CNC vs. ISRG: Centene vs. Intuitive Surgical Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but CNC is classified in Health Care Providers & Services while ISRG is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies.

Company profile comparison for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Profile Item	CNC	ISRG
Name	Centene Corp.	Intuitive Surgical Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Providers & Services	Health Care Equipment & Supplies
GICS Sub-Industry	Managed Health Care	Health Care Equipment
Market Capitalization	34.53 billion USD	159.96 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	December 13, 2001	June 16, 2000
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CNC

ISRG

GSPC

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	CNC	ISRG
Total Return (1Y)	84.77%	-17.61%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-0.97%	19.20%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-1.48%	4.85%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CNC

ISRG

GSPC

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	CNC	ISRG
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	46.34%	35.53%
Beta (5Y)	1.07	1.41
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-74.07%	-49.88%
Avg. Volume (3M)	4.63M	2.43M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CNC and ISRG are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	CNC	ISRG
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.74	-0.62
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.71	-0.83

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 17.93% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Centene (CNC) at 6.74% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for ISRG.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.74%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
CNC: 6.74%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.93%

Max: 47.61%
ISRG: 17.93%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 25.54% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Centene (CNC) at 0.81%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.81%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
CNC: 0.81%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.54%

Max: 29.35%
ISRG: 25.54%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 33.29% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Centene (CNC) at 0.74%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.74%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CNC: 0.74%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

33.29%

Max: 35.43%
ISRG: 33.29%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	CNC	ISRG
ROE (TTM)	6.74%	17.93%
ROA (TTM)	2.68%	11.86%
Net Margin (TTM)	0.81%	25.54%
Operating Margin (TTM)	0.74%	33.29%
Gross Margin (TTM)	11.34%	66.64%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 20.51% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Centene (CNC) at 19.44% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ISRG.

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 22.59% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Centene (CNC) at -314.42% falls below its industry range, a notably weak earnings reading.

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	CNC	ISRG
Revenue Growth (YoY)	19.44%	20.51%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.45%	17.39%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-314.42%	22.59%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	29.19%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 3.33 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Centene (CNC) at 1.16 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for CNC.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.16

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CNC: 1.16
Min: 0.30

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.33

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
ISRG: 3.33
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Centene (CNC) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70 against its industry range, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reports no figure this period.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.70

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
CNC: 0.70
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00
ISRG: --

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): ISRG does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; CNC is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	CNC	ISRG
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.16	3.33
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.70	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.71	-0.90

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither Centene (CNC) nor Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

CNC: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

ISRG: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither Centene (CNC) nor Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

CNC: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

ISRG: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	CNC	ISRG
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Centene (CNC) at 23.97 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 54.75 sits in the richer quartile — ISRG needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

23.97

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
CNC: 23.97
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

54.75

Max: 80.41
ISRG: 54.75
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Centene (CNC) at 0.19 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 13.82 prices above its industry range — a wide gap in sales valuation between them.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.19

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CNC: 0.19
Min: 0.03

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

13.82

ISRG: 13.82
Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Centene (CNC) at 1.55 looks cheap against book in the lower P/B ratio quartile, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 9.82 carries a premium in the upper quartile — a clear price-to-book gap.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.55

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
CNC: 1.55
Min: -1.31

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.82

Max: 11.68
ISRG: 9.82
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Centene (CNC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Centene (CNC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	CNC	ISRG
P/E Ratio (TTM)	23.97	54.75
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.19	13.82
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.55	9.82
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.93%	2.15%