Motorola Solutions Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
November 7, 2024

There are 13 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good afternoon, and thank you for holding. Welcome to the Motorola Solutions Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Today is being recorded. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time. The presentation material and additional financial tables are posted on the Motorola Solutions' Investor Relations website.

Operator

In addition, a webcast replay of this call will be available on our website within 3 hours after the conclusion of this call. The website address is www.motorolasolutions.com/investor. All participants have been placed in a listen only mode. You will have an opportunity to ask questions after today's presentation. I would now like to introduce Mr.

Operator

Tim Yoakam, Vice President of Investor Relations. Mr. Yocum, you may begin your conference.

Speaker 1

Good afternoon. Welcome to our 2024 Q3 earnings call. With me today are Greg Brown, Chairman and CEO Jason Winkler, Executive Vice President and CFO Jack Malloy, Executive Vice President and COO and Mahesh Saptarishi, Executive Vice President and CTO. Greg and Jason will review our results along with commentary and Jack and Mahesh will join for Q and A. We've posted an earnings presentation and news release at motorolasolutionsdot com/investor.

Speaker 1

These materials include GAAP to non GAAP reconciliations for your reference. And during the call, we'll reference non GAAP financial results, including those from outlook and otherwise noted. A number of forward looking statements will be made during this presentation and during the Q and A portion of the call. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from these forward looking statements.

Speaker 1

Information about factors that could cause such differences can be found in today's earnings news release, in the comments made during this conference call, in the Risk Factors section of our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10 ks or any quarterly report on Form 10 Q and in our other reports and filings with the SEC.

Speaker 2

We do

Speaker 1

not undertake any duty to update any forward looking statements. And with that, I'll turn it over to Greg.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Tim, and good afternoon, and thanks for joining us today. I'm going to share a few thoughts before Jason takes you through our results and outlook. First, Q3 was another outstanding quarter with record Q3 revenue and earnings per share that exceeded our guidance. Revenue was up 9% in the quarter, highlighted by 11% growth in products and SI and 7% growth in software and services, inclusive of the UK home office revenue reduction. We also expanded operating margins year over year for the 9th consecutive quarter, increased earnings per share by 17% and generated record Q3 operating cash flow of over 750,000,000 dollars 2nd, demand for our solutions remains robust as we achieved record Q3 orders in all three of our technologies.

Speaker 2

In LMR, we continue to see customers investing for the long term with many choosing us to provide software upgrades and value added services on their networks via multi year agreements as well as upgrading their devices to our latest Apex Next family of radios. And in our video and command center technologies, the powerful integration of our software applications across our ecosystem is driving strong demand and contributing to record ending backlog in software and services. And finally, based on our Q3 results and the strong momentum we see across the business, we're again raising our estimates for revenue, earnings per share and cash flow for the full year. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Jason.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Greg. Revenue for the quarter grew 9% and was above our guidance with growth in both segments, both regions and all three technologies. Acquisitions added $36,000,000 during the quarter, while FX headwinds were $4,000,000 GAAP operating earnings were $711,000,000 or 25.5 percent of sales, up from 25% in the year ago quarter. Non GAAP operating earnings were $830,000,000 up 12% from the year ago quarter and non GAAP operating margin was 29.7%, up 70 basis points driven by higher sales, favorable mix and lower direct material costs, partially offset by the Airwave charge control, higher expenses related to investments in video and higher employee incentives. GAAP earnings per share was $3.29 up from $2.70 in the year ago quarter.

Speaker 3

Non GAAP EPS was $3.74 up 17% from $3.19 last year. The growth in EPS was driven by higher sales, favorable mix and a lower effective tax rate. OpEx in Q3 was $617,000,000 up $66,000,000 versus last year, primarily due to continued investments in video and higher employee incentives. Turning to our cash flow. Q3 operating cash flow was $759,000,000 up $45,000,000 versus last year and free cash flow was $702,000,000 up $53,000,000 The increase in year over year cash flow was primarily driven by higher earnings.

