Silicon Investor - Axon Enterprise, Inc. (AXON), formerly Taser Intl.

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon Stock Jumps As Taser Maker's AI Service Is A Hit Axon Enterprise ( AXON), ...

Zen Dollar Round — 8/8/2024 6:36:23 AM

Axon Stock Jumps As Taser Maker's AI Service Is A Hit

Axon Enterprise ( AXON), which supplies the Taser, body cameras and cloud-based digital evidence systems to law enforcement, easily beat second-quarter earnings estimates after Tuesday's close.

Yet the best news was how its Draft One artificial intelligence service is taking off, though it didn't meaningfully impact Q2 results. Axon stock is surging higher, flashing an early entry in Wednesday morning stock market action.

"Our customers' response to Draft One is better than anything I've seen, better than we could have imagined," Axon CEO Patrick Smith said in a Tuesday afternoon earnings call.

Draft One, launched in April, writes the first draft of a police report based on Axon Body Camera recordings. Axon says the AI-enabled product saves more than 50% of the time in writing reports. While immaterial to Q2 results, Draft One has generated over $100 million in yet-to-be recorded revenue faster than any other Axon software product, Smith said.

William Blair analyst Jonathan Ho wrote in a Wednesday note that Draft One could help drive adoption across Axon's platform of solutions, since it requires other subscriptions, including transcription, connectivity and Axon Cloud.

Ho wrote that Axon's fast growth may "be sustained for longer than investors anticipate" as it uncovers more opportunities to add value to customers, potentially improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public safety agencies.

Axon Earnings

Estimates: Analysts expected Q2 earnings per share to slip 8% to $1.02 as revenue grew 28% to $477.9 million.

Results: Axon earnings per share rose 9% to $1.20. Revenue leapt 34.6% to $504.1 million, the second-straight quarter of accelerating growth.

That growth was broad-based. Axon Cloud digital evidence management revenue grew 47% to $194.7 million. Sensors, including body and fleet cameras, brought in $112.4 million in revenue, up 28%. Taser revenue, including virtual reality training, rose 28% to $197 million.

Outlook: Axon raised its full-year revenue outlook to a range of $2-$2.05 billion, up from $1.94-$1.99 billion.

Axon Stock

Axon stock soared 19.4% to 352.25 in Wednesday afternoon stock market action, rising as high as 367.95 before cooling off.

After breaking support in turbulent markets on Friday and Monday, Axon rebounded 3.1% to 295 to its 50-day moving average on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Axon gapped up to 332 at the open, clearing an official 329.87 buy point, according to MarketSurge. The top of the buy zone is 346.36.

Keep in mind that while a market rally attempt has just gotten underway, investors should exercise a higher degree of caution.

Link: investors.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon Enterprise (AXON) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates Zacks Equity Rese...

Zen Dollar Round — 8/7/2024 10:25:21 AM

Axon Enterprise (AXON) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates

Zacks Equity Research
Tue, Aug 6, 2024, 2:15 PM PDT

Axon Enterprise (AXON) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.20 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.06 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.11 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 13.21%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this maker of stun guns and body cameras would post earnings of $0.97 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.15, delivering a surprise of 18.56%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.

Axon, which belongs to the Zacks Security and Safety Services industry, posted revenues of $504.1 million for the quarter ended June 2024, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.70%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $374.61 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Axon shares have added about 10.8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.7%.

What's Next for Axon?

While Axon has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Axon: mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.18 on $511.22 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $4.64 on $1.98 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Link: finance.yahoo.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon to Release Second Quarter 2021 Earnings on August 5, 2021 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz...

Zen Dollar Round — 7/23/2021 9:52:39 AM

Axon to Release Second Quarter 2021 Earnings on August 5, 2021

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon (Nasdaq: AXON), the global leader in connected public safety technologies, today announced that it will report second quarter 2021 financial results after the market closes on Thursday, August 5, 2021. Axon executives Rick Smith, CEO and founder; Luke Larson, president; and Jawad Ahsan, CFO; will host a live Zoom video webinar to discuss the company's financial results at 5 p.m. ET that same day.

