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If You Invested $1000 in Zebra Technologies a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

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For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Zebra Technologies (ZBRA - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to ZBRA for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Zebra Technologies' Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Zebra Technologies' main business drivers.

Headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL, Zebra Technologies Corporation is the leading provider of enterprise asset intelligence solutions in the automatic identification and data capture solutions industry throughout the world. The company has a diversified portfolio of product and solutions that includes cloud-based subscriptions and a full range of services like maintenance, repair, technical support, managed and professional services. The products and solutions, which are sold across 180 countries, are designed to help its customers achieve enhanced operational efficiency, increased asset utilization, optimized workflows and improved regulatory compliance. As of 2022-end, it had around 10,500 employees globally.

Key end markets served by the company include manufacturing, retail and e-commerce, transportation and logistics, public sector, healthcare, and other industries throughout the world. Products are sold directly through sales representatives and an extensive network of channel partners.

The company reports operations under two reporting segments — Asset Intelligence & Tracking (“AIT”) and Enterprise Visibility & Mobility (“EVM”). The segments are briefly discussed below:

AIT (34.4% of total revenues in 2023): This segment specializes in barcode printing and asset tracking technologies. Its key product lines comprise barcode and card printers, services, supplies, and location solutions. These products are sold primarily in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”), Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

EVM (65.6%): This segment specializes in automatic information and data capture solutions. Its key product lines comprise mobile computing, data capture, services, RFID, retail as well as software-based workflow optimization solutions. These products are sold primarily in North America, EMEA, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific.

It’s worth noting that in the first quarter of 2021, the company shifted its retail solutions offering from the Asset Intelligence & Tracking segment into the Enterprise Visibility & Mobility segment.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Zebra Technologies ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in May 2014 would be worth $4,493.51, or a 349.35% gain, as of May 22, 2024. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 181.85% and gold's return of 79.86% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for ZBRA.

Zebra Technologies is focusing on advancing digital capabilities, optimizing supply chain and expanding data analytics capabilities to engage with its customers. The healthy demand for RFID (radio frequency identification), services and software are likely to aid the company. Zebra Technologies’ cost-management actions are enabling it to cut down operating expenses and improve margin performance. The company’s efforts to reward shareholders despite the uncertain environment hold promise. Amid these positives, shares of the company have outperformed its industry in the past six months. However, weak demand for data capture and mobile computing products has been taking a toll on the Enterprise Visibility & Mobility unit whereas low demand for printing solutions is affecting the company’s Asset Intelligence & Tracking segment.

The stock is up 16.35% over the past four weeks, and no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 4 higher, for fiscal 2024. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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