ISRG Stock Skids 10% On Light Profit As Covid Disruptions Continue

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reported lighter-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, leading ISRG stock to skid despite in-line sales.

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During the December quarter, the robotic surgery giant earned $1.23 per share, down roughly 5% on a year-over-year basis. That lagged analysts’ projection by two pennies.

Sales were in line with Intuitive Surgical’s pre-announcement for $1.66 billion, though a hair below Wall Street’s call for $1.67 billion. Revenue was up 7%.

In after-hours action on today’s stock market, ISRG stock skidded 10.5% near 231. Shares gained a fraction during the regular session and closed at 257.98.

ISRG Stock: Covid Disruptions Continue

The company noted it’s still experiencing disruptions due to the Covid pandemic. Overall, the number of procedures performed using Intuitive Surgical’s most famous system, da Vinci, rose 18%. On an annual compounded basis, procedures grew 14% from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the same period last year.

Procedure growth is an important metric, informing the strength of sales of one-time instruments and accessories. During the December quarter, sales of those items advanced 12% to $941 million.

“The fourth quarter of 2022 reflected a resurgence in Covid-19 in China, which negatively impacted procedure volumes in the region,” Intuitive Surgical said in a news release. “The fourth quarter of 2021 also reflected Covid-19 disruptions later in the quarter in the U.S. and Europe, which impacted our procedures.”

Overall, Intuitive Surgical placed 369 new da Vinci systems in hospitals during the fourth quarter. But bearishly for ISRG stock, that was down 4% year over year.

Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.

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