Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference summary

Business strategy and technology vision

• Focus on digitizing and automating customer environments for optimal asset and worker utilization.

• Strategic partnerships with technology and software vendors enhance workflow efficiency.

• Leadership in rugged mobile devices, scanning, industrial printing, RFID, tablets, robotics, and machine vision supports diverse industry needs.

• Use cases remain consistent, but sophistication and ROI expectations have increased, especially with AI integration.

• Enhanced connectivity and mobile solutions are critical for real-time workflow management across industries.

Technology adoption and innovation

• RFID and machine vision are widely adopted, with RFID expanding across supply chains and machine vision entrenched in manufacturing and logistics.

• Robotics is in early stages, with focus on integrating robots and workers for warehouse efficiency.

• AI and machine learning are making machine vision smarter and expanding use cases.

• R&D is split between core markets and new growth areas, with a preference for organic investment but supplemented by targeted acquisitions.

• Recent acquisitions in machine vision (Matrox, Adaptive Vision, Photoneo) complement organic development.

Market expansion and growth drivers

• Healthcare is the fastest-growing vertical in 2024, with opportunities in electronic medical records and clinical mobility.

• Dedicated sales teams and partnerships drive growth in healthcare, government, and geographies like Japan.

• Expansion into adjacencies (tablets, RFID, supplies) and new businesses (software, robotics) supports higher growth rates.

• Recurring revenue from software and services now exceeds $1 billion.

• Long-term growth target is 5%-7%, outpacing the 4%-5% industry average through share gains and new markets.