Motorola Solutions
MSI on NYSE. Motorola Solutions sells radios, video security, and command software to police, governments, and businesses. Market value $75.4bn.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
Should I look at this?
Good business, but not cheap right now
Why it could be worth it
See cheaper Technology stocks on the list
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $3.55 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.
You pay 27.5 years of operating profit for the business. The average large US company costs around 18.
Each dollar kept in the business earns 35 cents a year. Above 10 is good.
Quality score: 80 of 100. Price score: 40 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$455.37 a share, 27% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $359.36 to $494.85.
Dividend: 1.0% a year
Paid every year for at least 5 years
Prices from Monday’s close (5 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $8.2bn | $9.1bn | $10.0bn | $10.8bn | $11.7bn |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 20.4% | 18.2% | 23.0% | 24.8% | 25.6% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | n/a | 51.85 | 8.31 | 3.52 | 3.80 |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.17bn | 0.17bn | 0.17bn | 0.17bn | 0.17bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive5 of 5 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Nothing unusual
- Financial strength (Piotroski)6 of 9
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
- Debt3.80× equity
- Revenue growth, five yearsSlow, 9.5% a year
- Buying back its own sharesRoughly flat
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $3.1 billion last quarter, up 13% on a year ago.
- Profit: $557 million, up 9% on a year ago.
- It keeps 25 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, about the same as a year earlier.
- Spare cash over the past 12 months: $2.7 billion, up from $2.4 billion.
- 1% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
- Debt is $8.3 billion more than cash, up from $4.5 billion a year ago.
- Sales grew on a year ago in each of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $2.8bn |
| December 2024 | $3.0bn |
| March 2025 | $2.5bn |
| June 2025 | $2.8bn |
| September 2025 | $3.0bn |
| December 2025 | $3.4bn |
| March 2026 | $2.7bn |
| June 2026 | $3.1bn |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $562m |
| December 2024 | $611m |
| March 2025 | $430m |
| June 2025 | $513m |
| September 2025 | $562m |
| December 2025 | $649m |
| March 2026 | $366m |
| June 2026 | $557m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- 5 November 2026
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 12 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 4 November 2026
Who owns it
13 long-term investors we follow own it, up from 12 last quarter. 1,468 funds in all.
- Mairs & PowerAndy Adams
- Value
- $226m
- Share of fund
- 2.1%
- Leon Cooperman (Omega Family Office)Leon Cooperman
- Value
- $56m
- Share of fund
- 1.6%
- First Manhattan Co.First Manhattan partners
- Value
- $9m
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
- Platinum Investment ManagementPlatinum team
- Value
- $3m
- Share of fund
- 0.6%
- Ariel InvestmentsJohn Rogers Jr.
- Value
- $287,381
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
- Torray Investment PartnersRobert Torray (founder)
- Value
- $235,054
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orbis Investment ManagementOrbis team (Allan Gray lineage) | $992m | 3.4% | Added |
| Aristotle Capital ManagementHoward Gleicher | $871m | 1.8% | Cut |
| Mairs & PowerAndy Adams | $226m | 2.1% | |
| Jensen Investment ManagementEric Schoenstein | $116m | 2.8% | Added |
| Leon Cooperman (Omega Family Office)Leon Cooperman | $56m | 1.6% | |
| Wedgewood PartnersDavid Rolfe | $27m | 5.6% | Cut |
| Fenimore Asset Management (FAM Funds)John Fox | $17m | 0.4% | New |
| Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt | $14m | <0.1% | Cut |
| First Manhattan Co.First Manhattan partners | $9m | <0.1% | |
| Dodge & CoxDodge & Cox investment committee | $5m | <0.1% | Cut |
| Platinum Investment ManagementPlatinum team | $3m | 0.6% | |
| Ariel InvestmentsJohn Rogers Jr. | $287,381 | <0.1% | |
| Torray Investment PartnersRobert Torray (founder) | $235,054 | <0.1% |
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$6.6bnCut
- Vanguard Capital Management$4.5bn
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$4.0bn
- State Street$3.3bnAdded
- Geode Capital Management$1.7bn
- FMR$1.6bnAdded
- Alliancebernstein L.P.$1.5bnAdded
- Raymond James Financial$1.4bn
- Ameriprise Financial$1.2bnAdded
- Orbis Investment Management$992mAdded
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
3 investors own more than 5%.
