MW Taser maker Axon brushes off DOGE budget-cut worries as stock rallies

By Steve Gelsi

JPMorgan analyst hikes price target on the stock to $665 a share from $530 a share

Axon Enterprise Inc.'s stock was up 17% as one of the top gainers in the S&P 500 on Wednesday after the Taser maker said budget cuts in Washington may help its business as it played up its prospects for international growth and its cloud-services business.

Axon $(AXON)$ Chief Executive Patrick Smith said the company sees more opportunity than risk from budget cuts under Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

"I certainly don't think in terms of Axon's case and our future, there's any real cause of concern about what's happening with the funding cuts and DOGE," Smith told analysts late Tuesday on the company's quarterly conference call. "We'll have the opportunity to continue to support the federal government ... hopefully in bigger ways."

Axon also hiked its estimate for the total addressable market for its Tasers and other products to $129 billion from $77 billion about a year ago, as international orders for its Taser 10 model outpaced domestic demand from law enforcement.

The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $2.08 a share, well ahead of the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.40 a share. Its $575.1 million in fourth-quarter revenue also topped the analyst estimate of $556 million,

The Arizona-based company said it expects 2025 revenue growth of about 25% over 2024 to about $2.55 billion to $2.66 billion, close to the analyst projection of $2.61 billion.

Axon said seven of its top 10 Taser 10 orders have come from law-enforcement agencies outside the U.S.

J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Cardoso hiked his price target on Axon's stock to $665 a share from $530 a share and reiterated his overweight rating.

Cardoso highlighted the company's emphasis on its "strong opportunity pipeline, which is driving its confidence in continuing to expand bookings at a similar rate to revenue growth going forward."

Among the highlights in the fourth quarter, Axon Cloud & Services revenue increased 44% to $806 million. The business provides records-management support for law enforcement and government clients with products such as Axon FedCloud, Axon Evidence and Axon Respond, as well as in-car camera systems and body-worn cameras.

"We're going to have better efficiency, better training and new ways to apply our technology over the horizon," Smith said. "Our cameras and our sensors are helping our customers capture more moments."

Including Wednesday's rally, Axon's stock has gained back much of its loss for the year, but the stock remains 2% lower so far in 2025, while the S&P 500 SPX has risen 2%.

-Steve Gelsi

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February 26, 2025 11:56 ET (16:56 GMT)

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