Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG)

Operating return on assets (Operating ROA)

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Operating income (ttm)	US$ in thousands	1,766,800	1,689,100	1,622,200	1,556,600	1,577,100	1,655,000	1,698,700	1,812,300	1,821,000	1,786,400	1,614,200	1,183,600	1,049,800	1,031,600	1,126,900	1,405,300	1,374,500	1,308,900	1,256,500	1,174,900
Total assets	US$ in thousands	15,441,500	14,712,700	13,903,300	13,053,200	12,974,000	13,260,800	13,705,200	13,678,400	13,555,000	12,934,600	12,297,000	11,540,400	11,168,900	10,617,500	10,103,600	9,891,100	9,733,200	9,131,300	8,531,600	8,234,900
Operating ROA		11.44%	11.48%	11.67%	11.93%	12.16%	12.48%	12.39%	13.25%	13.43%	13.81%	13.13%	10.26%	9.40%	9.72%	11.15%	14.21%	14.12%	14.33%	14.73%	14.27%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Operating ROA = Operating income (ttm) ÷ Total assets
= $1,766,800K ÷ $15,441,500K
= 11.44%

Intuitive Surgical Inc's operating return on assets (operating ROA) has been on a declining trend over the past eight quarters, falling from 13.25% in Q1 2022 to 11.44% in Q4 2023. This indicates that the company's ability to generate operating income from its assets has weakened over time. Despite the fluctuations, the operating ROA has generally remained above 10% throughout the period, showing that the company is still able to efficiently utilize its assets to generate profits. However, the declining trend suggests that management may need to focus on improving operational efficiencies to enhance profitability in the future.