Speaker 3

For the full year, we are again raising our operating cash flow guide. We now expect full year operating cash flow of approximately 2,300,000,000 dollars up from our previous guide of $2,250,000,000 Capital allocation in Q3 included $164,000,000 in cash dividends, dollars 31,000,000 in share repurchases and $57,000,000 in CapEx. Additionally, we closed and funded 2 acquisitions that we announced on our previous earnings call for $223,000,000 settled $313,000,000 of 4% senior notes that were due within the quarter and subsequent to quarter end, we acquired 3TC, an international provider of command center software solutions for $22,000,000 Moving to our segment results in the Products and SI segment sales were up 11% versus last year, driven primarily by growth in LMR. Revenue from acquisitions in the quarter was $11,000,000 while FX headwinds were $1,000,000 Operating earnings were $522,000,000 or 29.3 percent of sales, up from 26.1% in the prior year, driven by higher sales, favorable mix and lower direct material costs. Some notable Q3 wins and achievements in this segment include an $88,000,000 P25 system and device order for a customer in North Africa, a $31,000,000 P25 system for a U.

Speaker 3

S. State local customer, a $31,000,000 P25 system for a county in Wisconsin, a $25,000,000 P25 system expansion order for Tennessee's statewide network, a $23,000,000 P25 device order for a U. S. Federal customer and a $4,000,000 fixed video order for a U. S.

Speaker 3

Federal customer. In software and services, revenue was up 7% compared to last year And when excluding the UK home office, revenue grew 13% with growth in all three technologies. Revenue from acquisitions was $25,000,000 in the quarter and FX headwinds were 3,000,000 Operating earnings in this segment were $308,000,000 or 30.6 percent of sales, down from 34% last year due to the impact of the Airwave charge control. Some notable Q3 highlights in the segment of S and S include a $30,000,000 command center order for the State of Utah, an $18,000,000 mobile video order for Sao Paulo state government in Brazil, and a $24,000,000 command center order for Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which is a significant win highlighting the demand for our new recurring license model. The solution purchased included our CAD and Records platform as well as numerous cloud connected capabilities, including the Rave Suite.

Speaker 3

We also were awarded 3 large LMR contract renewals during the quarter, dollars 191,000,000 from the U. S. Navy, over $100,000,000 for South Carolina statewide network, and $84,000,000 for the federal law enforcement agency. Less than $30,000,000 of these $375,000,000 of contracts is in our Q3 ending backlog with the remainder to be recorded ratably over the term of the contracts. Looking at regional results next.

Speaker 3

North America Q3 revenue was $2,000,000,000 up 13% on growth in all three technologies. International Q3 revenue was $783,000,000 up 1% versus last year, driven by growth in all three technologies, offset by the UK home office revenue reduction. Excluding the UK home office, our international revenue grew high single digits. Moving to our backlog. Ending backlog for Q3 was $14,100,000,000 down $178,000,000 or 1% versus last year due to strong LMR shipments and revenue recognition for the UK home office, partially offset by multi year software and service agreements and favorable FX.

Speaker 3

Sequentially, backlog was up $135,000,000 or 1%, driven by strong growth in multi year service and software contracts in North America and favorable FX, partially offset by strong LMR shipments and revenue recognition for the U. K. Home office. In the Products and SI segment, backlog decreased $712,000,000 versus last year and $151,000,000 sequentially driven by strong LMR shipments. In software and services backlog increased $534,000,000 compared to last year and $286,000,000 sequentially driven by strong demand for multi year software and services contracts, favorable FX, partially offset by revenue recognition for the UK home office.

Speaker 3

Turning next to our outlook. For the full year, we now expect revenue growth of 8.25%, up from our prior guidance of approximately 8%, and we expect non GAAP earnings per share between $13.63

Speaker 1

$13.68

Speaker 3

per share, up from our prior guidance of $13.22 per share to $13.30 per share. This full year outlook assumes a weighted average diluted share count of approximately 171,000,000 shares and an effective tax rate of approximately 22.5%. Additionally, we now expect full year OpEx of approximately 2,400,000,000 dollars driven by higher employee incentives aligned to our performance, increased legal spend inclusive of the CMA appeal process and acquisitions. And finally, before turning the call back to Greg, I would like to share a couple of insights on our segments. The strong demand we're seeing for our technologies and our performance is reflected in both of our segments.

Speaker 3

In Products and SI, the improved supply chain environment has helped us expand margins, while normalizing supplier lead times have enabled us to improve our customer delivery times. And in SNS, we've grown double digits year to date excluding the impact of the U. K. Home office, which began in August of last year. In LMR, our customers continue to choose us as a trusted partner to invest in their networks through long term multi year agreements.

