Intuitive Q4 earnings miss despite strong revenue growth; stock dips

Earnings of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), a provider of minimally invasive surgical solutions, increased in the fourth quarter but missed analysts’ forecast. The company’s revenues rose sharply aided by an uptick in procedures and systems placements, led by the da Vinci system. The stock slipped in the after-hours trading Thursday, following the announcement.

Adjusted earnings moved up to $2.96 per share in the December quarter from $2.60 per share in the corresponding period of last year, but fell short of Wall Street estimates. On an unadjusted basis, the company reported a profit of $293 million or $2.45 per share, compared to a loss of $32 million or $0.28 per share in the year-ago quarter.

The company’s revenues rose sharply aided by an increase in procedures and systems placements, led by the da Vinci system

At $1.05 billion, revenues were higher by 17% compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. The top line was in line with the company’s preliminary estimates and slightly above the analysts’ forecast.

Revenues of the Instruments and accessories segment climbed 18% year-on-year to $539.3 million, while Systems revenue moved up 20% to $340.6 million. There was an 11% growth in Services revenue to $166.6 million.

Also see: Intuitive Surgical Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

During the quarter, there was a 19% annual growth in da Vinci procedures globally. A total of 290 da Vinci Surgical Systems, the company’s flagship product, were shipped, compared to 216 in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of Intuitive Surgical gained about 21% in the last year, and lost about 7% since they hit a record high in September 2018. The stock dropped about 4% in the after-hours Thursday, after closing the regular session higher.

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