Intuitive Surgical, Inc. vs Smith & Nephew plc, two Medical Devices stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Both device makers run debt-free, so the pair reduces cleanly to what each clean balance sheet has built: Intuitive Surgical's robotic-surgery monopoly earning a 30.9% operating margin, and Smith & Nephew's orthopedics estate earning 12.9% while management renovates. The market's prices, 49.2 and 41.6 times earnings, sit strangely close for that gap; Smith & Nephew's multiple prices a repair as if it were nearly a franchise, Intuitive's prices a franchise as a franchise. Smith & Nephew pays back more today, a 4.9% free-cash yield against 2%. Eight turns of spread between the sector's best economics and its most patient turnaround; the closeness is the surprise, and the argument.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | ISRG | SNN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $404.75 | $30.02 |
| Market cap | $145.6B | $26.0B |
| Sector | Medical Devices | Medical Devices |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| P/E | 49.2 | 41.6 |
| P/B | 8.28 | 4.92 |
| P/S | 13.76 | 4.22 |
| EV/EBITDA | 44.6 | 32.1 |
| Revenue growth | +21.5% | +4.3% |
| Gross margin | 66.1% | 68.0% |
| Operating margin | 30.9% | 12.9% |
| Net margin | 28.1% | 10.1% |
| Return on equity | 16.9% | 11.8% |
| Return on assets | 14.8% | 6.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 16.1% | 12.0% |
| FCF yield | 1.9% | 4.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 4.61 | 2.57 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.52 | 4.86 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.