“With respect to our manufacturing expansion and capital investment plans, in 2025, we anticipate opening new facilities the da Vinci 5 and Ion system manufacturing in California and new endoscope manufacturing facilities in Germany and Bulgaria.”

In context

“recent clearances in the US for thoracic and colorectal indications. However, we expect broad commercial efforts for SP in those procedure categories to commence once we obtain FDA clearance for a SP stapler. Moving on to the rest of the P&L. Pro forma gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 69.5%, compared with 68% for the fourth quarter of 2023. The year-over-year improvement in gross margin reflects fixed overhead leverage given revenue growth, lower inventory reserves and improvements in freight and logistics costs. In 2024, we executed on our plans to significantly improve product margins for our Ion and SP platforms. While we have made substantial progress, Ion and SP product margins continue to be dilutive and our teams have ongoing programs to deliver further improvement. With respect to our manufacturing expansion and capital investment plans, in 2025, we anticipate opening new facilities the da Vinci 5 and Ion system manufacturing in California and new endoscope manufacturing facilities in Germany and Bulgaria. As a result, and as we have previously indicated, we expect a significant increase in depreciation expense in 2025. We will also continue to transfer mature products to facilities in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and Mexicali. Given these activities, we expect elevated inventory levels during 2025. As we complete this cycle of manufacturing expansion that is driven by our strategy to operate at industrial scale, we anticipate lower levels of capital expenditures in 2025 and 2026 as compared to recent periods. Fourth quarter pro forma operating expenses increased 9% compared with last year, driven by increased headcount, higher variable compensation and increased legal expenses. Fourth quarter 2024 operating expenses included a $45 million contribution to the Intuitive Foundation, as compare”