Why Zebra Technologies Stock Galloped 20% Higher Thursday Morning
Key Points
Zebra Technologies stock jumped as much as 20% Thursday after management issued guidance well above Wall Street estimates.
Higher memory-chip costs will pressure margins in 2026, but management still expects profit growth.
The company positions itself as a supplier of AI solutions for frontline business operations, even if it's not a household name in the AI space.
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Shares of Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ: ZBRA) were up by 10.5% at 2:50 p.m. ET on Thursday. The information manager's stock had gained as much as 20.2% earlier in the day. Zebra's Q4 2025 results were broadly in line with expectations, but management set bullish guidance targets for the next quarter.
Zebra's guidance is the real story here
Zebra's fourth-quarter sales rose 10.6% year-over-year to $1.48 billion. Adjusted earnings jumped from $4.00 to $4.33 per diluted share. The bottom-line result matched the consensus analyst target, while revenue came in slightly above the average estimate of $1.47 billion.
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Looking ahead, Zebra's management sees revenues of roughly $1.48 billion in the next report, alongside adjusted earnings of approximately $4.18 per share. Both targets are significantly above the current Street projections.
A nuts-and-bolts bargain in a flashy AI market
Zebra is achieving robust results in a difficult market environment. For instance, higher computer hardware costs (led by soaring memory-chip prices) will weigh on the company's profit margins throughout 2026 -- but management still expects richer profits.
From manufacturers and e-commerce retailers to healthcare providers and fast-food restaurants, Zebra's target markets are hungry for digital inventory tracking and other data management tools. Zebra does offer some AI tools, but most investors don't think of the company as an artificial intelligence (AI) specialist. Still, the data you can collect with its tools is perfect fodder for AI-driven analysis.
Image source: Zebra Technologies.
"Our industry leadership puts us in a unique position to be a supplier of choice of AI solutions for the frontline of business," CEO Bill Burns said on the earnings call.
Zebra is a bargain-priced nuts-and-bolts play on the AI boom. Beyond the AI angle, the core business of inventory tracking and data management taps into several other high-growth trends, including e-commerce and digitized healthcare records.
The stock trades near the midpoint of its 52-week range right now, but the price might be a bit low. You can pick up Zebra shares at the modest valuation of 2.7 times sales or 28 times trailing earnings, but you get a downright bargain when you include growth prospects in the calculation. The forward P/E ratio is just 14x today.
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Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Zebra Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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