Analyst Favors Intuitive Surgical, XPeng Over Tesla for Robotics Bets as Both Trade Below Richer Multiples
Updated
Updated · twelfthmagpie.com · May 31
Analyst Favors Intuitive Surgical, XPeng Over Tesla for Robotics Bets as Both Trade Below Richer Multiples
4 articles · Updated · twelfthmagpie.com · May 31
Intuitive Surgical and XPeng were singled out as robotics investments preferred to Tesla, with the case centered on lower valuations and clearer near-term operating data than Tesla’s $1.37 trillion market-cap implies.
Intuitive’s appeal rests on existing scale in robotic surgery: Q1 revenue rose 23% to $2.77 billion, procedures increased 17%, and recurring sales made up 86% of revenue despite the stock falling 25% this year.
That pullback followed tariff worries tied to Mexico manufacturing, rising competition and a patient death linked to incomplete staple lines, an issue the company is addressing through product recalls.
XPeng’s latest quarter was mixed—revenue fell 17.6% to RMB13 billion and deliveries dropped 33.3% to 62,682—but gross margin improved to 20.6%, cash stood at $6.1 billion and the stock trades at 1.4 times sales.
The longer-term thesis for both names is robotics expansion beyond their core businesses, with Intuitive adding procedures and XPeng targeting mass production of its IRON humanoid robot by end-2026.
As physical AI booms, will specialized robots like Intuitive Surgical's outperform ambitious humanoids from Tesla and XPeng?
With robotics facing huge hardware hurdles, are Tesla's and XPeng's AI valuations a bubble waiting to burst?