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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.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as 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 Corp. 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 products and solutions that includes cloud-based subscriptions and a full range of services like maintenance, repair, technical support, as well as 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 2025-end, it had around 10,700 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.

Effective from the fourth quarter of 2025, Zebra Technologies reports operations under two segments — the company started reporting under two segments, namely Connected Frontline (CF) and Asset Visibility & Automation (AVA). The segments are briefly discussed below:

CF (54.9% of total revenues in 2025): The segment provides tools to help frontline workers improve efficiency and customer service through integrated tools and insights. Its key product lines comprise rugged mobile devices like handhelds, tablets and wearables with features such as barcode scanning, GPS and RFID. The segment also offers Elo solutions like POS systems and kiosks, AI-driven workflow software for real-time decisions and services for device management, maintenance and support through a worldwide network of partners.

AVA (45.1%): The segment helps track important assets and automate workflows, providing real-time data to improve supply chains, manufacturing and logistics. The company’s key product lines comprise printers for labels, cards and RFID tags, barcode scanners and AI-powered machine vision systems. Its RFID and RTLS solutions enable precise tracking of assets and people. It also offers supplies and sensors, along with services for maintenance, support, and device management.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of a few things: research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Zebra Technologies a decade ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in May 2016 would be worth $5,146.85, or a gain of 414.69%, as of May 18, 2026, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 261.99% and gold's return of 247.45% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for ZBRA.

Zebra Technologies is benefiting from an increase in sales of mobile computing solutions within the Connected Frontline segment. Higher sales of printing solutions, supplies and sensors, data capture and RFID products are boosting the Asset Visibility & Automation segment's performance. The company continues to focus on workflow automation, digital capabilities and AI-enabled solutions to drive growth. Accretive acquisitions and healthy free cash flow generation are supporting its shareholder-friendly initiatives and expanding its addressable market. However, Zebra Technologies has been dealing with the adverse impacts of rising costs and expenses. High debt levels and increasing interest expenses may hurt profitability. Geopolitical tensions and foreign currency fluctuations could weigh on the company's international operations.

The stock has jumped 10.63% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 2 higher, for fiscal 2026; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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