ISRG vs. MDT: Intuitive Surgical vs. Medtronic Stock Comparison

August 16, 2026

How do Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT) 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

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT) are both classified in the Health Care Equipment sub-industry within the broader Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Profile Item	ISRG	MDT
Name	Intuitive Surgical, Inc.	Medtronic plc
Country/Region	United States	Ireland
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Equipment & Supplies
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Equipment	Health Care Equipment
Market Capitalization	141.34 billion USD	116.83 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	June 16, 2000	May 2, 1973
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ISRG

MDT

GSPC

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) vs. Medtronic (MDT), 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Metric	ISRG	MDT
Total Return (1Y)	-17.31%	2.45%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	8.95%	6.60%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	3.36%	-3.62%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ISRG

MDT

GSPC

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) vs. Medtronic (MDT), 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has an aggressive beta of 1.48, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Medtronic (MDT) is defensive at 0.56 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Metric	ISRG	MDT
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	36.70%	23.63%
Beta (5Y)	1.48	0.56
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-49.90%	-45.10%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.09M	9.30M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ISRG and MDT 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Metric	ISRG	MDT
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.58	-0.06
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.82	-0.10

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 17.42% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Medtronic (MDT) at 9.84% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for ISRG.

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.42%

Max: 47.06%
ISRG: 17.42%
Q3: 14.60%
Median: 4.59%
Q1: -14.37%
Min: -56.60%

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.84%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 14.60%
MDT: 9.84%
Median: 4.59%
Q1: -14.37%
Min: -56.60%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 28.45% and Medtronic (MDT) at 13.20% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

28.45%

ISRG: 28.45%
Max: 28.45%
Q3: 9.22%
Median: 1.85%
Q1: -7.13%
Min: -30.69%

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

13.20%

Max: 28.45%
MDT: 13.20%
Q3: 9.22%
Median: 1.85%
Q1: -7.13%
Min: -30.69%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 33.60% and Medtronic (MDT) at 22.05% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

33.60%

Max: 38.55%
ISRG: 33.60%
Q3: 14.43%
Median: 7.25%
Q1: -2.09%
Min: -24.66%

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

22.05%

Max: 38.55%
MDT: 22.05%
Q3: 14.43%
Median: 7.25%
Q1: -2.09%
Min: -24.66%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Metric	ISRG	MDT
ROE (TTM)	17.42%	9.84%
ROA (TTM)	10.51%	4.92%
Net Margin (TTM)	28.45%	13.20%
Operating Margin (TTM)	33.60%	22.05%
Gross Margin (TTM)	66.68%	65.31%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 20.51% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Medtronic (MDT) at 8.43% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ISRG.

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

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reports EPS growth of 22.59%, ranked against its industry; Medtronic (MDT) has no EPS growth figure this period.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Metric	ISRG	MDT
Revenue Growth (YoY)	20.51%	8.43%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	17.39%	5.21%
EPS Growth (YoY)	22.59%	--
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	29.19%	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Medtronic (MDT) at 2.13 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 4.96 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.96

Max: 8.18
ISRG: 4.96
Q3: 4.20
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.34
Min: 0.15

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.13

Max: 8.18
Q3: 4.20
MDT: 2.13
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.34
Min: 0.15

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) vs. Medtronic (MDT): 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: Medtronic (MDT) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58 against its industry range, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reports no figure this period.

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 2.02
Q3: 1.01
Median: 0.63
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00
ISRG: --

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.58

Max: 2.02
Q3: 1.01
Median: 0.63
MDT: 0.58
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Metric	ISRG	MDT
Current Ratio (MRQ)	4.96	2.13
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.58
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.25	1.97

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Medtronic (MDT) reports a yield of 3.14%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.14%

MDT: 3.14%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Medtronic (MDT) reports a payout of 76.14%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

76.14%

MDT: 76.14%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Metric	ISRG	MDT
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	3.14%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	76.14%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Medtronic (MDT) at 24.47 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 46.09 sits in the richer quartile — ISRG needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

46.09

Max: 76.75
ISRG: 46.09
Q3: 44.61
Median: 28.57
Q1: 20.73
Min: 1.62

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

24.47

Max: 76.75
Q3: 44.61
Median: 28.57
MDT: 24.47
Q1: 20.73
Min: 1.62

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Medtronic (MDT) at 3.21 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 12.81 clears its benchmark range — ISRG looks notably rich on sales.

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

12.81

ISRG: 12.81
Max: 9.63
Q3: 4.61
Median: 2.28
Q1: 1.15
Min: 0.04

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.21

Max: 9.63
Q3: 4.61
MDT: 3.21
Median: 2.28
Q1: 1.15
Min: 0.04

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Medtronic (MDT) at 2.36 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 7.68 carries an above-peer premium to book — ISRG is pricier on assets.

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

7.68

Max: 12.92
ISRG: 7.68
Q3: 6.30
Median: 3.18
Q1: 1.75
Min: -2.19

MDT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.36

Max: 12.92
Q3: 6.30
Median: 3.18
MDT: 2.36
Q1: 1.75
Min: -2.19

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Medtronic (MDT)
Metric	ISRG	MDT
P/E Ratio (TTM)	46.09	24.47
P/S Ratio (TTM)	12.81	3.21
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	7.68	2.36
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.85%	3.96%