: Intuitive Surgical stock drops 10%, COVID resurgence hobbles sales

Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc. ISRG dropped more than 10% in the extended session Tuesday after the maker of surgical robotic systems reported fourth-quarter results slightly below Wall Street expectations and said it placed fewer of its devices during the quarter. Intuitive earned $325 million, or 91 cents a share, compared with $381 million, or $1.04 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2021. Adjusted for one-time items, Intuitive Surgical earned $1.23 a share. Revenue rose 7% to $1.66 billion. FactSet consensus called for adjusted earnings of $1.25 a share on sales of $1.67 billion. The company said it was able to place 369 of its flagship Da Vinci Surgical Systems, a 4% drop compared with 385 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Procedures using the system rose about 18%, but the COVID-19 resurgence in China “negatively impacted” procedure volumes in the region. COVID-19 disruptions later in the quarter also impacted U.S. and Europe, the company said. Shares of Intuitive Surgical ended the regular trading day up 0.9%.

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