More at: prnewswire.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon Enterprise, Inc. Expected to Post Earnings of $0.35 Per Share Brokerages f...

Zen Dollar Round — 1/15/2021 10:56:58 AM

Axon Enterprise, Inc. Expected to Post Earnings of $0.35 Per Share

Brokerages forecast that Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAXN) will post $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Seven analysts have issued estimates for Axon Enterprise’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $0.31 to $0.43. Axon Enterprise reported earnings of $0.41 per share during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative year-over-year growth rate of 14.6%. The business is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 25th.

On average, analysts expect that Axon Enterprise will report full year earnings of $1.14 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.10 to $1.23. For the next year, analysts expect that the company will report earnings of $1.29 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.12 to $1.46. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are an average based on a survey of research firms that follow Axon Enterprise.

More at: dailypolitical.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Shares of AAXN down so far today on news of secondary offering: Axon Announces ...

Zen Dollar Round — 6/16/2020 9:51:53 AM

Shares of AAXN down so far today on news of secondary offering:

Axon Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAXN), the global leader in connected law enforcement technologies, today announced that it has commenced a proposed public offering of 3,000,000 of shares of its common stock. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to 450,000 additional shares of common stock in the public offering. Axon intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as book-running manager for the proposed offering. The offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed or as to the final size or terms of the offering.

More at: finance.yahoo.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Shares of Axon, a maker of non lethal weapons and cameras for police, jump amid ...

Zen Dollar Round — 6/1/2020 7:56:32 PM

Shares of Axon, a maker of non lethal weapons and cameras for police, jump amid nationwide protests

Shares of law enforcement supplier Axon Enterprise spiked more than 18% on Monday after protests against police brutality turned violent in many cities across the country.

Axon, formerly known as Taser International, sells electrical weapons and body cameras for law enforcement officers. The stock’s jump on Monday followed a gain of 3.8% during Friday’s session.

The company was one of several that Oppenheimer identified in a note as providing technology that could be beneficial in reforming government agencies, such as police departments. The firm’s analysts praised Axon’s CEO, writing, “CEO Rick Smith has a company vision and personal passion to arm police agencies with technology and disarm them of lethal weapons.”

Over the weekend, Smith said released a statement on the company’s website in which he included quotes from police chiefs from Arizona and Washington and said “everyone deserves to get home safe.”

“We offer our sincere condolences to all those who loved George Floyd and we empathize with the citizens and communities who are angry and acknowledge the pain and suffering they are experiencing in the wake of this event,” Smith said in the statement.

The company, which has a market cap of roughly $4.5 billion, changed its name to Axon from Taser in 2017.

The stock has gained more than 22% year-to-date.

Link: cnbc.com

[Zen Dollar Round] AAXN hitting a new ATH today at 77.29. Anyone out there still in this stock? It...

Zen Dollar Round — 11/26/2019 10:18:46 AM

AAXN hitting a new ATH today at 77.29.

Anyone out there still in this stock? It's had quite a nice run since Q3 earnings and their latest announcements after raising full year guidance.

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon Reports Record Revenue of $131 million; Axon Cloud Grows 42%; Raising Full-...

Zen Dollar Round — 11/8/2019 1:25:11 PM

Axon Reports Record Revenue of $131 million; Axon Cloud Grows 42%; Raising Full-Year Revenue Outlook to $500-$510 million

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon ( AAXN), the global leader in connected public safety technologies, today released the following quarterly update letter to shareholders.

Dear Shareholders,

Since our August update, we executed on a series of objectives across our product, people, and adjacent markets, and we feel as confident as ever in our strategy and trajectory. We set and delivered on several large goals thus far in 2019 — all with the purpose of driving adoption of our growing software platform, transforming Axon into the leading technology provider for public safety, and serving our ultimate goal of creating safer communities and protecting life.