Speaker 3

And in video and command center cloud solutions continue to grow at a faster pace than on prem and the investments we've made in the portfolio position us well for this to continue. Finally, our strong cash generation liquidity profile together with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.4 gives us significant flexibility in our capital allocation strategy. I'll now turn the call back over to Greg.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Jason. Let me end with a few thoughts. First, I'm really pleased with how we continue to execute. During the quarter, we generated strong revenue growth in both segments, expanded operating margins by 70 basis points, grew EPS by 17%, generated over $750,000,000 of operating cash flow and we achieved record Q3 orders in all three technologies. 2nd, as customers continue to invest in leading edge technologies, our solutions integrating voice, video and data across public safety and enterprise workflows are becoming increasingly more important to them.

Speaker 2

Adoption of our command center and video applications that leverage cloud and AI continues to accelerate, which in turn is driving higher recurring revenue in those respective technologies. And in LMR, we're also seeing strong for the broadband enabled applications on our Apex Next family of radios. Many of these new applications were on display last month at the annual IACP conference in Boston and the customer feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive. And finally, as we look to close out another record year, I feel really good about the business and our opportunities for continued growth. The prioritization of safety and security remains robust.

Speaker 2

We're continuing to add value for our customers through new offerings. Our end markets remain resilient and our strong balance sheet with the lowest net debt to EBITDA ratio in almost a decade positions us well for organic and inorganic investments to drive long term shareholder value. I'll now turn the call back over to Tim.

Speaker 1

Greg, before we begin taking questions, I'd like to remind callers to limit themselves to one question and one follow-up to accommodate as many participants as possible. Operator, could you please remind callers on the line how to ask a question?

Operator

The floor is now open for questions. If you have a question or comment, please press star 5 on your telephone keypad. If for any reason you would like to remove yourself from the queue, please press star 5 once again. We do ask that while you pose your question, please pick up your handset to provide optimal sound quality. The first question is from Ben Bollin with Cleveland Research.

Operator

Your line is unmuted. Please ask your question.

Speaker 4

Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for taking the question. Greg, if I recall, I think in prior years, at the end of 3Q, you've given some thoughts into subsequent to forward year. You shared some thoughts big picture on funding and growth overall. Curious if you have any more granularity about how you're thinking about 25 as we're going into it and any individual perspectives within LMR surveillance command center within that?

Speaker 4

And then I have a follow-up.

Speaker 2

Yes. Ben, thanks for the question. You're right. I think, look, as we sit here in November, I think the color I would give you looking forward to next year is revenue growth of, I'd say, 5% to 6% as we sit here today. That's a prudent view, but that's our current thinking.

Speaker 2

I think that as it relates to this year, supply chain lead times normalized faster, which is a good thing, which drove a strong 2024. Demand remains strong. As I mentioned just now in comments with both Jason and I, I'm particularly pleased, really pleased that we had record Q3 orders in all three technologies. And as we think about kind of exiting this year into next year, we now expect total backlog to be up versus a quarter ago when we said comparable to slightly up. And while we won't dimensionalize the individual technologies and we'll give you more color in February, I would expect obviously, we expect revenue growth in both SNS and products.

Speaker 2

High level, I see software and services growing about 2x products in SI for 2025. But I like the overall backlog position, which we now expect to be up. Love the record orders position exiting Q3. And if anything, I feel better today than I was a quarter ago, obviously, both about the full year 'twenty four and the momentum heading into next year. And we'll give you the details in February.

Speaker 3

And Greg, I'd add that we expect operating margin expansion as well within S and S. Next year in 'twenty five, we'll have the financial comparability of this year having had the Airwave price control relative to next year. So the S and S segment will have a clean comp and we'll continue to do what it's done, which is grow and grow operating leverage. And then secondly, within even within products, while this year in 'twenty four, we had a $70,000,000 benefit for lower semiconductor or PPV relief. We'll have about 20,000,000 and the tail end of it into next year, which should also help operating margins as well.

Speaker 3

That's right.

Speaker 2

So Ben, high level, 5% to 6% next year, sitting here in November, software and services growing about 2x product. And as Jason just appropriately added, we expect continued operating margin expansion and expected cash flow growth with a much smaller PPV contribution in 2025. Thanks for the question.

