Is Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) a buy in 2026?

Where ISRG is headed

Intuitive Surgical has done something almost no medical device company has ever done: it built a razor-and-blade monopoly inside the operating room and kept it for two decades. By late 2027, the installed base of da Vinci systems should cross 10,000 units globally, the da Vinci 5 will be ramping into its second full year of placements, and Ion — the lung biopsy platform — will be generating meaningful recurring revenue as it approaches 1,000 systems installed. Procedure volumes, the true engine, should be growing at 15-17% annually as da Vinci 5's force feedback and smaller footprint open up new surgical categories like thoracic and colorectal procedures in community hospitals that previously couldn't justify the capital outlay. Revenue should be pushing toward $10-11 billion on that trajectory, with instruments and accessories comprising over 60% of the mix.