In This Article:
Anxious investors who picked April to go on a long internet-free vacation couldn't have planned it better. Earlier this month, the S&P 500 index quickly sank more than 10% after President Donald Trump unveiled tariff rules that threatened the U.S. economy.
The White House held firm to its commitment for nearly a week before the bond market started to crack and a tariff pause was implemented. The stock market has recovered somewhat, because now we know there's a limit to the amount of economic devastation the present administration is willing inflict in its attempt to bring back manufacturing jobs and force other countries to do what it wants.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
But even if disaster hasn't been totally averted and the economy craters, Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) and Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON) are well positioned to continue growing sales. Unfortunately, high expectations are often baked into their stock prices. Here's why I think you want them on your list of stocks to buy just in case the losses we've already experienced this year are just the beginning of a more dramatic bear market.
1. Intuitive Surgical
If you've had a hernia repaired or a prostate gland removed, odds are strong that the surgeon who performed the procedure was using one of Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci surgical systems to make ultra-precise incisions they couldn't make on their own.
Installing a new da Vinci system costs over $1 million, but the improved success rate makes them more than a little popular. At the end of 2024, there were 11,040 da Vinci systems in hospitals globally. The number of hospitals with at least seven da Vinci systems jumped 49% higher last year.
There are other companies selling surgical robots, but they aren't nearly as popular as Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci systems. This will likely be the case for the forseeable future because hospitals like to stick with what they've already trained their staff to use.
Intuitive Surgical makes most of its money selling instruments that need to be replaced before each procedure. The number of da Vinci procedures performed in the first quarter grew 17% year over year. Thanks to instrument sales, total revenue grew at a slightly faster 19% over the same period.
With an enormous base of machines already installed and an army of surgeons trained to use them, Intuitive Surgical seems likely to grow at a rapid clip for at least another decade. Unfortunately, extremely high expectations are nearly always baked into its stock price.