Speaker 4

That's great. One follow-up for me would be, where are your thoughts where we stand today on mix of recurring revenue and how you feel about that going forward? That's it for me. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes. As you know, we talk about software and services as kind of a proxy for recurring revenue. That's kind of why I mentioned our thinking about 2025 with the U. K. Home office financially from a comp standpoint pretty much being normalized through the comparable previous periods, we now expect S and S to grow about 2x product.

Speaker 2

We also see continued adoption on cloud, particularly around video. And we also see more cloud adoption on command center. We think both those trends are favorable. So recurring revenue is healthy, and then reoccurring revenue around device refresh and multiyear services is strong as well.

Speaker 3

And the backlog that supports the recurring nature of that business within SNS is at record levels and continues to grow. Exactly.

Speaker 4

Thanks guys. Have a great night.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Ben.

Operator

Our next question comes from Adam Tindle with Raymond James. Please unmute your line is unmuted. Please ask your question.

Speaker 2

Okay. Thanks. Good afternoon, Greg. I just wanted to ask now that we're post election, I think there's been some confusion from investors on rhetoric regarding potentially reducing public sector spending and the potential impact to MSI. I'm just recalling the last Trump regime was actually fairly helpful to state and local and your core customer base, but might be a good opportunity to clear the air here.

Speaker 2

I'm sure you reviewed potential impacts from a variety of outcomes. Just expected results and impact on your business from the election, understanding it will be a dynamic situation? And I have a follow-up. Yes. First, I think that state and local budgets remain very healthy and strong as Jack could opine on if he wants to jump in.

Speaker 2

As I talked about, the end user markets are strong, 70% North America is our revenue composition, 75 percent public safety government. So, we are optimistic in terms of that perspective. From a Trump administration, I think it's positive that thematically he has been consistent in prioritizing public safety and looking to mitigate crime in large cities, and also stem the tide of an open border on immigration, which would require probably headcount and technology deployment to help on both those fronts. The administration's referred to tariffs high level. I remind you that we're pretty unique as it relates to China specifically.

Speaker 2

We have de minimis revenue exposure to China less than 1% and minimal exposure to them from an end market perspective. And with the Trump administration, we like the fact that there looks like there's certainty now of continuity of corporate tax, rate continuity and continuation, which allows a predictable environment, which is always good, I think, from a capital allocation standpoint. And the last thing I'd say is, thematically, I think it'll be a more favorable M and A environment versus the current administration. So all ingredients into the mix with this administration coupled with the continuity of robust state and local budgets, I think it's positive. The only thing I'd add just on that, Adam, is as you know, state and local budgets have essentially been funded and it's been a tailwind in terms of inflation.

Speaker 2

Income tax has been benefited and we've seen income tax coffers drive up. Property taxes have gone up and that's been beneficial to state and local government. And then sales tax, revenues are up, which means budgets are up. So, the revenues are a good order. As Greg articulated, the prioritization on our spending is in good order.

Speaker 2

And I think as we said the last administration, we had good years in between 2016 2020 as well. Thanks, Adam.

Operator

Our next question will come from Joseph Cardoso with JPMorgan. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 5

Hi. Good afternoon or good evening, gents. Just apologies, I've been jumping on a couple of calls this evening. But maybe just one question for me and maybe you already had this asked, but curious if you could flush out any color if it was already asked. Can you just provide an update on where you're expecting the backlog to exit this year from last quarter?

Speaker 5

I think you said to slightly up. And maybe more specifically, curious if you could flush out any color on contribution from product and services. And maybe more specifically on the product side, how are you thinking about the drivers from a portfolio perspective there? Just given the easing of the supply chain you're seeing and the drawdown in the backlog you're seeing today? Thanks for the question, guys.

Speaker 3

Thanks for the question. So, yes, on the last call, we indicated that by year's end this year, we would have expected backlog total backlog to be comparable to slightly up. As we update you on this call with the strong Q3 orders we had with records in all three technologies, we now expect that the total backlog for the company ending this year will be up and it will be up from last year's record levels. So the indicators around backlog continue to be strong supported by the sales funnel and the work that the team is doing in a strong demand environment. In terms of its composition, it's largely consistent with what it's been.

Speaker 3

And backlog is an important part of how we plan for any one given year. I mentioned earlier, SNS is at record levels and continues to grow and product backlog remains healthy at over $4,000,000,000 as well. So we're on track to end the year from last year.

