Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) TD Cowen's 54th Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference summary

Company overview and strategic positioning

• Focuses on intelligent operations, leveraging data, automation, and AI to transform frontline workflows across multiple industries, serving 80% of the Fortune 500.

• Operates two main business segments: asset visibility and automation, and connected front line, both with similar growth profiles.

• Market leader in enterprise mobile computing, self-service kiosks, interactive displays, and integrated payment solutions.

• Provides on-device AI models and agents optimized for frontline workflows.

AI, automation, and product innovation

• AI and automation are central to growth, with significant runway as most warehouses have yet to deploy advanced automation.

• Automation is primarily augmenting workers, not replacing them, with investments in machine vision, RFID, and wearable technology.

• R&D is focused on domain-specific, workflow-specific AI models, using computer vision and IoT to orchestrate frontline operations.

• Application-specific robots are favored over humanoid robots, transforming workflows without eliminating entire jobs.

• Recent advances include AI-driven data capture, such as extracting information from images for productivity gains of 20–30%.

Internal efficiency and R&D strategy

• AI is used internally to drive double-digit efficiency gains in software development.

• Software development lifecycle improvements are expected to yield 20% efficiency in key workflows.

• Product development is being reimagined, with expectations for even greater efficiency in future phases.