Importantly, we continue to make substantial progress driving long-term subscriptions. Customers have been rapidly adopting our best-value plans to gain access to more of the Axon network, building upon our historical strength with TASER device and body camera solution subscriptions. Our highest value tiered integrated bundle, for example, of $199 per officer per month over five years, known as the Officer Safety Plan, includes access to a wide range of benefits including TASER 7, Axon Body 3, and a host of cloud services including Axon Records. In Q3 2019, about a third of our total quarterly bookings, which average about five years per contract, were tied to some version of the Officer Safety Plan.

We are thrilled to be approaching year end with a strong market position and powerful operating platform that will support the next several years of revenue and profit growth.

Product

We have a number of positive updates across our product portfolio.

After completing carrier certification with AT&T FirstNet Ready™ and Verizon Responder Private Core, we began shipping Axon Body 3, our latest generation camera, in September, as planned. Axon Body 3's cellular communication, wireless data, and geolocation capabilities are poised to revolutionize public safety workflows. And because the majority of our body camera customers are on a multi-year subscription, we expect the majority of our customer base to automatically upgrade to Axon Body 3 over the next three years as we build upon our unmatched, rapidly growing network of cloud-connected cameras and other devices. The portion of agencies choosing to activate the LTE connectivity built into every Axon Body 3 camera is exceeding our expectations and we continue to drive that forward in support of our future vision, where cameras use real-time signals and AI to automate transcription and automatically feed information into Axon Records.

Axon Records also achieved a critical milestone in September when the Fresno Police Department went live with a full agency-wide Records Management System (RMS) deployment using our cloud subscription service. Cincinnati Police Department has also started using Axon Records for several critical workloads, including use-of-force reporting, and will continue to deploy additional modules throughout 2020 and beyond as part of an agency-wide RMS upgrade to our service. Fresno and Cincinnati PDs are positive reference customers for Axon as we sign new customers and enhance Axon Records' capabilities over time. As a reminder, Axon Records intends to disrupt the law enforcement software category known as Records Management Systems, or RMS, which powers the workloads for writing, storing, managing and sharing official police incident reports. Axon's strategic advantages in this category include our growing network of cloud-connected sensors and our industry-leading cloud SaaS platform, Axon Evidence (Evidence.com), which today is one of the world's largest repositories of data of any type. Cincinnati PD Police Chief Eliot Isaac said, "We are seeing exceptional benefits with how body camera footage can be directly embedded in our use-of-force, officer accident, citizen complaint and other internal reports."

Link: finance.yahoo.com

[Zen Dollar Round] AAXN down 5.90 (-8.62%) to 62.51 after hours, post Q2 earnings results.

Zen Dollar Round — 8/8/2019 9:14:48 PM

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon Q2 2019: Record bookings of $142 million, up 60% on new product strength, a...

Zen Dollar Round — 8/8/2019 9:04:18 PM

Axon Q2 2019: Record bookings of $142 million, up 60% on new product strength, adoption of Officer Safety Plan 7

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon ( AAXN), the global leader in connected public safety technologies, today released the following quarterly update letter to shareholders.

Dear Shareholders,

In Q2, we delivered excellent progress on our long-term strategic goals while also working through some operational challenges in our TASER segment that resulted in revenue and EBITDA below our expectations.

Unexpected short-term pressure on the TASER segment at quarter-end was tied to an inventory shortfall relating to a battery component supplier issue, as well as engineering actions we took to improve the long-term cost structure of our TASER 7 cartridges. We discuss these below in more detail.