Speaker 5

Thanks. Appreciate the color guys.

Speaker 2

Thanks Joseph.

Operator

Our next question will come from Tim Long with Barclays. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 6

Hi. This is Elisa Shreeze on for Tim Long. I just had, just two quick questions. Gross margins were, I think, a record for this quarter. How should we kind of think about gross margins now moving forward kind of giving supply chain normalization?

Speaker 6

You have the Apex Next product cycle. Is there kind of anything we should be aware of in terms of Q4 and kind of moving into next year? And then I have a follow-up.

Speaker 3

Alyssa, I would point into the fact that the PPV $70,000,000 of relief is largely behind us in Q3 ending. So and next year, I mentioned on the color that it's pretty small. It's around $20,000,000 The margin profile, but for those items continues to be positive in terms of a mix variable. And with the advent of some of our newer Apex Next devices and we're early, early stage on the conversion to those, we would expect continued opportunities for favorable mix. And then complemented by the backlog or the OpEx update that we gave, thinking about operating margins continuing to grow.

Speaker 3

We will have a bit higher OpEx this year. The biggest driver of that is our incentive structure is aligned to our now higher performance.

Speaker 6

That's helpful. And then just a quick follow-up. You noticed some nice federal wins in products and SI this quarter. Can you kind of dimensionalize how large is the federal business now? Thank you so much.

Speaker 3

Last year, it was around 900,000,000 dollars It's growing this year. And I'll remind everybody that the $900,000,000 is distributed across 2 components, DoD and then of course, DHS, law enforcement, civil and the likes. But Jack, if you want to talk, you had a strong close to the federal business in Q3. That's in part what drove our Q3 over performance.

Speaker 2

Yes, we did. I think a strong close highlighted by a couple of the services orders, but also a strong device refresh. We continue to get uptake from Apex to Apex Next customers. The other thing we're really excited about is we begin shipping the D Series, which gives us another refresh cycle from an infrastructure standpoint as well. So opportunities there, as well as the U.

Speaker 2

S. Federal Government has been a growth engine for us from a video security standpoint, Very good quarter. The last thing I'd leave you with is that the way the schedules align is we got off to a good start to Q4 with the federal government in terms of new orders as well. The other nice thing, Alyssa, is I think Jill Balshoon, who works for Malloy, has done a great job. As Jason mentioned, we expect it to be over $900,000,000 in revenue this year.

Speaker 2

The other nice thing and I'll call it out to what we just talked about earlier. There's 2 orders comprised in federal for the U. S. Navy and U. S.

Speaker 2

Law enforcement that are about $275,000,000 of which less than $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 are even recorded in backlog based on the way we record backlog and kind of amortize it over a period of time that's reflected more of the way the projects are funded. So, in addition to the strength in federal over $900,000,000 the strong close, the strong order activity. I think it's even better in that some of these recent large orders, 90% of them are not reflected in backlog given the way we recorded.

Speaker 6

That's helpful. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2

Sure.

Operator

Our next question will come from George Notter with Jefferies. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 7

Hey, guys. This is Brendan on for George. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted some color around the video business for next year. You guys had cited the $40,000,000 headwind for 2024.

Speaker 7

Any idea if that's going to grow for next year as customers continue to shift through the cloud? Thanks.

Speaker 2

I think it's too early to tell. I think we'll give you that color in February. We're focused the video business has done really well. We're pleased with the width and breadth of our portfolio, both fixed and mobile, prem, on prem and cloud. We did talk about the $40,000,000 headwind, which actually I think is favorable because it dimensionalizes customers acceleration toward cloud and capitalizing on what we have there.

Speaker 2

But that's really all the detail we'd give you at this point in terms of 2025. Having said that, we're on track and expect to meet the full year guidance we gave on video for this year for 2024, which is another good thing.

Speaker 7

Awesome. And then just one more for me. Last quarter, you guys talked about 25% of shipments coming from Apex Next. Is that still the right way to think about it? Or is this continued mix shift?

Speaker 7

Is there any upside there from the last couple of quarters of strength? Thanks.

Speaker 3

You're right. Last quarter, we did talk about how our devices business, was about 25% of it was coming little less from Apex Next. That's largely still the case in Q3. And as we look forward with only 25% of the devices we're shipping today of that variety, there's a long opportunity ahead of us for continuing to deliver those devices to customers.

