical Surgical Robot is now more famous than this company Intuitive Surgical. I mentioned this company in the preface of my book &#8220;The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing&#8221;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[733,1486,165,28],"tags":[182],"class_list":["post-5631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medical-device","category-automation-and-robot","category-stock-split","category-us-stock-market","tag-isrg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5631"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39800,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5631\/revisions\/39800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}