Following the release of its Q3 earnings, Intuitive Surgical experienced an 8% decline in share price during pre-market trading.
Notably, Intuitive Surgical holds the position of the leading player in the robotic surgical systems market, boasting an estimated global market share of 57%.
Nevertheless, the global outlook remains robust, with the robotic surgical systems market set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.7% from $3.3 billion in 2023 to $7.2 billion in 2033, forecasts GlobalData.
Reportedly, Intuitive’s $1.74 billion revenue fell just short of analysts’ predictions of $1.77 billion.
However, it is still promising with a 12% increase from Q3 2022 which was led by Intuitive’s flagship product Davinci and showed a 19% increase in procedures.
Other factors that may be contributing to the share drop is increased competition. For example, companies such as CMR Surgical, which just received $165 million in funding for its product Versius. Additionally, Australia-based Interventional
Systems just received FDA approval for use of the Micromate in the US.
Aidan Robertson, Medical Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “A market-dominating company’s decline can often have ripple effects across its industry. However, in this specific scenario, given the ongoing revenue growth and the underlying causes of Intuitive’s share price decline, GlobalData remains optimistic about the upward trajectory of robotic surgery market.”
The increasing demand for robotic surgery is brought on by the growing elderly population as well as a drive towards value-based healthcare, which focuses on improving surgical outcomes for patients. This is providing a push for less invasive procedure development and for improving the overall technology for robotic surgical systems.
Some barriers to progress of the market are the high cost of the systems and their maintenance as well as the limited surgeon training with this technology particularly in developing markets.
Robertson concludes: “While Intuitive Surgical’s recent decline appears negative, robotic surgery continues to be an increasingly popular alternative to traditional surgery not only to patients but to companies that are preparing to develop new products. With the major growth and innovation occurring in this market, robotic surgery is sure to have a larger impact on the healthcare sector.”
