The Ledger
Intuitive Surgical beat Wall Street’s second-quarter earnings estimates and its stock fell as much as 11 percent anyway, as investors focused on a slowdown in United States surgical procedure growth instead of the headline numbers. The company reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of 2.89 billion dollars, up 19 percent from 2.44 billion dollars a year earlier, with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of 2.80 dollars and GAAP diluted earnings per share of 2.29 dollars, both ahead of the prior year. Its installed base of da Vinci surgical systems grew 12 percent to 11,710 machines as of June 30, and worldwide procedures across the da Vinci and Ion platforms grew about 16 percent. But United States da Vinci procedure growth slowed to roughly 12 percent from about 14 percent in the first quarter, a deceleration the company attributed on its earnings call to Affordable Care Act subsidy changes, deferred procedures and pressure in bariatric surgery volume, even as it left its full-year 2026 da Vinci procedure growth guidance of 13.5 to 15.5 percent unchanged. Confidence: High on the reported financial and procedure figures, since they come from the company’s own release; Medium on the specific causes of the United States slowdown, since that attribution comes from management commentary on the earnings call rather than independently verified data. Source: Intuitive Announces Second Quarter Earnings, Intuitive Surgical investor relations.
The deadline for Steel Partners Holdings and InMode’s board to respond to an Israeli court challenge passed today, July 19, without a public ruling, leaving frozen the special committee’s review of two competing buyout offers for the medical aesthetics device maker. Steel Partners affiliate SP Strategic Holdings sued in Israel’s Haifa District Court on July 10 to block InMode’s special committee from evaluating Steel’s 16.75 dollar per share, roughly 960 million dollar cash offer against a rival 16.20 dollar per share proposal led by InMode chief executive Moshe Mizrahy, arguing Mizrahy’s dual role as bidder and chief executive taints the review. On July 12, the court extended respondents’ deadline to reply to July 19 and postponed the hearing on Steel’s request for temporary relief, with InMode undertaking not to approve or reject either proposal until after that hearing takes place; InMode’s public filings do not yet show a new hearing date. Confidence: High on the procedural facts and deadline, since they come from InMode’s own SEC filing; Low on when the underlying dispute resolves, since no hearing date has been made public. Source: InMode’s Form 6-K on the Haifa court proceeding, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Two real estate investors poured a combined 270 million dollars into senior housing communities in barely two weeks, the latest sign capital keeps chasing assisted living and memory care as outpatient construction pulls investment away from hospital campuses. LTC Properties said July 8 it paid 73 million dollars, at roughly a 7 percent cap rate, for two MorningStar Senior Living-operated communities in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico, expanding its MorningStar relationship to 36 properties in its senior housing operating portfolio. Separately, National Healthcare Properties closed roughly 197 million dollars in senior living acquisitions since late June, including a 99 million dollar purchase of 14 communities spanning the Midwest, South and Mid-Atlantic regions and an earlier 98 million dollar deal for two Midwest communities, growing its national investment and asset-management platform. Confidence: High on both transactions’ terms, since each is confirmed by the respective company’s own announcement. Sources: LTC Grows SHOP Portfolio to 36 Properties with $73 Million Acquisition, LTC Properties investor relations, National Healthcare Properties closes $197M in senior living acquisitions, McKnight’s Senior Living.
FRONTIER SCAN: the insurers who cover hospitals and physician groups against malpractice claims lost money underwriting that coverage for a second straight year in 2025, a warning sign for what health systems will pay to stay insured. AM Best’s Best’s Market Segment Report, published May 6, 2026, found insurers specializing in medical professional liability coverage posted a combined underwriting loss of 712 million dollars in 2025, up from a 546 million dollar loss in 2024, even as those insurers’ direct premiums written grew 3.6 percent to 9.4 billion dollars. The favorable prior-year reserve development that cushioned insurer results in years like 2015 through 2017, when it topped 1 billion dollars, shrank to just 155 million dollars in 2025, leaving carriers less room to keep absorbing rising claim severity through investment income alone; AM Best said insurers are responding by focusing on pricing discipline and risk management. No single outlet covers this beat daily, but AM Best’s periodic Best’s Market Segment Reports on medical professional liability are the sharpest primary read on a cost line every hospital and physician group budgets for (added 2026-07-19, frontier scan). Confidence: High on the reported figures, since they come directly from AM Best’s report; Low on how quickly this shows up in individual systems’ insurance costs, since renewal timing varies by carrier and contract. Source: Best’s Market Segment Report: Challenges Persist for the U.S. Medical Professional Liability Market, AM Best.
THE DEAL SHEET
| Target | Acquirer/Investor | Vertical | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| InMode Ltd. | Steel Partners Holdings L.P. (SP Strategic Holdings, contested proposal) | Medtech, medical aesthetics devices | $16.75/share cash, approximately $960 million implied equity value | InMode’s Form 6-K on the Haifa court proceeding, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |
| MorningStar of Wheat Ridge and MorningStar of Albuquerque | LTC Properties, Inc. | Senior housing, assisted living and memory care | $73 million | LTC Grows SHOP Portfolio to 36 Properties with $73 Million Acquisition, LTC Properties investor relations |
| 16 senior living communities, Midwest, South and Mid-Atlantic | National Healthcare Properties | Senior housing, assisted living real estate | Approximately $197 million combined across two transactions | National Healthcare Properties closes $197M in senior living acquisitions, McKnight’s Senior Living |
| Buddy Healthcare Ltd Oy | VitalHub Corp. | Digital health, care coordination platform | 8.6 million euros upfront cash and stock, plus up to 4.5 million euros in earnouts | VitalHub Announces Acquisition of Buddy Healthcare, GlobeNewswire |
HCA Healthcare’s second-quarter earnings call is set for July 24. Molina reports July 22, Community Health Systems around July 22 to 23, Universal Health Services July 27, Centene around July 28, Humana and Privia Health both around July 29 to August 6, and Cigna July 30.