Intuitive
(Nasdaq: ISRG)
stock declined about 2% in after-hours trading after the company warned new import taxes could hurt its business.
The Sunnyvale, California–based surgical robotics developer and manufacturer last week released preliminary results for the fourth quarter ahead of the company’s presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Those results included a 17% growth in worldwide da Vinci procedures for 2024, and an expected slowing of year-over-year procedure growth to the range of 13% to 16% for 2025.
Today, the company reiterated that forecast and its total sales of $2.41 billion for the quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2024), but said quarterly profits came in at $1.88 per diluted share.
Before last week’s preliminary results, analysts were expecting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.79 on revenue of $2.24 billion.
Perhaps offsetting the strong quarterly profit was the company’s warning that new tariffs could have a material impact on its business as President Donald Trump threatens to impose new taxes on imports from Mexico, Canada and China.
Intuitive said it expected its non-GAAP gross profit margin “to be within a range of 67% and 68% of net revenue in 2025, compared to 69.1% in 2024.”
“This range does not include any potential impact of new tariffs on our business, which could be material,” the company continued.
Intuitive’s news release for its preliminary results last week did not contain that guidance or language on tariffs, but did include tariffs as a potential factor in its standard forward-looking statements disclosure. Last week, Intuitive also announced plans to establish a direct presence in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
“In terms of tariffs, obviously we see a lot in the news, we’re monitoring those events closely,” he said. “We are internally evaluating what the impact of any potential tariff might be and therefore how we might respond. We can say that a significant portion of our instruments are currently manufactured in Mexico, so to the extent there are significant tariffs implemented there, that could have a material impact for us.”
“And of course, one response then that any company might consider is what would you do with pricing?” he continued. “Nothing that we’ve decided there, and obviously we’re balancing the needs of our customers and their objectives with the needs of our own business. So stay tuned is what I’d say.”
Intuitive also announced that it has hired Dan Connally as VP and head of investor relations, replacing Brian King, who left that position in 2024 to join Occam Labs, the incubator for surgical robotics startup Capstan Medical.
Connally joins Intuitive in February after an 18-year career at investment firm Fayez Sarofim & Co.
Intuitive President Dave Rosa was not on today’s earnings call due to what the company characterized as a “prior business commitment.” Rosa testified this week in an ongoing antitrust trial.
