Intuitive plots full da Vinci 5 rollout for 2025, weighs potential tariff impacts

With the full-scale launch of its latest surgical robot set for the middle of this year, Intuitive Surgical said that, to date, the limited rollout of its da Vinci 5 system has already shown strong adoption and has contributed to a rise in worldwide procedure volume.

In its 2024 annual earnings report, the company said it placed 362 da Vinci 5 systems during that calendar year, following its launch last March, including 174 in the fourth quarter alone—with over 2,500 surgeons performing more than 32,000 procedures using the hardware.

The grand total for all multiport system installations reached 1,430, up from 1,313 the year before. With the other robots in its da Vinci portfolio, Intuitive said worldwide procedures grew about 17% over the prior year—as did the company’s revenue, which topped $8.35 billion compared to 2023’s $7.12 billion, gathered from a total installed base of more than 9,900 systems.

“Areas of strength included general surgery in the U.S. and regional performance in countries including the U.K. and Ireland, Japan and Germany,” CEO Gary Guthart said on a call with investors. “Distribution markets including Brazil, Spain and Italy were also strong in the year.”

In the U.S., gains in general surgery were driven in part by gallbladder removals, appendectomies and thoracic procedures. “Bariatric procedures fell modestly for the full year 2024 given the rise in GLP-1 medications,” Guthart added. “Procedure growth outside the U.S. continued to diversify beyond urology, with nice growth in categories including general surgery and thoracic surgery.”

“As we enter 2025, our company priorities are as follows: First, we will focus on the full launch of da Vinci 5, its regional clearances and follow-on feature releases,” he said.

“Second, we'll pursue increased adoption for our procedures by country, through training, commercial activities and market access efforts. Third, we'll drive continued progress in building industrial scale, product quality and manufacturing optimization. And finally, we'll focus on excellence and availability of our digital tools.”

To help increase production—where supply constraints partly crimped its rollout plans last year—the company plans to open new facilities in 2025 for its da Vinci 5 and Ion systems in California as well as new endoscope manufacturing locations in Germany and Bulgaria.

Further ahead, and on the commercial side, Intuitive announced plans earlier this week to take over distribution businesses spanning several countries in Western Europe. With a deal set to close in 2026, the company would wholly acquire the da Vinci- and Ion-related operations of ab medica, Abex, Excelencia Robotica and their affiliates to establish direct presences in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta and San Marino.

However, in the meantime, Intuitive’s supply chain may have to deal with new U.S. tariffs.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he planned to place 25% tariffs on incoming goods from Canada and Mexico, starting Feb. 1, as well as an additional 10% tariff on shipments from China.

“We are internally evaluating what the impact of any potential tariff might be and therefore, how we might respond,” Chief Financial Officer Jamie Samath said on the earnings call. “We can say that a significant portion of our instruments are currently manufactured in Mexico. And so, to the extent that significant tariffs are implemented there, that could have a material impact for us.”

“And, of course, one response any company might consider is what would we do with pricing,” Samath added, saying nothing has been decided yet. “Obviously, we're balancing the needs of our customers and their objectives with the needs of our own business. So stay tuned, is what I'd say.”

For 2025, the company’s financial outlook forecast slightly slower growth in worldwide da Vinci procedures, to between about 13% and 16%.