Speaker 2

And I think that's just Jason hit it. I think that just speaks that this is a multi year horizon of an opportunity for us. That's really what the 25%. You'll continue to see opportunities. We just reviewed it with the team as we look through 2025, 2026, we'll start to see a continued shift in momentum into Apex next.

Speaker 3

Tetra, Jack?

Speaker 2

Yes. Internationally, we launched the MXP 660. Think of that as the TETRA Apex Next, if you will. And we'll start to see a pickup in that. We're already seeing orders, but we'll see a pickup in that in 2025.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from Amit Daryanian from Evercore. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 8

Thanks a lot. Good afternoon, everyone. I have 2 as well. I guess, first off on the video product line item, I think your product revenues in video were down like 3% year over year. Can you just talk about what drove the decline?

Speaker 8

Because one of your peers I think reported recently and their number was they reported up double digits in that segment. So I'm just trying to reconcile the difference. Is it mostly just regions or markets? Or maybe just talk about what drove the decline in the video side? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes. So I think the question was specific to video products. I want to first of all highlight the fact that our expectations for the full year for the video security remain unchanged. Part of that the dynamic here is higher software attachment rate and think about that our H6A, which is our AI related camera, the ACC8, we're seeing more software attachment as well as with Telco, the Elevate, the cloud analytics platform there. This is I think just a little bit of a trend that we're seeing reflective in the momentum to the cloud.

Speaker 2

The last thing I highlight is within video security, there's also a mobile security reported in our numbers. And last year, we had a 24% growth in terms of mobile video products, which presented from a product standpoint a little bit of a lumpy comp that we're measured against. Got it. Jack is right. Higher software content, the 24% component previous base comp and then as we said, aggressive adoption of cloud, I think Mahesh, we view favorably.

Speaker 9

That's right. And on the mobile video aspect that Jack highlighted, 60% of our customers today are as a service, and that's a big part of this as well.

Speaker 8

Perfect. That's really helpful. And then Greg, when you were talking about just things post elections, you sort of talked about a more favorable M and A environment, I think, in your answer. I'd love to understand, as you think about 25 and maybe even beyond that, this capital allocation for you change fundamentally under a different administration versus what you've had before? And how do you start to think about M and A going forward versus what you've done in the past?

Speaker 8

I'm clearly wondering like, are there larger deals that you have perhaps hesitant to do, you thought you're going to get them through the finish line that you might be more open to do now? Let me just understand how does cap allocation, M and A appetite change under a different administration? Thank you.

Speaker 2

It's a good question. I was describing more the M and A environment from a macro standpoint. I don't think it changes per se for us. Even though we've only done a couple of deals, I will tell you, we and I have been as engaged on M and A this year as ever before. The funnel is robust.

Speaker 2

The opportunities are numerable. And as you know, the capital allocation framework, 55%, 25%, 15%, 55% of operating cash flow is always available in a normalized way to either do share repo or inorganic acquisition. We've been in a number of conversations and I think the environment's healthy. My commentary around the Trump administration was more around the leadership in the FTC and the overall climate. I don't think it changes much for us this year versus next year in the sense that I think the M and A environment is attractive.

Speaker 2

The reasons we haven't gotten some things done, I think are because we want to not just do the right thing, but do it the right way, make sure we are getting something that can generate long term value, has cultural compatibility, we can deliver on the synergies, we minimize technical debt, We can integrate it into the architecture. It's flexible around cloud adoption. We can retain talent. We can add talent. But we've invested over $6,000,000,000 of inorganic acquisition over the last 9 years.

Speaker 2

And as I mentioned, I think the opportunities are significant and I'm optimistic about that. And coupled with what Jason mentioned, right, our balance sheet also is in as good a shape as it's been in a long time with net debt to EBITDA and the ratio being as good as it's been in about 10 years. So I think the dry powder, the opportunities, the engagements are very good. I think the environment is good for us today and I think it will be as good maybe incrementally more favorable tomorrow.

Speaker 3

Thank you very much.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from Rodney McMull with Northcoast Research. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 10

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my question. Just a quick one on the recent acquisition of 3TC. I don't believe this is your first U. K.

Speaker 10

Control room software acquisition. So just curious what does this provide for you and how does this work with your prior acquisitions? Thanks.

