Intuitive Surgical Results Beat on Growing Demand for Surgical Robots

Representation photo: Employees work at the office of humanoid robots developer Ex-Robots in Dalian, Liaoning province, China June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo
Representation photo: Employees work at the office of humanoid robots developer Ex-Robots in Dalian, Liaoning province, China June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo
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Intuitive Surgical Results Beat on Growing Demand for Surgical Robots

Representation photo: Employees work at the office of humanoid robots developer Ex-Robots in Dalian, Liaoning province, China June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo
Representation photo: Employees work at the office of humanoid robots developer Ex-Robots in Dalian, Liaoning province, China June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo

Intuitive Surgical on Thursday beat estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue on growing demand for its surgical robots used in minimally invasive procedures, sending its shares up 6.7% after the bell.
Investor expectations around medical device makers have grown lately on hopes of elevated demand for surgical procedures as people, especially older adults, opt for medical procedures deferred during the pandemic, Reuters said.
On an adjusted basis, Intuitive earned $1.78 per share for the quarter ended June 30, beating analysts' estimates of $1.54 per share, according to LSEG data.
The company reported quarterly revenue of $2.01 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $1.97 billion.
The rise in revenue was driven in part by growth in the procedure volume from the company's surgical robots called da Vinci. Worldwide da Vinci procedure volumes rose about 17%, from a year ago, the company said.
Industry bellwether Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday posted a 2.2% rise in second quarter sales at its medical technology business, but fell short of analysts' estimates.
Larger peer Abbott Laboratories also raised its annual profit forecast, helped by double-digit growth in sales of its glucose monitors and strong demand for heart devices.



Saudi Arabia Ranks First in ITU's 2025 ICT Development Index

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Ranks First in ITU's 2025 ICT Development Index

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Arabia secured the top global position in the UN International Telecommunication Union’s information and communications technology (ICT) Development Index for 2025, which evaluates the digital progress of 164 economies across two key dimensions: universal connectivity and effective connectivity.

The Saudi Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) stated that this achievement reflects the Kingdom’s ongoing sustainable development in the ICT sector and sustained national efforts to enhance competitiveness.

The CST also emphasized that the Kingdom’s advanced digital infrastructure plays a pivotal role in enabling the growth of its digital economy, which achieved SAR459 billion in 2024, contributing 15% to the gross domestic product (GDP).

The Kingdom’s ICT market, valued at SAR180 billion in 2024, is the largest and fastest growing in the Middle East and North Africa. Mobile subscription penetration reached 212% of the population, and the average monthly data consumption per user was three times the global average.