Zebra Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides enterprise asset intelligence solutions in the automatic identification and data capture solutions industry worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Intelligence & Tracking and Enterprise Visibility & Mobility. The company designs, manufactures, and sells printers, which produce labels, wristbands, tickets, receipts, and plastic cards; dye-sublimination thermal card printers, which produce images which are used for personal identification, access control, and financial transactions; RFID printers that encode data into passive RFID transponders; accessories and options for our printers, including vehicle mounts and battery chargers; stock and customized thermal labels, receipts, ribbons, plastic cards, and RFID tags for printers; and temperature-monitoring labels primarily used in vaccine distribution. It also provides various maintenance, technical support, repair, and managed and professional services; real-time location systems and services; and tags, sensors, exciters, middleware software, and application software; as well as physical inventory management solutions, and rugged tablets and enterprise-grade mobile computing products and accessories. In addition, the company offers barcode scanners, image capture devices, and RFID readers; and workforce management solutions, workflow execution and task management solutions, and prescriptive analytics solutions, as well as communications and collaboration solutions. It also provides services, including maintenance, technical support, repair, managed and professional services; as well as cloud-based software subscriptions and robotics automation solutions. The company serves retail and e-commerce, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, healthcare, public sector, and other industries through direct sales force, and network of channel partners. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
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Here are 1-3 brief analogies to describe Zebra Technologies:
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Zebra Technologies is essentially the Cisco for physical operations and supply chain visibility.
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Think of Zebra as the Apple for rugged enterprise mobile computers, barcode scanners, and asset tracking systems.
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Zebra is like the Amazon Web Services (AWS) for physical asset intelligence and frontline worker mobility.
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- Mobile Computers: Rugged handheld devices, tablets, and wearable computers designed for enterprise environments.
- Printers: Thermal label, barcode, mobile, and card printers for various industries and applications.
- Barcode Scanners & RFID Readers: Devices for efficiently capturing data from barcodes and RFID tags.
- Location Solutions: Systems utilizing technologies like RFID and UWB for real-time asset and personnel tracking.
- Software & Services: Enterprise software for device management and data intelligence, alongside professional and support services.
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Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) primarily sells its enterprise asset intelligence solutions, which include mobile computing, data capture, RFID technology, specialty printers, and software, to other companies. This positions Zebra as a B2B (business-to-business) company.
Zebra operates with a diverse, global customer base, often reaching end-users through a robust network of channel partners (resellers, distributors, and system integrators) in addition to direct sales to large enterprises. Due to the breadth of its customer base and its sales model, Zebra's financial filings typically state that no single customer accounts for 10% or more of its consolidated net sales. This indicates that Zebra does not rely on a few "major customers" in the traditional sense of high revenue concentration from individual companies.
However, Zebra's products are critical and widely adopted across several key industries. These industries represent the primary end-users and categories of companies that heavily rely on Zebra's technology for optimizing their operations. While Zebra does not publicly name specific "major customer companies," below are the major industries Zebra serves, along with examples of prominent public companies within those sectors that are typical users of such enterprise technology. These examples illustrate the types of large enterprises that are significant adopters of solutions like Zebra's, though specific purchasing relationships and revenue contributions are not disclosed by Zebra.
Major Customer Categories (Industries) and Examples of Typical End-Users:
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Retail & E-commerce:
Companies in this sector utilize Zebra's solutions for inventory management, point-of-sale, mobile payment, price management, loss prevention, and enhancing the customer experience both in-store and in fulfillment centers.
- Walmart Inc. (Symbol: WMT)
- Target Corporation (Symbol: TGT)
- Amazon.com, Inc. (Symbol: AMZN)
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Transportation & Logistics (T&L):
T&L companies rely on Zebra's technology for warehouse management, fleet management, proof of delivery, parcel tracking, and optimizing complex supply chain operations.
- United Parcel Service, Inc. (Symbol: UPS)
- FedEx Corporation (Symbol: FDX)
- XPO, Inc. (Symbol: XPO)
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Manufacturing:
Manufacturers use Zebra's solutions for tracking work-in-progress, asset management, quality control, mobile assembly lines, and warehouse automation within production facilities.
