Motorola Solutions Q2 Earnings and Guidance Signal Stronger Growth

MSI Raises Its 2026 Outlook Again

Motorola now expects 2026 revenues of approximately $12.98 billion, up from its prior outlook of $12.8 billion. Non-GAAP EPS guidance was raised to $17.62-$17.72 from $16.87-$16.99. Management said the higher outlook reflects continued strength in Mission Critical Networks, including stronger expectations for Silvus, and sustained demand for public-safety land mobile radio solutions.

For the third quarter, Motorola expects revenues to grow approximately 8% year over year and non-GAAP EPS to range from $4.39 to $4.44. The company also expects operating margin expansion of approximately 170 basis points for 2026.

Motorola Delivers Broad-Based Q2 Growth

Products and Systems Integration revenue increased 15% year over year to $1.91 billion, while Software and Services revenue rose 10% to $1.23 billion. Growth extended across Mission Critical Networks, Video Security and Access Control and Command Center offerings.

Non-GAAP EPS increased 24% to $4.41, while non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 32.9%. Excluding a $60 million benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds, operating margin still expanded 140 basis points despite elevated direct material and memory costs.

MSI’s Record Backlog Strengthens the Outlook

Second-quarter backlog reached a record $15.6 billion, up 11% year over year following record orders. Software and Services backlog increased $1.2 billion, while Products and Systems Integration backlog rose $329 million. The backlog provides visibility into future sales and supports management’s approximately 8% third-quarter revenue-growth outlook.

Motorola generated $469 million in operating cash flow and $414 million in free cash flow during the quarter. Higher earnings drove the increase, partly offset by greater investment in inventory

Motorola Expands Its Safety Technology Ecosystem

Motorola agreed to acquire D-Fend Solutions for $1.5 billion, adding counter-drone technology to its safety and security portfolio. Silvus adds adaptive networking, while Hyper and Exacom expand emergency response and cloud-native recording capabilities. The planned Bell Canada LMR network services acquisition is expected to broaden managed-services reach.

Motorola is also expanding AI-enabled public-safety capabilities through Assist, Interpreter Agent and Live Audio Streaming. Interpreter Agent enables real-time language translation, while Live Audio Streaming provides live calls, AI-generated summaries and transcriptions.

For industry context, Axon Enterprise, Inc. AXON is another public-safety technology company with exposure to connected devices and software, while L3Harris Technologies, Inc. LHX has exposure to mission-critical communications and government customers. These two tickers provide relevant peer context for investors assessing the broader public-safety technology theme.

MSI’s Zacks Rank Frames the Earnings Signal

Motorola Solutions currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while its Growth Score is C and VGM Score is D. Its Value Score and Momentum Score are also D. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Rank is designed to capture near-term earnings-related signals, while the Zacks Style Scores provide additional context on value, growth and momentum characteristics. The combination gives MSI a favorable earnings-revision signal but less support from the broader Style Score framework.

The earnings update strengthens the growth narrative, but the investment case still depends on execution. Backlog conversion, acquisition integration, supply-chain costs and the pace of third-quarter growth will be important indicators for investors evaluating whether the latest guidance increase can translate into sustained results.

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