SYK · Earnings call · 2026Q3T · Full report

Robotic Surgery Market Adoption

STRYKER CORP · 2026-10-29 · Importance 20 · Surprise 24

Management sees the largest opportunity for the Versius robotic system in converting procedures currently performed laparoscopically or through open surgery to robotic surgery. It said the system’s modular design and mobility between operating rooms may suit ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals where many surgeons want access to a robot. Management expects robotic systems to make procedures easier to perform and thereby support greater adoption of minimally invasive surgery; it also noted that U.S. commercial success remains to be proven and that a tower is required.

Key facts

• Stryker said it planned to begin scaling the U.S. market for Versius through a thoughtful and disciplined approach.
• Stryker said its evaluation of robotic technologies included surgeon testing, evaluations, and a panel of surgeons, and that CMR Surgical’s system was the clear winner among the technologies it liked.
• Stryker said Versius had been used in more than 50,000 procedures globally and had a scalable design supporting broader adoption of robotic-assisted surgery.
• Stryker said Mako growth was tremendous in Q3 2026, with a continuing balance of platform upgrades and new installations since Mako 4 launched.
• Stryker said CMR Surgical’s Versius Plus improvements were excellent and highlighted the system’s modular design and ease of moving it between rooms, which management said makes it well suited to ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals with many surgeons seeking robot access.
• Stryker identified conversion of laparoscopic and open procedures to robotic surgery as the biggest opportunity for CMR Surgical’s robot.
• Stryker described soft tissue robotics as an adjacency to its strengths in endoscopy, visualization and enabling technologies.
• Stryker said robotic surgery could make laparoscopic procedures easier to perform and drive higher adoption of minimally invasive surgery.