Speaker 9

Rodney, the control room solutions that we sell in the U. S. Is growing for us. 3TC is part of that. There are 2 components to it.

Speaker 9

One is called integrated call control systems and the other part is CAD and CAD is what 3TC provides. And we have actually been selling 3TC as an integrated part of our control room solutions for a while. And this acquisition just enables us to bring that in house, improve our margins and also give us the right platform growth going forward.

Speaker 10

Got it. Thanks for that. I guess just a quick follow-up. Just curious on command center adoption in the U. S.

Speaker 10

What's the penetration rate there? And what is the barrier to growing that business faster? And maybe just some color on how that business is going internationally? Thanks.

Speaker 9

So this year, we are now number 1 both in CAD and Records in North America. Cloud is starting to catch on. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deal that Jason mentioned is I think a key part of what we're seeing both in terms of more customers preferring a recurring revenue model, a subscription model and adding on SaaS solutions on top of it. Overall, over 60% of our customers today have at least 1 cloud attached component and that's continuing to grow. And we expect to see a full 9% growth this year for command center.

Speaker 10

Got you. Thanks for taking my questions.

Speaker 3

So just to add on market share, I mean the market is growing less than that. I think the command center outlook for the year is 10%. Q3 was 9%. But we're taking those numbers, we're taking shares. The market's not growing at those rates.

Speaker 3

So positive with the cloud investments.

Operator

Our next question comes from Tomer Zilberman from Bank of America. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 11

Hey, guys. Thank you for the question. Maybe going back to some of the earlier backlog questions that were asked. When you think about the and maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, but when you think about the 25 guide for 5% to 6% growth, where do you think the what do you think the product backlog contribution is? If we assume that we get to maybe a $4,000,000,000 level this year, will this go back to your historical $3,000,000,000 level?

Speaker 11

And how does that impact your thoughts around the LMR growth rate? Do you think that we still sustain that mid to high single digit growth rate going into next year?

Speaker 2

So we do expect LMR to grow, immature to dimensionalize. We talked about total backlog. We now expect it to grow up year over year. That's a good thing. Product backlog remains healthy.

Speaker 2

Even sequentially, it's still north of 4,000,000,000 dollars I think the record orders in all three technologies, although in this case in the context of your question, LMR record orders is another favorable indication. So, too early to give you that dimensionalization, but I feel good about the momentum of the business, the segment momentum of the business and the technology momentum of the business. And maybe that gives you a little bit more granularity. It may not fully scratch the itch, but that's the best I can give you, but we'll update you in February.

Speaker 11

Sure. No worries. And maybe asking another question shifting gears a bit. You've talked before about getting more aggressive on subscription sales. And if I'm not mistaken, I think you informed your sales force to try and sell everything now as a subscription.

Speaker 11

Just wanted to talk about how that's going? Any changes in the go to market that you're making to enable that? I believe you put the Rave CEO as Head of Subscription Sales. So just any commentary you can give on trends you see there?

Speaker 2

Yes. Just to clarify, Tomer, we're not pushing everything as a subscription. What I would tell you, if you think about SaaS or cloud, I mean, we talked about video and Avigilon Alta growing at exponentially faster than prem video. We like that trend. We talked about command center just a few minutes ago, which we've always offered as a hybrid solution, which I think is really good because it allows customers to evolve at their pace.

Speaker 2

And we see and Mahesh just talked about increased adoption around command center cloud, things, yes, like Rave, but also things like call handling. And we also talked about even though Apex Next family of devices shift is less than 25%, I love the fact that a lot of those Apex Next family shipments come with the broadband adoption of applications. We love that. A, it's recurring revenue B, it's sticky and C, it provides connective tissue with those critical applications in the ApexNet device that communicate and interoperate with the command center and the integrated workflow applications that Mahesh is building. So we didn't wave a wand and said force everything SaaS.

Speaker 2

We meet our customers where they are. Video recurring and cloud is growing fast, a number faster as a multiple than prem, love the adoption of Command Center, love the Apex Next application broadband apps uptick and adoption rate. We think those trends are favorable.

Speaker 11

Got it. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Silmar.

