Company: ISRG
Filing Date: 2025-03-14
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001035267-25-000098
Chunk: 47

Company: INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC
Filing Date: 2025-03-14
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 47
---
 and retention purposes.

In the future, we may provide perquisites or other personal benefits in limited circumstances, such as where we believe it is appropriate to assist an individual executive officer in the performance of specific duties, to make our executive officers more efficient and effective, for security arrangements to facilitate our executive officers’ safety, and for recruitment, motivation, or retention purposes. All future practices with respect to perquisites or other personal benefits will be subject to periodic review by the Compensation Committee.

#### Post-Employment Compensation
Our Board has adopted a change-in-control plan (the “Change-in-Control Plan”). Under the Change-in-Control Plan, all eligible employees of the Company who have been employed at least six months prior to the date of their separation from service, including our NEOs, are eligible to receive certain payments and benefits in the event of a termination of employment without cause or an involuntary separation from service within 12 months after a change in control of the Company.

We believe the Change-in-Control Plan is beneficial to our stockholders, because it minimizes the uncertainty presented to our valuable workforce in the case of a change in control of the Company. In addition, we provide the Change-in-Control Plan to encourage our employees to work at a dynamic and rapidly growing business where their long-term compensation largely depends on future stock price appreciation. In the case of our executives, the Change-in-Control Plan is intended to mitigate a potential disincentive for them when they are evaluating a potential acquisition of the Company, particularly when the services of the executives may not be required by the acquiring entity. In such a situation, we believe that these protections are necessary to encourage retention of the executives through the conclusion of the transaction and to ensure a smooth management transition. The payments and benefits provided under the Change-in-Control Plan have been designed to provide our eligible employees, including our NEOs, with consistent treatment that is competitive with current market practices.

A description of the terms and conditions of the Change-in-Control Plan, as well as information about the estimated payments and benefits that our NEOs would have been eligible to receive as of December 31, 2024, are set forth in “ Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

45

#### Other Compensation Policies

#### Stock Ownership Guidelines
We believe that stock ownership by our executives and the members of our Board is important to link the risks and rewards inherent in stock ownership of these individuals and our stockholders. In accordance with our stock ownership guidelines in effect since January 29, 2015, and last amended