- General Electric Company (Symbol: GE)
- Honeywell International Inc. (Symbol: HON)
- The Boeing Company (Symbol: BA)
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Healthcare:
Hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies leverage Zebra's devices for patient identification, specimen tracking, medication administration, mobile clinical communications, and inventory management of medical supplies.
- HCA Healthcare, Inc. (Symbol: HCA)
- CVS Health Corporation (Symbol: CVS)
- McKesson Corporation (Symbol: MCK)
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Bill Burns, Chief Executive Officer
Bill Burns was appointed Chief Executive Officer in March 2023. He has over 30 years of experience in the technology sector and joined Zebra Technologies in 2015. Prior to his tenure at Zebra, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Embrane, a venture capital-backed startup that was acquired by Cisco in April 2015. Before Embrane, he was Chief Executive Officer of Spirent Communications, a publicly traded global leader in test and measurement solutions. He also held various executive and sales leadership roles at Tellabs, Inc.
Nathan Winters, Chief Financial Officer
Nathan Winters was named Chief Financial Officer in January 2021, having previously served as interim CFO starting in August 2020. He has over 20 years of finance experience and joined Zebra Technologies in 2018. Before joining Zebra, he spent more than 16 years in financial roles at GE, including multiple CFO positions, most recently as CFO of GE Healthcare Global Supply Chain.
Tom Bianculli, Chief Technology Officer
Tom Bianculli has served as Chief Technology Officer since September 2016. He brings over 25 years of engineering and leadership expertise. Bianculli joined Zebra in 2014 through the company's acquisition of Motorola Solutions' Enterprise Business.
Matt Ausman, Chief Information Officer
Matt Ausman became Chief Information Officer in August 2022, following his role as acting CIO since March 2022. He joined Zebra Technologies in 2021. Before his time at Zebra, he held significant IT leadership positions at GE Healthcare, GE Power, and GE Capital.
Richard Hudson, Chief Revenue Officer
Richard Hudson was appointed Chief Revenue Officer in November 2023. He has over 20 years of experience in technology sales leadership, including holding Vice President roles at Motorola.
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The key risks to Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) business include macroeconomic headwinds, tariffs, and foreign exchange fluctuations; rising costs and supply chain challenges; and high debt levels.
- Macroeconomic Headwinds, Tariffs, and Foreign Exchange Fluctuations: Zebra Technologies faces significant risks from macroeconomic conditions, including trade tariffs and foreign exchange rate volatility. Management has anticipated a notable impact on gross profit due to tariffs, and a stronger U.S. dollar could negatively affect the company's international business performance. Geopolitical issues and changes in trade relations also contribute to these risks.
- Rising Costs and Supply Chain Challenges: The company has been impacted by increasing costs of sales, high raw material costs, and elevated operating expenses. Supply-chain challenges have adversely affected segments like Asset Intelligence & Tracking (AIT) and are expected to continue influencing revenues and margins.
- High Debt Levels: Zebra Technologies carries a substantial amount of long-term debt, which has seen a significant compound annual growth rate in recent years. This elevated debt load, coupled with considerable interest expenses, poses a financial risk to the company.
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Advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence systems are emerging as a clear threat to Zebra Technologies' core business of providing traditional barcode scanners, RFID readers, and mobile computers for inventory management and asset tracking. Various companies and startups are developing and deploying solutions that leverage cameras and AI algorithms to autonomously identify, track, and manage inventory in retail stores, warehouses, and manufacturing environments without the need for manual scanning or dedicated tags. Examples include 'just walk out' retail technology, autonomous inventory robots, and overhead vision systems that provide real-time asset visibility. As these technologies mature, become more cost-effective, and scale for broader enterprise adoption, they could significantly reduce the demand for Zebra's traditional data capture hardware and associated software solutions by offering a fundamentally different, often more automated, approach to enterprise asset intelligence.
