Intuitive Surgical Stock Slips After-Hours As Tariff Troubles Outweigh Strong Q1 Beat, But Retail Shrugs Off Worries

Shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) fell about 0.8% in after-hours trading on Tuesday despite the company posting upbeat quarterly results as investors grew anxious over mounting tariff-related headwinds for the rest of the year.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company reported first-quarter (Q1) earnings of $1.81 per share, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73, on revenue of $2.25 billion, versus an expected $2.19 billion.

Intuitive said the worldwide procedure volume on its flagship da Vinci surgical system jumped 17% year over year, and the company placed 367 da Vinci surgical systems during the quarter, up from 313 a year ago.

However, the company warned of the potential impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs on its margins in the coming quarters.

Intuitive said it now expects full-year 2025 gross margins between 65% and 66.5%, with the impact projected to grow each quarter through the end of the year.

The company added that additional tariffs could pose a "material" impact, depending on sales volumes in China and global manufacturing exposure.

Sentiment on Stocktwits, however, turned 'extremely bullish' by late Tuesday as retail traders downplayed the fallout from cost pressures and global trade risks.

One user claimed to have "seen this pattern before," saying the stock closed out Tuesday's after-hours "nearly flat" and can "float up" if the market rises on Wednesday.

"Trump is going to have to walk back his tariff policies, and that overhang will likely be removed. Results otherwise great," said another optimistic watcher.

Intuitive is evaluating mitigation strategies but doesn't expect them to have a significant financial effect in 2025.

The company expects 2025 worldwide procedures to grow 15%-17%, operating expenses to increase 10%-14%, and capital expenditures to be between $650 million and $750 million. 

Intuitive expects feedback from European regulators on its da Vinci 5 system this year while the process continues in Japan.

Shares of the company are down over 8% this year.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<