Intuitive discloses exec pay, says vote no on shareholder proposals

A photo of the Intuitive Surgical da Vinci 5's surgeon console.

The Intuitive Surgical da Vinci 5’s surgeon console [Image courtesy of Intuitive Surgical]

Intuitive Surgical disclosed double-digit increases in executive compensation in the company’s annual pay disclosure, while also reporting growth in median employee pay.

Intuitive Surgical’s revenue increased 17% to nearly $8.4 billion in 2024 as profits increased 29% and the surgical robotics developer launched its next-generation Da Vinci 5.

That means the company is likely to move up on our 2025 Medtech Big 100 ranking of the world’s largest device companies. Intuitive Surgical came in at No. 19 on last year’s Medtech Big 100 with 2023 revenue of $7.1 billion.

Recruiting and retaining top talent — both at the executive and engineering level — is crucial in the medtech industry, but employee compensation is kept secret in most cases. Medical Design & Outsourcing tracks and analyzes these pay figures when disclosed by major device developers and manufacturers.

Intuitive Surgical executive pay

A portrait of Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart.

Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart [Photo courtesy of Intuitive Surgical]

Intuitive CEO Gary Guthart was paid $18.2 million in 2024, up 46% from the year before. Guthart’s pay included a $1 million salary, $15.6 million in stock awards and a $1.6 million bonus.

The second-highest-paid executive was Intuitive President Dave Rosa at $13.8 million, up 10% from the year before. Rosa’s compensation package included a $745,000 salary, $12 million in stock awards and a $1 million bonus.

The third-highest-paid executive was Intuitive SVP, CFO and Head of Business Technology Jamie Samath at $7 million, up 40% from the year before. Samath’s compensation package included a $595,000 salary, $6 million in stock awards and a $452,570 bonus.

The fourth-highest-paid executive was Intuitive SVP and Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer Henry Charlton at $6.5 million, up 27% from the year before. Charlton received a $596,250 salary, $5.4 million in stock awards and a $484,315 bonus.

The fifth-highest-paid executive was Intuitive EVP and Chief Digital Officer Brian Miller at $6.2 million, including a $547,901 salary, $5.1 million in stock awards and a $560,196 bonus. His prior-year pay was not disclosed.

All of the executives received $2,000 in other compensation for 401(k) contribution matches.

Intuitive said the salary increase for those executives — ranging from 3% to 17% — was “consistent with the broader company-wide approach to base pay changes.”

“These base salary increases took into consideration the changes in responsibilities for each NEO, including any promotions, the competitive market for executive talent,” Intuitive said in the disclosure.

Discussing more broadly the executive compensation philosophy and use of stock awards and bonuses, the company later continued, “The primary objective of our executive compensation program is to attract and retain a passionate team of executives who will provide leadership to advance the Quintuple Aim: better outcomes, better patient experience, better care team experience, improve patient access, and lower total cost to treat.”

Intuitive Surgical median worker pay and CEO pay ratio

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires publicly traded companies to calculate the gap between CEO compensation and pay for its median employee.

Intuitive Surgical calculated its median employee wage at $118,680 for 2024, up 6% from $112,071 in 2023 but still down compared to $127,948 in 2022 as the company ramped up manufacturing operations.

The latest median employee pay figure put Intuitive Surgical’s CEO pay at 153 times more than its median employee’s pay. That pay gap widened from 111:1 the year before and 81:1 in 2022.

The company said it included all global employees as of the end of 2024, but did not identify the median employee by location or job title. At other medtech companies that offer more details about their median workers than required by the SEC pay disclosure rules, those median medtech workers often hold technical roles such as device design or engineering.

Intuitive Surgical investors will cast advisory “say-on-pay” votes on the company’s executive compensation practices at the May 1 annual meeting. Shareholders overwhelmingly voted in support of the company’s executive pay the year before.

Intuitive Surgical is also recommending investors vote against shareholder proposals from activist investor John Chevedden to incorporate that CEO pay ratio into the executive compensation program and require shareholder approval for severance payouts above a certain amount.