ISRG down 7–13% after hours despite a Q3 beat: $450M antitrust settlement charge and a tighter da Vinci procedure range
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2026 6:20 am
Intuitive Surgical beat on both lines last night, but the stock still sold off after hours. Early prints were down ~13% (around $380, per Robinhood data quoted by WSO), and by later in the evening it was nearer -7% (around $407, per MarketWatch), from a $438.02 close. Expect a wide pre-market range.
The numbers
- Revenue $3.05bn, +22%, vs ~$2.91bn LSEG
- Adj EPS $3.00 vs ~$2.64 LSEG. GAAP EPS $1.49 after a $450M pre-tax charge ($0.99/share) to settle the da Vinci antitrust class action. The settlement still needs court approval
- Worldwide procedures ~+15%. da Vinci ~+14% (Q2 was ~+15%), Ion ~+31%. US da Vinci only +10% vs +20% outside the US
- 546 da Vinci systems placed (427 a year ago), 315 of them da Vinci 5
- 2026 da Vinci procedure growth narrowed to ~14–15% from 13.5–15.5%, so the midpoint is unchanged. Gross margin range raised to 68.7–69.3%
- Bought back $2.94bn of stock in the quarter
My read: the charge is one-off, and the market usually looks through those. The slowdown in US procedures (+10%) and management flagging ACA enrollment, Medicaid and 340B pressure are what a growth multiple can't easily look through. Add a planned "Extended Use Program" to cut instrument costs, which is good for access but a question mark for instrument revenue per procedure, and that's the bear case.
For the tape: big-cap medtech gaps like this often find buyers if the first hour holds above the after-hours low. I'd treat the after-hours range as the reference, not the close.
Sources: [Intuitive Q3 release (SEC)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data ... elease.htm) | [Reuters via Yahoo](https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/ar ... 48473.html) | [WSO](https://wallstreetobserver.com/articles ... isrg-stock)
Is US procedure growth slowing to 10% the real story here, or is the market overreacting to a one-off charge? Anyone watching SYK or MDT for sympathy moves?
The numbers
- Revenue $3.05bn, +22%, vs ~$2.91bn LSEG
- Adj EPS $3.00 vs ~$2.64 LSEG. GAAP EPS $1.49 after a $450M pre-tax charge ($0.99/share) to settle the da Vinci antitrust class action. The settlement still needs court approval
- Worldwide procedures ~+15%. da Vinci ~+14% (Q2 was ~+15%), Ion ~+31%. US da Vinci only +10% vs +20% outside the US
- 546 da Vinci systems placed (427 a year ago), 315 of them da Vinci 5
- 2026 da Vinci procedure growth narrowed to ~14–15% from 13.5–15.5%, so the midpoint is unchanged. Gross margin range raised to 68.7–69.3%
- Bought back $2.94bn of stock in the quarter
My read: the charge is one-off, and the market usually looks through those. The slowdown in US procedures (+10%) and management flagging ACA enrollment, Medicaid and 340B pressure are what a growth multiple can't easily look through. Add a planned "Extended Use Program" to cut instrument costs, which is good for access but a question mark for instrument revenue per procedure, and that's the bear case.
For the tape: big-cap medtech gaps like this often find buyers if the first hour holds above the after-hours low. I'd treat the after-hours range as the reference, not the close.
Sources: [Intuitive Q3 release (SEC)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data ... elease.htm) | [Reuters via Yahoo](https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/ar ... 48473.html) | [WSO](https://wallstreetobserver.com/articles ... isrg-stock)
Is US procedure growth slowing to 10% the real story here, or is the market overreacting to a one-off charge? Anyone watching SYK or MDT for sympathy moves?