Going Into Earnings, Three Questions for iRobot Corporation (IRBT)

Back in May, for instance, iRobot surprised everybody when it announced seven major hospitals in the U.S. and Mexico have already incorporated its RP-VITA medical telepresence robots into their day-to-day operations.

This is an especially curious win when we remember that shares of robotic surgery specialist Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) fell by as much as 18% last week after the company pre-announced disappointing earnings numbers, primarily due to “weak capital sales in the U.S.” Then again, the cost of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)’s da Vinci robots can easily run into the seven-figure range, which may be proving a tough sell for cash-strapped hospitals in an increasingly saturated market.

Meanwhile, the RP-VITA is said to be available on a much more affordable leasing model for a reasonable $4,000 to $6,000 per month.

If that sounds expensive, remember that, in addition to the upfront cost of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)’s robots, hospitals also must pay thousands for every surgery they perform with them to replace the required instruments for each procedure. RP-VITA, for its part, boasts more intangible benefits, including streamlining hospital operations, and affording specialist physicians the ability of quickly and remotely diagnosing patients, where previously they would have needed to travel.

In addition, just over a month ago, iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT) announced a new partnership with Cisco with another telepresence bot in the Ava 500. This time, however, it was aimed at winning the business of enterprise customers for enabling things like off-site employee participation in meetings, presentations, or site inspections. We haven’t heard much about the Ava 500 since then, but it’d be great to get an update on whether it’s seeing similar acceptance in businesses as the RP-VITA has with hospitals.

Foolish takeaway
Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list of meaningful things to look for in iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT)’s earnings next week, but it’s a great place to start.

The article Going Into Earnings, 3 Questions for iRobot originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Steve Symington.

Fool contributor Steve Symington owns shares of iRobot . The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems, Intuitive Surgical, and iRobot . The Motley Fool owns shares of Intuitive Surgical.

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