Intuitive Surgical, Inc. Slow Earnings Growth Masks Deeper Strength

One look at the bottom line from Intuitive Surgical's (NASDAQ: ISRG) earnings release and you might think that the company had hit a speed bump. With the stock trading at 42 times trailing (non-GAAP) earnings, investors rightfully expect heady growth. But that wasn't the case: earnings jumped just 6%.

But that masks serious strengths at the company. Even as outside forces hold back growth in Asia, the most important metric of all -- procedure growth -- continued to blow by management's estimates.

To put this strength in perspective, let's remember that management had guided for a midpoint of 11% growth in procedures worldwide. Instead, we've seen the first and second quarters clock in with 18% and 16% growth, respectively.

Source: Fool.com