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Zebra Technologies to Acquire Elo Touch Solutions for $1.3 Billion, Raises Full-Year Forecasts

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Barcode scanner and handheld device maker Zebra Technologies (ZBRA.O) announced a $1.3 billion all-cash deal to acquire Elo Touch Solutions, a touchscreen system maker, as it expands its retail-focused offerings. The acquisition follows strong second-quarter results driven by rising demand for Zebra’s devices and a recent acquisition of 3D imaging firm Photoneo.

Zebra’s shares jumped nearly 7% in premarket trading following the announcement and an upward revision of its annual revenue and profit guidance. The company benefits from increased digitization in retail and logistics, with its products aiding inventory management, warehouse operations, and shipment tracking.

The Elo Touch acquisition, expected to close in 2025, will add self-service kiosks, payment terminals, and touchscreen systems to Zebra’s portfolio, enabling frontline workers to better serve customers. CEO Bill Burns described the deal as a “next step” to accelerate frontline connectivity and estimated it expands Zebra’s addressable market by $8 billion.

Elo Touch, serving clients including JCPenney, has annual sales near $400 million. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings and to generate around $25 million in additional core profit three years after closing.

Zebra’s Q2 performance also benefited from lower tariffs than anticipated, with supply chain diversification across China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Mexico helping manage costs. In April, Zebra raised prices on most North American products to offset tariff-related pressures.

For the full year, Zebra now expects sales growth between 5% and 7%, up from a prior range of 3% to 7%. Adjusted earnings per share guidance has been raised to $15.25–$15.75 from $13.75–$14.75.

In Q2, sales rose 6.2% to $1.29 billion, meeting estimates, while adjusted EPS of $3.61 exceeded expectations of $3.32.

Heineken’s Q3 Revenue Slightly Exceeds Forecasts, Full-Year Guidance Unchanged

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Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, reported a 3.3% rise in organic net revenue for the third quarter, narrowly surpassing analysts’ expectations of 3.2% growth. The increase was driven by higher-priced and non-alcoholic beers, with the Heineken brand itself seeing an 8.7% rise in global volumes, particularly strong in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Non-alcoholic beers and ciders also saw growth, up by 11%.

Despite these gains, overall volumes grew just 0.7%, with two of Heineken’s three largest regions experiencing declines. The company has kept its full-year guidance unchanged, targeting 4-8% organic operating profit growth, despite earlier concerns raised by weaker half-year results.

CEO Dolf van den Brink noted that the business is performing in line with expectations, though challenging market conditions persist. Analysts, including Trevor Stirling of Bernstein, emphasized that Heineken is in a rebuilding phase, needing consistent results to regain investor confidence after previous disappointments.

Shares of Heineken were up 2.34% in early trading following the announcement.

Best Buy Raises Full-Year Profit Outlook After Beating Earnings and Revenue Expectations

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Best Buy raised its profit forecast for the fiscal year after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for the recent quarter. The company now anticipates full-year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) between $6.10 and $6.35, an increase from its previous range of $5.75 to $6.20. This comes as Best Buy works through an ongoing sales slump amid softer consumer demand following the pandemic-era tech boom and high inflation pressures.

For the quarter ending August 3, Best Buy exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, posting an EPS of $1.34 compared to the expected $1.16, and revenue of $9.29 billion against the anticipated $9.24 billion. Despite a year-over-year decline in net sales from $9.58 billion to $9.29 billion, the company’s net income grew to $291 million, up from $274 million last year.

While comparable sales fell by 2.3%, this marks a significant improvement from the 6.2% decline seen during the same period last year. The retailer has faced challenges with declining consumer electronics sales, which have been forecasted to drop another 2% in 2024 according to Circana.

Best Buy is positioning itself for recovery through several key initiatives. The company is focusing on boosting sales in computing, appliances, and home theater by deploying trained sales teams to these areas, and it is also launching a marketing campaign to engage consumers, including YouTube videos to highlight tech products.

The retailer is banking on new technology rollouts, such as Apple’s new iPads and AI-enabled laptops from Microsoft, to reignite interest and spur spending as the replacement cycle for pandemic-era tech products begins to take shape. Best Buy anticipates increasing stabilization in the industry as 2024 approaches, despite the ongoing challenges in the consumer electronics market.