Zebra Technologies Corporation (ZBRA)

How it makes money

Zebra sells mostly hardware, largely through distributors rather than directly to end customers: three distributors together accounted for about 59% of 2025 net sales. Printers and scanners generate a recurring stream of supplies (labels, ribbons, batteries), while mobile computers and software increasingly carry subscription and support contracts. Demand tracks capital spending by retail, logistics and healthcare customers, so unit volumes rise and fall with those industries' own investment cycles rather than with steady end-consumer purchases.

Warehouses and retailers standardize scanning, printing and mobile-computing hardware, supplies and management software across thousands of devices; replacing an installed fleet means re-certifying workflows and retraining staff, which discourages switching suppliers. The advantage is real but not absolute: Honeywell, Datalogic and others sell comparable hardware, and large customers negotiate hard on price, so it does not bring the pricing power seen in pure software businesses.

Customers buy scanners, printers and mobile computers as part of capital budgets for new stores, warehouses or delivery fleets, spending that gets deferred quickly when retail or logistics volumes soften. The 2023-2024 downturn, when customers worked through inventory built up during the pandemic before ordering again, showed how sharply unit volumes can swing even though the underlying use cases stay permanent.

Key risks

• Revenue concentrated in a few distributors — Three distributors together made up about 59% of 2025 net sales. Losing one, or a change in how it buys and stocks Zebra products, would have an outsized effect on reported sales.
• Acquisition integration risk — Zebra has grown through acquisitions, including Elo in 2025. Retaining the customers, distributors and staff of an acquired business is not guaranteed, and integration can distract management and absorb capital.
• Geopolitical instability — The company cites regional conflicts, terrorism and war, specifically the Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East tensions, as sources of market instability that can disrupt supply chains and demand.
• Dependence on regulated wireless spectrum — Zebra's wireless devices depend on government-allocated radio spectrum. Changes to spectrum availability or regulation in any country can force product redesigns or restrict where products can be sold.

Top customers account for 59% of revenue

In fiscal 2025 three distributors accounted for 29%, 15% and 15% of net sales respectively, about 59% combined. A change in how any one of them buys and stocks Zebra products affects results directly.