Intuitive Surgical stock rallies on sales forecast, as demand for robot surgeons rises

Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) rallied after hours on Tuesday after the maker of robotic surgical equipment said it expected fourth-quarter sales that were above Wall Street's expectations, helped by a recovery in China. The company reported preliminary fourth-quarter revenue of around $1.93 billion, up 17% and above FactSet forecasts for $1.87 billion. Procedures involving da Vinci, its robotic surgical system, jumped 21% from a year earlier, when COVID-19 cases re-emerged in China and weighed on procedures overall. Shares rose 5.4% after hours. Through last year, executives said, procedures in China rebounded as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations fell. In the U.S., the company said, general surgery procedures drove usage of da Vinci through 2023, while cancer procedures led to more use outside the U.S.

-Bill Peters

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01-09-24 1709ET

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