Over the past year, healthcare leaders Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and DexCom (DXCM) have seen their shares slide 13% and 12% respectively, significantly underperforming the broader market. Tariff headwinds, intensifying competition, product recalls—the bad news seems to keep piling up. But savvy investors understand that short-term market sentiment often obscures genuine long-term value.
Look past the noise, and you’ll find two companies whose fundamentals remain rock solid—in fact, more attractive than ever. For those willing to take a decade-long view, these stocks could become veritable cash machines in your portfolio.
As the undisputed leader in robotic-assisted surgery, Intuitive Surgical faced genuine challenges in 2025. Tariffs ate into margins, and competitor Medtronic received U.S. clearance for its Hugo system in urologic procedures, sparking concerns about potential market share erosion.
Yet these headwinds barely scratch the surface of the company’s long-term trajectory. First, global population aging is an irreversible megatrend. By 2034, Americans aged 65 and older will outnumber those 18 and under for the first time—a demographic shift that will drive exponential growth in demand for minimally invasive procedures. Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci system stands as the primary beneficiary of this trend.
Second, the company’s economic moat runs wide and deep. Da Vinci systems carry hefty price tags, and once hospitals invest in the technology and train their surgeons, switching costs become prohibitive. More critically, Intuitive Surgical has never stopped innovating—iterative system upgrades and expanding indications keep the company a step ahead of competitors. Even as Medtronic and others enter the fray, they’ll be fighting over incremental market growth, not stealing meaningful share from Intuitive’s installed base.
As for tariffs? With over 11,106 da Vinci units installed globally, the company possesses sufficient pricing power to absorb cost pressures through modest price adjustments. As procedure volumes continue their upward climb, the revenue and earnings engine shows no signs of slowing.
DexCom’s story is equally compelling. Last year, the company issued recalls on certain CGM receivers due to malfunctions—but the issue affected a tiny fraction of patients and carries minimal impact on the broader business. What deserves investor attention is the enormous growth opportunity hiding in plain sight.
In the CGM market, DexCom and Abbott stand as the twin titans, yet penetration remains surprisingly low. In the United States alone, more than 9 million insured diabetes patients who could benefit from CGM technology aren’t using it. DexCom’s global user base sits at approximately 3.5 million—the gap between those numbers represents a gold mine waiting to be excavated.
Even more exciting, DexCom is expanding its reach beyond diabetic patients. Its over-the-counter Stelo product, cleared in 2024, has already attracted more than 500,000 users since launch. With over 40% of U.S. adults classified as prediabetic, the addressable market expands exponentially. Looking ahead, product iterations, international expansion, and broadening indications will continue lifting DexCom’s growth ceiling.
Short-term volatility reflects Mr. Market’s mood swings, not genuine business value. The current weakness in Intuitive Surgical and DexCom shares presents a rare entry point for long-term investors. Over the next decade, aging demographics, technological innovation, and increasing market penetration will drive these medical device leaders to generate compounding cash flows. Don’t let temporary setbacks deceive you—these are precisely the kind of stocks worth holding for the next ten years.
