Intuitive Surgical, Inc. Earnings Next Week: What to Expect

Intuitive Surgical , maker of the revolutionary minimally invasive surgical robot the Da Vinci, is scheduled to report second-quarter results next Tuesday after market close. With the stock down about 10% since the company last reported earnings, Intuitive Surgical shareholders will be hoping the company can serve up good enough results to boost investor confidence in the company.

Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci patient-side cart. Source: Intuitive Surgical.

The expectations Analysts, on average, expect Intuitive Surgical to report an uptick in both revenue and EPS. Specifically, analysts expect Intuitive Surgical to report $566.9 million and $3.98 in non-GAAP revenue and EPS in Q2, respectively. Reaching these levels of revenue and EPS would represent year-over-year growth of 11.9% and 7%.

In Q1, Intuitive Surgical reported non-GAAP revenue and EPS of $532 million and $3.57, respectively. These figures represented 9% year-over-year revenue growth and a slight year-over-year increase in EPS of $0.03. Both revenue and EPS in Q1 were slightly below consensus analyst estimates for the quarter.

Two key metricsBeyond revenue and earnings, it will likely be worth investors' time to take a look at Intuitive Surgical's reported procedure growth and system sales during the quarter.

While procedure growth is driven largely by a growing installed base of Da Vinci systems, it is also a reflection of doctors increasing adoption of Da Vinci systems for surgery, making it a key metric for management and shareholders in assessing the company's growth prospects.

What procedure growth should investors expect Intuitive Surgical to report in Q2? Going into 2015, Intuitive Surgical expected full-year procedures to grow about 7%-10% beyond its 570,000 procedures performed in 2014. But management raised its expectations when it reported first-quarter results, citing strength in the U.S. market for general surgery procedures, favorable Da Vinci prostatectomy macro trends, and better-than-expected international procedure growth. Now, Intuitive Surgical expects 2015 procedure growth to be in the range of 8%-11%. Look for Intuitive Surgical's second-quarter procedure growth to fall in this range when it reports quarterly results on Tuesday.

Investors should also pay close attention to sales of Da Vinci systems. Crucial to Intuitive Surgical's success going forward is the company's recently launched revamped Da Vinci system, called the Da Vinci Xi. Capable of entirely new procedures, the robot expands the company's reach. Investors are hoping the 2014-launched system will prove to be a catalyst for sales.

Da Vinci Xi surgeon console. Source: Intuitive Surgical.

During Q1, Intuitive Surgical shipped 99 Da Vinci systems, up 14% from systems sold in the year-ago quarter. Given how new the updated system is, investors should look for Intuitive Surgical to report at least the same year-over-year growth in Da Vinci System sales in Q2. For Intuitive Surgical to grow Da Vinci shipments by 14% in Q2, the company will need to ship about 109 systems.

Intuitive Surgical's second-quarter results could play a key role in helping investors understand whether or not its new Da Vinci system will be enough to help the company live up to high expectations. While shares of Intuitive Surgical are trading about 10% lower than they were three months ago, and are off more than $100 from the company's 52-week high, there are certainly some robust forward-looking assumptions already priced into the stock. At 39 times earnings, the market has high hopes for the company.

Intuitive Surgical's second-quarter results will be available to view here shortly after market close next Tuesday. Investors can find out how to tune into Intuitive Surgical's live second-quarter conference call on the same day at 4:30 p.m. ET by visiting this URL.

Stay tuned at The Motley Fool for more analysis of Intuitive Surgical.

The article Intuitive Surgical, Inc. Earnings Next Week: What to Expect originally appeared on Fool.com.

Daniel Sparks has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Intuitive Surgical. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.