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor8.0%−1.2 ptsSince 31 March 2025
- Vanguard Capital ManagementPassive investor7.5%Since 31 March 2026
- Vanguard Portfolio ManagementPassive investor5.8%Since 31 March 2026
- Capital World InvestorsPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 31 December 2025
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 8.0%−1.2 pts | 31 March 2025 | |
Vanguard Capital Management Passive investor | 7.5% | 31 March 2026 | |
Vanguard Portfolio Management Passive investor | 5.8% | 31 March 2026 | |
Capital World Investors Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 31 December 2025 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought shares on the open market in the last 12 months. 8 sold $101m.
- BROWN GREGORY QChairman and CEO, DirectorSold
- Date
- 2 September 2026
- Shares
- 14,220
- Price
- $485.22
- Value
- $7m
- MOORE KATHRYN ASVP, HUMAN RESOURCESSold
- Date
- 21 August 2026
- Shares
- 1,004
- Price
- $476.96
- Value
- $478,759
- Howard AyannaDirectorSold
- Date
- 12 August 2026
- Shares
- 685
- Price
- $469.51
- Value
- $321,618
- MAHER KATHERINE ACVP and CAOSold
- Date
- 7 August 2026
- Shares
- 1,754
- Price
- $469.77
- Value
- $823,980
- BROWN GREGORY QChairman and CEO, DirectorSold
- Date
- 4 March 2026
- Shares
- 28,435
- Price
- $477.95
- Value
- $14m
- MOORE KATHRYN ASVP, HUMAN RESOURCESSold
- Date
- 27 February 2026
- Shares
- 406
- Price
- $478.89
- Value
- $194,252
- WINKLER JASON JEVP and CFOSold
- Date
- 27 February 2026
- Shares
- 8,819
- Price
- $478.23
- Value
- $4m
- YAZDI CYNTHIASVP, COS to the Chairman & CEOSold
- Date
- 27 February 2026
- Shares
- 7,260
- Price
- $479.30
- Value
- $3m
- YAZDI CYNTHIASVP, COS to the Chairman & CEOSold
- Date
- 26 February 2026
- Shares
- 7,000
- Price
- $471.01
- Value
- $3m
- DENMAN KENNETH DDirectorSold
- Date
- 26 February 2026
- Shares
- 434
- Price
- $470.12
- Value
- $204,032
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 September 2026 | BROWN GREGORY Q Chairman and CEO, Director | Sold | 14,220 | $485.22 | $7m |
| 21 August 2026 | MOORE KATHRYN A SVP, HUMAN RESOURCES | Sold | 1,004 | $476.96 | $478,759 |
| 12 August 2026 | Howard Ayanna Director | Sold | 685 | $469.51 | $321,618 |
| 7 August 2026 | MAHER KATHERINE A CVP and CAO | Sold | 1,754 | $469.77 | $823,980 |
| 4 March 2026 | BROWN GREGORY Q Chairman and CEO, Director | Sold | 28,435 | $477.95 | $14m |
| 27 February 2026 | MOORE KATHRYN A SVP, HUMAN RESOURCES | Sold | 406 | $478.89 | $194,252 |
| 27 February 2026 | WINKLER JASON J EVP and CFO | Sold | 8,819 | $478.23 | $4m |
| 27 February 2026 | YAZDI CYNTHIA SVP, COS to the Chairman & CEO | Sold | 7,260 | $479.30 | $3m |
| 26 February 2026 | YAZDI CYNTHIA SVP, COS to the Chairman & CEO | Sold | 7,000 | $471.01 | $3m |
| 26 February 2026 | DENMAN KENNETH D Director | Sold | 434 | $470.12 | $204,032 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the warning signs we check for were found.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 12 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 5 Aug 2026 and 6 later 8-Ks.
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
- It carries a lot of debt: 3.8× its equity.
- It isn't cheap on profits: 27.5× operating profit.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.