Automation And Robotics Will Capture Global Industrial Demand

Key Takeaways

• Innovative product launches and focus on automation and robotics are set to drive above-market growth and expand margins across diverse industrial sectors.
  
• Growing recurring software revenues and cost improvement initiatives are boosting earnings predictability and profitability while management sharpens its strategic focus on high-margin technologies.
  
• Margin pressure, end-market weakness, FX volatility, delayed returns on innovation, and organizational changes threaten Hexagon's earnings stability and growth prospects.

Catalysts

Provides geospatial and industrial enterprise solutions worldwide.

• Upcoming launches of highly innovative products such as the AEON humanoid robot and the MAESTRO CMM automation platform position Hexagon to capture increased demand from the accelerating digitalization, automation, and robotics adoption across manufacturing and industrial markets-likely to drive above-market revenue growth and expand margins as these offerings scale starting in 2026.
  
• The company's growing base of recurring software and SaaS revenues (particularly in Asset Lifecycle Intelligence and SIG) continues to improve the quality and predictability of Hexagon's revenue streams, supporting gross margin expansion and providing a stabilizing influence on earnings.
  
• Strategic focus on fast-growing verticals such as public safety, aerospace, defense, and electronics-sectors benefiting from rising regulatory, security, and precision requirements-should translate into resilient organic growth and diversified earnings, even amid cyclicality in legacy end markets.
  
• The spin-off of the Octave software business, set for H1 2026, is expected to unlock management focus, allow Hexagon to double down on core high-margin precision measurement and robotics technologies, and potentially refocus capital allocation, all supporting higher long-term profitability and improved return on equity.
  
• The imminent implementation of a new cost improvement program in response to previous cost base misalignment is likely to directly support operating margins, boosting net margins and improving earnings power as revenue momentum returns with the rollout of the new product cycle.

Hexagon Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming Hexagon's revenue will grow by 5.2% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 17.3% today to 20.7% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach €1.3 billion (and earnings per share of €0.49) by about August 2028, up from €941.9 million today. However, there is some disagreement amongst the analysts with the more bearish ones expecting earnings as low as €1.2 billion.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 25.2x on those 2028 earnings, down from 27.2x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the GB Electronic industry at 28.7x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to remain consistent over the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 6.52%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Hexagon Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• Persistent margin pressure from higher operational costs and a misaligned cost base, as evidenced by repeated cost-saving programs and recent margin declines, could depress long-term earnings and net margins if not sustainably addressed.
  
• Prolonged weakness and unpredictability in key end-markets-particularly European and Chinese construction-are resulting in declining or flat revenues for divisions like Geosystems, exposing Hexagon to cyclical risks and jeopardizing organic growth targets.
  
• Currency volatility and negative FX trends, with significant recent EBIT headwinds from USD and CNY depreciation and Swiss franc appreciation, continue to impact earnings unpredictably and could create further revenue and margin instability in the long term.
  
• Heavy R&D investment and ramp-up costs for new products (e.g., robotics, MAESTRO), while promising, may take longer than expected to positively impact revenues and margins; if market adoption lags or competitors outpace Hexagon in AI/robotics, there is risk of product obsolescence and declining ROI on innovation.
  
• The planned spin-off of Octave and frequent restructuring create organizational uncertainty and potential integration or execution risks, which could lead to operational inefficiencies, loss of focus in growth markets, and ultimately impact both revenue growth and profitability.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of SEK113.697 for Hexagon based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of SEK144.88, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just SEK88.94.
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be €6.3 billion, earnings will come to €1.3 billion, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 25.2x, assuming you use a discount rate of 6.5%.
• Given the current share price of SEK106.85, the analyst price target of SEK113.7 is 6.0% higher. The relatively low difference between the current share price and the analyst consensus price target indicates that they believe on average, the company is fairly priced.
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.