Key highlights since our last update include:

Our three largest deals feature monthly software ARPUs at more than double historic levels on our new Officer Safety Plan 7+ (OSP 7+), which is clearly resonating with customers.
Axon Records passed acceptance testing with two major city law enforcement agencies, which is a critical milestone where the agency verifies that Axon Records is functional and meets the agency's needs.
Future contracted revenue surpassed $1 billion for the first time.
Axon Cloud revenue grew 41% annually and 15% sequentially; and annual recurring revenue grew 40% annually to $129 million.
Bookings in our Software & Sensors segment set a new record at $142 million, up 60% over last year and 86% sequentially. Bookings were driven by strong customer reception for the Officer Safety Plan (both OSP 7 and OSP 7+), our new bundle composed of the TASER 7 platform, Axon Body 3, and several software features including digital evidence management and Axon Records, at a price of $149 to $199 per officer per month over 60 months. We are thrilled to welcome Atlanta, Minneapolis and Baltimore City police departments onto OSP 7+, and are in the process of signing several more major agencies.
Software and Sensors segment gross profit grew 45% year over year, aided by steady user additions and sound execution, allowing our body-worn camera and digital evidence management business to become self-supporting.

[Daniel Schumacher] I think their Patent infringement case from Digital Ally could create a major he...

Daniel Schumacher — 6/4/2019 3:29:29 PM

I think their Patent infringement case from Digital Ally could create a major headwind for them and a windfall for DGLY. Resolution by August.

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon Enterprise's Growth Continues Ahead of New Product Launches Axon Enterpris...

Zen Dollar Round — 5/17/2019 11:05:20 AM

Axon Enterprise's Growth Continues Ahead of New Product Launches

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AAXN) has been working on new products like Taser 7, Body 3, and Axon Records for a few years now, and 2019 is when we'll see fruit from that labor. In the first quarter of 2019, the company set up product launches and began rolling out its newest stun gun, but it was largely anticipation about upcoming launches that management was focused on.

Axon reported its first-quarter results on May 9. Here's an overview of the numbers and what we can expect as new products hit the market.

Metric	Q1 2019	Q1 2018	Year-Over-Year Change
Sales	$115.8 M	$101.2 M	14.4%
Net Income	$6.4 M	$12.9 M	(50.3%)
Diluted EPS	$0.11	$0.24	(54.2%)

Data source: Axon Enterprise Q1 2019 earnings release.

What happened with Axon Enterprise this quarter?

The drop in net income may seem alarming, but when you look at segment results, it isn't surprising at all. And it shows how much management is investing in growing the business. Here are segment highlights and when we can expect new products:

Axon 3, which is an LTE cellular connected device, is set to ship in the third quarter of 2019. Management said it has demonstrated live streaming with carriers and begun the certification process.

Axon Records continues to take longer than hoped but should go live with a customer later this year. Investors will have to wait until 2020 for significant traction on this product, but if it works well it could be a game changer for Axon and law enforcement.

The drop in earnings that you see above was due in large part to the launch of Taser 7, which had low yields in early production runs. Management said margins should improve in coming quarters and expects gross margins of more than 70% long term.

Taser sales were up just 2.9% versus a year ago to $65.4 million, and gross margins fell 330 basis points to 64.4%. The changes were due largely to more subscription-based sales and lower yields, as noted above.

Axon Cloud sales rose 36.5% year over year to $27.6 million and generated a 73.6% gross margin.

Sensor sales, which include body cameras, were up 30.6% versus a year ago to $22.8 million and gross margin was 28.4%, lower than other segments because body cameras enabled the high-margin cloud sales.

As Axon builds its customer base, seats booked and recurring revenue are key operating metrics to watch. In the first quarter, seats booked increased to 371,100 from 226,900 a year ago, and annual recurring revenue rose from $83.3 million to $122.3 million with $930 million of total contracted revenue.

What management had to say

The first quarter is like a setup for the new products coming later this year, and President Luke Larson summed up the quarter well, saying, "We feel confident that Taser 7 will be a major revenue and gross profit driver for our business over the next several years. In Q1, Taser segment gross margins were pressured by two main factors -- ASP, the average selling price, and scrap rates both will improve over time, and we are improving, even as we speak."

The fact that Axon is growing double digits without the help of these new products is extremely impressive. Investors should be excited about what's to come later in 2019.