Operator

Our next question comes from Meta Marshall with Morgan Stanley. Your line is now open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 12

Great. Thanks. You guys noted strong traction with the MXP660 earlier in the call and kind of ramping in 2025, but just any way to kind of contextualize that versus some of the ramps we've seen throughout the Apex Next portfolio? And then just as a second question, any kind of change to how you guys are viewing kind of resolution of kind of the U. K.

Speaker 12

Home office airwave type situations? Thanks.

Speaker 2

Yes. Meta, in terms of the MXP 660, I think the horse just left the starting gate and is kind of coming through the first turn a little bit. So a little too early to kind of extrapolate or give you any kind of predictive traction. We love the fact that it's an available option in European markets now that capitalizes on broadband both for LMR and 4 gs integrated into one device that gives you enhanced location broadband applications over the air software reprogramming and roaming on an LMR, Tetra and or 4 gs network. So we love all the available features that that brings, but it's still early.

Speaker 2

In terms of the U. K, there's a hearing next Monday, Tuesday in the U. K. On our multi year challenge to the CMA and the cap ruling. Really nothing to report.

Speaker 2

The hearing will take place Monday, Tuesday. After that, they'll reach some decision. My expectation is a decision either by the end of the year or early 2025 that would give us a little more color that in turn we would of course share with you transparently. But it's the long winding road of challenging what we think is an unlawful action that was taken on a contract, a binding multiyear agreement that we had with the U. K.

Speaker 2

Home office. So stay tuned.

Speaker 12

Great. Thanks.

Speaker 8

Thanks, Meta.

Operator

Our next question comes from Bryce Sandberg with William Blair. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 3

Hey, everyone. Good afternoon and thanks for the question.

Speaker 7

Another one on M and A. As you look out at

Speaker 11

the market, are there any particular product or market areas that you're focusing on or that look particularly attractive? Or is it kind of broad based across the portfolio?

Speaker 2

I think it's primarily around video software and services that we focus on from a product standpoint or a more less product, more category. I think it's an active funnel. We've had engagements with multiple companies of varying sizes. But those are kind of the lanes that we continue to pursue and our conversations are around video software services.

Speaker 3

Great. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Bryce.

Operator

This concludes our question and answer session. I will now turn the floor over to Mr. Greg Brown, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for any additional comments or closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Yes, thanks. I just first of all want to thank all the employees of Motorola Solutions, particularly our sales and support teams for driving record Q3 orders. The other thing I would be remiss in not recognizing especially this past quarter after severe hurricanes of Helene and Milton that were devastating. I'm proud of our people. I'm proud of our channel partners that work tirelessly and around the clock to ensure that our systems were up and available as they always are in these devastating natural disasters.

Speaker 2

I appreciate all of their hard work. And then lastly, I would just say I'm encouraged as we are sitting here in November with what the rest of the year holds and the momentum I see into next year. Our vibrant end markets, we expect the year to close with total backlog up off of record levels. And I'm encouraged by the continued high demand and the active engagements around the globe. I appreciate all the Motorola employees, channel partners and everybody that does their part in having to spend a great quarter and us continuing our momentum.

Speaker 2

I really appreciate it.

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Key Takeaways

  • Motorola Solutions delivered a record Q3 with 9% revenue growth (11% in Products & SI, 7% in Software & Services), expanded non-GAAP operating margin to 29.7%, 17% EPS growth to $3.74, and generated $759 million in operating cash flow, marking the 9th consecutive quarter of margin expansion.
  • Demand remained robust, with record Q3 orders across LMR, video and command center technologies driving a new high in software & services backlog, fueled by multi-year agreements, Apex Next radio deployments, cloud-based command center solutions and recurring license models.
  • Based on strong Q3 momentum, management raised full-year guidance to 8.25% revenue growth, non-GAAP EPS of $13.63–$13.68 (from $13.22–$13.30) and operating cash flow of approximately $2.3 billion (from $2.25 billion).
  • In Products & SI, revenue grew 11% with standout P25 system and device wins (e.g., $88 million in North Africa, $31 million in U.S. state/local), while Software & Services rose 7% (13% ex-UK Home Office) on major orders like a $30 million command center for Utah and $24 million for Maricopa County, plus $375 million in LMR renewals.
  • Strong cash generation underpins capital allocation: Q3 included $164 million in dividends, $31 million in share repurchases and $223 million in acquisitions, with net debt/EBITDA at 1.4x providing flexibility for further organic and inorganic investments.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Motorola Solutions Q3 2024
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