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Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) operates in a global total addressable market (TAM) of approximately $30 billion. This market is segmented into several key areas:
- Core Market: This includes mobile computing, data capture, and barcode printing, with an estimated TAM of $10-12 billion globally.
- Adjacencies: This segment, encompassing products such as RFID, rugged tablets, and related services, represents a TAM of $12-14 billion globally.
Additionally, the strategic acquisition of Elo has expanded Zebra's addressable market by approximately $8 billion.
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Here are 3-5 expected drivers of future revenue growth for Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) over the next 2-3 years:
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Strategic Acquisitions and Market Expansion: Zebra Technologies is actively expanding its market reach through strategic acquisitions and by targeting new geographical areas and product categories. The acquisition of Elo Touch Solutions, for instance, has broadened Zebra's presence in the $8 billion consumer-facing technology segment, diversifying its revenue beyond traditional industrial clients. The company is also focused on accelerating growth in key strategic areas such as industrial automation and healthcare, and expanding into new geographical markets, particularly in emerging economies like India, where digital transformation and automation are gaining traction.
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Innovation in Emerging Technologies (AI, RFID, Automation, Machine Vision): Significant investments in research and development, particularly in advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), machine vision, and robotics automation, are expected to be key revenue drivers. Zebra anticipates 5-7% long-term organic sales growth with additional upside through these investments. AI-powered automation, including AI companion agents and next-generation hardware, is expected to enhance frontline productivity and drive future hardware and software refresh cycles, with initial revenues from AI and software offerings anticipated in 2026 and beyond. RFID technologies are also showing robust growth.
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Growth in High-Margin Software and Services & Recurring Revenue Streams: Zebra is strategically pushing into higher-margin software and services, aiming to expand recurring revenue streams. This focus is partly attributed to analysts' consensus view that rising profit margins are linked to expanding high-margin software and services offerings. The integration of advanced analytics and cloud-based offerings, building on its installed base of hardware solutions, is expected to strengthen profitability.
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Increased Demand for Digital Transformation and Automation Solutions: The global trend of digital transformation across enterprises, coupled with rising eCommerce demand, is driving increased opportunities for Zebra's diverse portfolio of mobile, data capture, and robotics automation solutions and services. Businesses are seeking to optimize operations, increase shipping speed, reduce labor costs, and improve order accuracy, which Zebra's solutions are designed to address. This includes strengthening its foothold in sectors like retail, e-commerce, logistics, and manufacturing, where automation is crucial.
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Share Repurchases
- Zebra Technologies announced a new $500 million share repurchase program in Q4 2025, expected to be executed over the next 12 months, which is more than double the company's average 12-month buyback spending over the past five years.
- The company repurchased $284 million in shares during the first nine months of 2025.
- For the full year 2024, Zebra made share repurchases totaling $47 million.
Share Issuance
- Zebra Technologies' shares outstanding saw a slight decline in recent years, with 0.051 billion shares outstanding as of June 30, 2025, representing a 1.06% year-over-year decrease.
- The company has an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) authorized for 1,500,000 shares, with 1,304,693 shares remaining available for future purchase as of March 29, 2025.
- Zebra issues share-based compensation awards under the 2018 Long-Term Incentive Plan.
Outbound Investments
- Zebra Technologies acquired Elo Touch Solutions for $1.3 billion in cash in August 2025, to expand into self-service technologies and consumer-facing workflows.
- In Q1 2025, Zebra completed the acquisition of Photoneo, a 3D machine vision solutions developer, for approximately €60 million (or $62 million).
- Zebra acquired Reflexis Systems for $575 million in 2020, and in 2021, it acquired Fetch Robotics for $290 million, along with Adaptive Vision and Antuit.ai.
Capital Expenditures
- Zebra Technologies reported capital expenditures of $59 million for the full year 2024.
- For the first nine months of 2025, capital expenditures totaled $56 million.
- Capital expenditures are focused on advancing Enterprise Asset Intelligence (EAI) solutions, including investments in retail software, robotics, and machine vision to digitize and automate workflows.