Motorola Solutions (MSI)
Information Technology · $87.3B market cap · SEC CIK 0000068505
ahead of 61% of the S&P 500 · #32 of 73 in Information Technology
Next reports on Feb 9, 2027, after the close, with analysts expecting $5.56 in earnings per share.
52-week range $359.36 to $548.29. 4% below its 52-week high and 47% above its low.
The case for MSI
- Generated $2.6B of free cash flow in FY2025, 22% of revenue.
- Earns 78% on shareholder equity, a figure flattered by a small equity base.
- Revenue growing 11.4% year over year.
- Pays a modest 1.2% dividend.
The case against
- Pricey for its growth: 41.9× earnings, where 13% a year of growth plus a 1.2% dividend would justify about 30×.
- Priced at 25× book value. Very little hard asset backing here.
- Long-term debt of $8.4B against $1.2B of cash.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Information Technology companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings and cash, against the growth you get | 42 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 47 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 62 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 82 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 70 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 73 Information Technology companies.
The financials
Revenue growth
Is the business growing? Yes
| Last 12 months | +11.4% |
|---|---|
| Over 5 years | +9.5% a year |
| FY2025 revenue | $11.7B (+8%) |
Free cash flow
Is it generating real cash? Yes, plenty
| FY2025 free cash flow | $2.6B |
|---|---|
| Of revenue | 22% |
| Of profit | 119% |
Profit margins
Is profitability improving? Yes, improving
| Gross margin | 52% |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 24% |
| Net margin, FY24 → FY25 → now | 14.6% → 18.4% → 16.5% |
Debt vs. cash
Is the balance sheet healthy? Yes, the debt is manageable
| Cash | $1.2B |
|---|---|
| Long-term debt | $8.4B |
| Net debt | $7.2B |
| Years to repay | 3.0 yrs |
Valuation
Is the stock price reasonable? A bit pricey
| P/E | 41.9× |
|---|---|
| Fair P/E for its growth | 30× |
| P/FCF | 33.9× |
| Forward P/E | 26.1× |
| EV / EBITDA | 28.2× |
At 41.9× earnings it trades above the 30× that 13% a year of growth plus a 1.2% dividend would justify. At 33.9× free cash flow it trades close to that same mark.
The financials, five years deep
Pulled from Motorola Solutions's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | |||||
| Revenue | $11.7B | $10.8B | $10.0B | $9.1B | $8.2B |
| Change on the year | +8% | +8% | +10% | +12% | — |
| Free cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow | $2.6B | $2.1B | $1.8B | $1.6B | $1.6B |
| Of revenue | 22% | 20% | 18% | 17% | 20% |
| Profit margins | |||||
| Gross margin | 51.7% | 51.0% | 49.8% | 46.4% | 49.4% |
| Operating margin | 25.6% | 24.8% | 23.0% | 18.2% | 20.4% |
| Net margin | 18.4% | 14.6% | 17.1% | 15.0% | 15.2% |
| Debt vs. cash | |||||
| Cash | $1.2B | $2.1B | $1.7B | $1.3B | $1.9B |
| Long-term debt | $8.4B | $5.7B | $4.7B | $6.0B | $5.7B |
| Net cash (debt) | −$7.2B | −$3.6B | −$3.0B | −$4.7B | −$3.8B |
What Motorola Solutions says it does
Overview | Solving for safer Motorola Solutions is a global leader in mission-critical safety and security technologies for public safety, government, including defense, and enterprise customers. Our business is focused on safety and security, driven by our commitment to help create safer communities, safer schools, safer hospitals, safer businesses, and ultimately, safer nations. Grounded in nearly 100 years of close customer and community collaboration, we design and advance technology for more than 100,000 customers in over 100 countries with the goal of making everywhere safer for all. Our ecosystem of safety and security technologies includes Mission Critical Networks ("MCN"), Video Security and Access Control ("Video") and Command Center. Our strategy is to generate value through our technologies that help meet the changing needs of our customers around the world in protecting people, property and places. While each technology…
Risk factors MSI lists in its 10-K
- Catastrophic events may interrupt our business, or our customers’ or suppliers’ business, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial position, cash flows or stock price
- We are exposed to risks under large, multi-year system and services contracts that may negatively impact our business
- Our employees, customers, suppliers and outsource partners are located throughout the world and, as a result, we face risks that other companies that are not global may not face
- Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract and retain senior management and key employees, including engineers and other key technical employees, in order to remain competitive
- Government regulation of radio frequencies may limit the growth of private, public safety and government narrowband and broadband systems or reduce barriers to entry for new competitors
- Our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations on cross-border transactions and the translation of local currency results into U.S. dollars could negatively impact our results of operations
- Returns on pension and retirement plan assets and interest rate changes could affect our earnings and cash flows in future periods