Zebra Technologies Corporation (ZBRA), headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, provides enterprise asset intelligence solutions in the automatic identification and data capture solutions industry worldwide. Valued at $11.7 billion by market capitalization, Zebra operates through the asset tracking and intelligence and enterprise visibility and mobility segments.
Zebra Technologies has significantly underperformed the broader market over the past year. ZBRA stock has plunged 40.6% over the past 52 weeks and 40.9% so far this year, compared with the S&P 500 Index ($SPX)’s 10.5% gains over the past year and 11.2% returns in 2025.
To narrow the focus, Zebra has also underperformed the sector-focused Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLK) rise of 17.8% over the past 52 weeks and gains of 17% year over year.
Despite reporting better-than-expected financial results, Zebra Technologies’ stock price fell 11.7% in the trading session following the release of its third-quarter results on October 28. The company’s organic sales for the quarter saw a notable increase, leading to a strong 5.2% year-over-year growth in net sales to $1.3 billion, beating Street expectations by 71 basis points. Furthermore, its adjusted EPS increased 11.2% year over year to $3.88, beating consensus estimates by 3.5%.
However, the company’s sales outlook for the fourth quarter significantly hurt investor confidence. Zebra expects its fourth-quarter sales to grow between 8% and 11% year over year. However, this includes an 8.5% favorable impact from acquisitions and foreign currency translation.
For full fiscal 2025, which ends in December, analysts expect ZBRA to generate adjusted EPS of $15.83, up 17.1% year-over-year. The company has a strong track record of earnings surprises. It has surpassed final Street estimates in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 17 analysts covering ZBRA stock, the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy.” This is based on 10 “strong buys”, one “moderate buy”, five “holds” and one “strong sell”.
This setup is slightly less bullish than a month ago, when none of the analysts covering ZBRA gave “Strong Sell” recommendations for the stock.