Intuitive Surgical has the key ingredients of a go-go growth stock: torrid revenue growth, a profitable business model, and robots. The company, which reports fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, makes systems that allow doctors to perform minimally invasive surgery while sitting at a videogame-like console, using hand controls to manipulate a scope and tools within the patient’s body, by way of four mechanical arms.

Revenue growth has averaged 40 per cent over the past five years. The business runs on a razors and blades model, with more than half of the revenue from recurring sales of accessories and from service contracts. It is very profitable, due in part to a near monopoly in robotic surgery, and has $2bn in net cash.

All the excitement has left Intuitive shares selling at north of 20 times this year’s estimated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation. It has little company at this heady altitude, now that some of the biggest momentum stocks, such as Netflix and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, have cracked. A Capital IQ screen finds only eight other US companies (outside of real estate) valued at more than $10bn trading at 20 times ebitda or higher, including Amazon, Groupon and Salesforce.com.