The ‘winners’ of Trump’s rise have been in the spotlight long before the Republican won the White House. The financial sector, the oil companies, Tesla… Rivers of ink have flowed over who would benefit from the US turn towards the tariffs and aggressive tax cuts. However, the biggest winner of all has gone under the radar in recent days until his latest financial results have ended up making it impossible for his ‘rally’ to go unnoticed.
Axon (the former Taser International), the security giant known for being the firm behind the famous weapon used by law enforcement to paralyze criminals with an electric shock, has entered the Olympus of Wall Street with force. So far this year the group has already skyrocketed 153% with an advance that really began in August, when Trump’s options became more real than ever, but that experienced a true ‘boom’ in November, with the victory. Since then, the firm’s shares have advanced 45%.
But why has a firm known for its ‘electroshock’ weapons become the fourth best stock in the S&P 500, only behind Vistra, Palantir and Nvidia? The answer is a combination of Trump’s immigration policy… and artificial intelligence. Almost like a perfect storm, the two factors have come together to make ‘Taser’ reach historical highs of $636 per share, that is, about $48.5 billion. But to understand why Taser dances to the rhythm of Trump and AI We must understand the situation of the firm and why it is facing a true turning point to become one of the great pillars of the security business.
To understand the rise of the firm, you have to understand its star product and what gives it its name. In 1969, almost at the same time that man landed on the moon, NASA wanted to develop a weapon to control suspects but that was safe and a viable alternative to firearms. In 1974, aerospace agency researcher Jack Cover had completed the Tom Swift Electric Riffle, whose acronym, TSER, would go down in history.
The company formed to market this new gadget went bankrupt in the eighties due to commercial failure, but, with a new redesign and a complete restructuring of the brand, it returned to the ring, launching itself on the Nasdaq 100 in 2001. After a fleeting success, the company knew that the product that had given him his name would not allow him to reach his full potential, so he redirected his business towards body cameras. Axon cameras They became its star product.
At first the cameras were linked to the Tasers. At that time the company said that “we are not just a weapons company, our business is to provide transparency and solve problems data for police forces.” Taser cameras were incorporated into security agents throughout the country in case of complaints against them or legal problems arising from their activity. In addition to the cameras themselves, the company markets a software linked to it that sells for a monthly payment program.
Trump and security
This new ‘star’ business is one of the bases on which its powerful stock market awakening has been built. Axon’s body cameras are one of the most in-demand products under Trump’s immigration laws. As AFSC highlights in its latest report “U.S. immigration authorities they use the company’s cameras and software who accompanies them to monitor the immigrants. In June 2024, for example, CBP awarded Axon a contract potentially worth $7.7 million for its Incident Video Recording System (IDVRS) body cameras.”
This has caused experts to assume that a time of great growth is coming for the company’s products. Security products that were already coming off a powerful third quarter with profits growing by 42% and sales by 32%up to 544 million euros. Now the firm expects to bill more than $2.07 billion for all of 2024, according to the firm’s latest perspectives.
Northcoast Research explained in a note about the firm at the close of its results that it would be one of the big winners of the Trump era. “Law enforcement agencies should be well funded if Trump wins the elections”, which would “benefit these actions” – This sentiment is what has taken over all analysts because, as stated in Bloomberg’s forecasts, Taser International (or Axon Group) although it will start billing 2.08 billion this year compared to 1.56 billion From 2023, each year it will add 500 million more, reaching 3,000 million in 2026. For its part, net adjusted profit will go from just 312 million to 630 million in that period of time, in the heat of Donald Trump’s presidency.
An anti-paperwork AI for the police
Although this does not only come from the greater demand for cameras and ‘electroshock guns’. The company has achieved another milestone, entering the artificial intelligence revolution, specifically in the security sector. The company has developed a product known as Draft One. This new product, which is already beginning to be marketed, consists of software that, through the videos collected by the police with the Axon cameras, automatically writes the police report.
These reports would be preliminary and the police would be in charge of reviewing them, but the company defends that this system would allow critical streamlining the times of “paperwork” so that police officers can be more efficient. According to their statistics, the time spent writing reports has fallen by 75% in the Rowlett Police Department, where they have tested this assistant. “We want to use AI to make public safety faster, smarter and more effective,” the firm explained.
In the round of questions with analysts, financial director Rick Smith explained that “we are still in the first stage“But we already have orders from some clients so we are very optimistic about both revenue and profitability.” It remains to be seen if this mix of AI and Trump will be able to continue maintaining the great ‘Taser’ rally or if it ends up giving up. However, for now, it has helped him break into the Olympus of Wall Street and it seems difficult that his path will be cut short in the remainder of 2024.
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