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Intuitive Surgical operates in the robotic-assisted surgery niche. Its best-known device is the da Vinci system, which is approved across many indications. According to some estimates, the healthcare leader<\/a> has a 58% share of the U.S. robotic surgical systems market. However, that metric is somewhat misleading and understates Intuitive Surgical’s dominance. <\/p>\n Although there are many robotic systems out there, not nearly as many compete directly with the da Vinci systems. For instance, Stryker’s Mako surgical robotic arm helps perform knee and hip replacements, indications for which the da Vinci system isn’t approved, given its focus on soft tissue procedures, which don’t include these two. <\/p>\n Here’s a better way to gauge Intuitive Surgical’s dominance in its corner of this space: The company holds an 86% share of the U.S. market for robotic surgical systems and accessories. Now turning to the company’s balance sheet, Intuitive Surgical ended 2025 with $2.5 billion in total liabilities, compared to $20.5 billion in total assets.<\/p>\n What’s more, the company’s long-term debt accounts for a small percentaged of its liabilities.<\/p>\n ISRG Total Long Term Debt (Annual)<\/a> data by YCharts<\/a><\/p>\n This grants Intuitive Surgical significant financial flexibility and the stability to navigate challenging times with relative ease.<\/p>\n Now, it’s important to highlight that things are slowly changing for Intuitive Surgical. Notably, the company will face increased competition, given that Medtronic, a medical device specialist<\/a>, received clearance last year for the Hugo system, which will compete with the da Vinci system.<\/p>\n Further, Johnson & Johnson is also close to earning approval for its own Ottava system. Despite this problem, Intuitive Surgical’s market is underpenetrated. And besides its leading market share, the company benefits from high switching costs, as its industry-leading device has proven over the past two decades of real-world use that it can improve patient outcomes. <\/p>\n These advantages should allow Intuitive Surgical to remain a leader in its niche for a long time while delivering consistent financial results. That’s why, despite the increasingly competitive nature of its industry, the stock remains a buy. <\/p>\n Before you buy stock in Intuitive Surgical, consider this:<\/p>\n The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the\u00a010 best stocks<\/a> for investors to buy now\u2026 and Intuitive Surgical wasn\u2019t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.<\/p>\n Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation,\u00a0you\u2019d have $533,522!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you\u2019d have $1,089,028!*<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s worth noting\u00a0Stock Advisor\u2019s total average return is 930% \u2014 a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500.\u00a0Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with\u00a0Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.<\/p>\n See the 10 stocks \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n *Stock Advisor returns as of April 7, 2026. <\/p>\n Prosper Junior Bakiny<\/a> has positions in Intuitive Surgical and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic and recommends the following options: long January 2028 $520 calls on Intuitive Surgical and short January 2028 $530 calls on Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a> ISRG Total Long Term Debt (Annual) Chart <\/p>\n