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Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) to Post Q4 Earnings: What's in Store?

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Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG - Free Report) is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter 2022 results on Jan 24, after the closing bell.

The company’s stock has gained 12.4% in the past six months, compared with a increase of 0.5% for the industry. The S&P 500 Index declined 3.3% in the same time period.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 8.18%. Its earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, the average earnings surprise being 3.41%.

Zacks Investment Research
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Q4 Estimates

Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ISRG’s fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.66 billion, suggesting an improvement of 6.9% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for earnings stands at $1.26 per share, indicating a decline of 3.1% from the prior-year quarter.

Factors to Note

Intuitive Surgical announced preliminary results for the fourth quarter earlier this month. The company estimates total revenues in the quarter to be $1.66 billion, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.87 billion. The 7% year-over-year growth in revenues is likely to have been driven by continued demand for da Vinci procedures. The company’s system placements are likely to decline compared to the year-ago period. These effects are likely to have driven the fourth-quarter results.

The Instruments & Accessories segment’s revenues are likely to be approximately $941 million in the fourth quarter, up 12% from the prior-year period. Robust demand for da Vinci procedures continued across all markets but China, where COVID-19 resurgence adversely impacted procedure volume. The da Vinci procedures increased 18% year over year. However, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the segment’s revenues stands at $954 million.

Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci capital placements are estimated to be on the lower side due to lesser trade-in of systems (majority of the U.S. customers have upgraded to newer generation systems), continued supply chain challenges impacting the availability of semiconductor components, and growing capital spending pressure on hospitals amid rising inflation. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales of the da Vinci system in the United States is pegged at 198 units.

However, the company’s da Vinci capital placements have been benefiting from rising demand outside the United States. Intuitive Surgical placed 130 systems in the third quarter compared with 109 in the prior-year quarter in ex-U.S. markets. The trend is likely to have continued in the fourth quarter. The company expects the growth of the single port (SP) platform to have been driven by additional clinical indications and clearances in markets beyond Korea and the United States. Moreover, approval for its da Vinci SP in Japan in October is likely to have driven unit sales in the country during the soon-to-be reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales of the da Vinci system outside the United States is pegged at 149 units.

The company estimated that it has sold 369 da Vinci Surgical systems in the fourth quarter of 2022 across all markets, down from 385 systems in the year-ago period.

During the third quarter, the use of Intuitive Surgical’s digital product, Intuitive Hub, continued to exhibit strong growth year over year. The company is in discussion with the FDA on how to best characterize some of its core artificial intelligence technologies. It will continue to bring its flexible endoscopy platform Ion to scale and boost capacity, quality and cost improvements while seeking to expand access to new markets. These developments might have contributed to Intuitive Surgical’s fourth-quarter performance.

ISRG’s new platforms made advancements in commercialization, innovation and clinical programs. This trend is likely to have continued in the fourth quarter as well. However, higher logistics costs during the reported quarter amid supply-chain challenges and rising inflationary pressure are likely to have driven expenses higher, thus hurting margins.

What Does Our Model Say?

Per our proven model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here as you will see.

Earnings ESP: Intuitive Surgical has an Earnings ESP of -0.69%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Intuitive Surgical carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks Worth a Look

Here are some medical stocks worth considering as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

Cardinal Health (CAH - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.75% and a Zacks Rank of 2.

Cardinal Health’s stock has gained 34.5% in the past six months. CAH beat earnings estimates in the last reported quarter. Cardinal Health has a four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.04%, on average.

McKesson (MCK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.21% and a Zacks Rank of 2.

McKesson’s stock has gained 15.7% in the past six months. MCK missed earnings estimates in the last reported quarter. McKesson has a four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.79%, on average.

AmerisourceBergen has an Earnings ESP of +0.26% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

AmerisourceBergen’s stock has gained 14.6% in the past six months. ABC topped earnings estimates in the last reported quarter. AmerisourceBergen has a four-quarter earnings surprise of 2.51%, on average.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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