This article was originally published by RFID Update.
January 7, 2005—An interesting analysis of Vernon Hills, Illinois-based Zebra Technologies was recently posted on investor site YEALD. Key financials are noted, including 50.9% gross margins and Q3 2004 hardware sales of $136.7 million, but the most interesting part is the look at both the arguments for and against the company’s growth prospects. The arguments for include:
- Zebra’s existing base of installations
- The company’s strong brand
- Its technology portfolio of proven printing solutions
- Projected RFID hardware growth of $1 billion today to $5 billion by 2009
And against:
- Intellectual property issues affecting RFID technology
- The RFID tag shortage
- The widely reported problems some implementers have had deploying RFID
What’s most striking about the contrast between these two lists is that the latter lacks Zebra-specific criticisms. That is, all of the cons relate to issues confronting RFID’s widespread adoption, not Zebra’s role therein. So assuming RFID demand continues growing apace, the analysis makes a strong case for Zebra Technologies as the investment vehicle of choice for riding the RFID wave.
Read the complete analysis