Intuitive Surgical stock falls after company earnings hurt by fewer procedures

Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc.
ISRG,
-0.25%
fell more than 4% in the extended session Thursday after the health care company reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales slightly above expectations but said the pandemic continues to lead to fewer procedures done with its main robotic surgical system. Intuitive said it earned $381 million, or $1.04 a share, in the quarter, compared with $365 million, or $1.01 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $1.30 a share. Sales rose 17% to $1.55 billion, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Intuitive to report an adjusted EPS of $1.28 a share on sales of $1.52 billion. “During 2021, COVID-19 resurgences continued to impact da Vinci procedure volumes,” the company said in a statement. “COVID-19 has had, and will likely continue to have, an adverse impact on the company’s procedure volumes.” Shares of Intuitive ended the regular trading day down 0.3%.