Looking forward

Management increased its 2019 revenue expectations by $5 million to between $485 million and $495 million. Second-quarter revenue is expected to be up 16% to 17% year over year, and growth should pick up in the second half of the year. With Taser 7 and Axon Records due out later this year, Axon could keep its double-digit growth streak growing for years to come.

[Zen Dollar Round] AAXN has held up very well in the latest market turmoil. Unlike most of the rest...

Zen Dollar Round — 5/17/2019 8:59:34 AM

AAXN has held up very well in the latest market turmoil. Unlike most of the rest of the market recently, the stock recovered quickly from the hit it took after earnings last week and was up another $2.77 yesterday to $68.18 yesterday, now trading higher than it was before earnings.

I think both things are a very good sign about the prospects for this company.

It's up over 50% YTD, I believe investors are getting the message about the value this company has, from TASER sales to their body and in-car cameras and cloud-based software subscriptions.

Nothing like having recurring revenue from subscriptions to drive profits

[JakeStraw] Edited Transcript of AAXN earnings conference call or presentation 26-Feb-19 fin...

JakeStraw — 2/27/2019 11:00:22 AM

Edited Transcript of AAXN earnings conference call or presentation 26-Feb-19
finance.yahoo.com

[JakeStraw] Axon Delivers Record Q4 and Full Year 2018 Revenue and Bookings; Introduces 2019...

JakeStraw — 2/27/2019 10:54:28 AM

Axon Delivers Record Q4 and Full Year 2018 Revenue and Bookings; Introduces 2019 Guidance
finance.yahoo.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon to Release Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Earnings on February 26, 2019 ...

Zen Dollar Round — 2/16/2019 8:05:52 PM

Axon to Release Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Earnings on February 26, 2019

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon (AAXN), the global leader in connected public safety technologies, today announced that it will report 2018 fourth quarter and full year financial results after the market closes on February 26, 2019. Axon executives Rick Smith, CEO and founder; Luke Larson, president; and Jawad Ahsan, CFO; will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the company's financial results at 5 p.m. ET that same day.

The live audio webcast to discuss financial results, followed by Q&A, will be available on Axon's investor relations website at investor.axon.com. An archived replay will be available after the call ends.

More at: finance.yahoo.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Bought more on today's dip. Same thing happened intraday last time on the day af...

Zen Dollar Round — 11/7/2018 1:54:07 PM

Bought more on today's dip. Same thing happened intraday last time on the day after last quarter's earnings announcement, when AAXN was down as much has 15 points or so, but it recovered quickly and gained back most of the loss over the following sessions.

Still a believer in Axon's prospects long term.

[Zen Dollar Round] SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon ( AAXN), the global leader...

Zen Dollar Round — 11/7/2018 1:40:01 PM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon ( AAXN), the global leader in public safety technology, today released the following quarterly update letter to shareholders. Results included:

Total quarterly revenue of $104.8 million, up 16% year-over-year

Axon Cloud revenue of $23.9 million, up 47% year-over-year

Software & Sensors annual recurring revenue of $101.6 million, up 60% year-over-year

All-new TASER 7 conducted energy weapon in active field trials, shipping soon

Introduced Axon Body 3, with LTE live-streaming capability

More at: finance.yahoo.com

[Zen Dollar Round] According to this article, Axon is expected to announce earnings on Tuesday, No...

Zen Dollar Round — 10/22/2018 4:57:42 PM

According to this article, Axon is expected to announce earnings on Tuesday, Nov. 6th, with consensus estimates coming in at $0.12 per share.

That is also Election Day in the U.S.

Full link: transcriptdaily.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon Enterprise (AAXN) Downgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to Neutral LADENBURG...

Zen Dollar Round — 10/22/2018 4:48:50 PM

Axon Enterprise (AAXN) Downgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to Neutral

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AAXN) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH currently has $77.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AAXN. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research note on Tuesday, October 2nd. They issued a neutral rating for the company. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Axon Enterprise from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, September 22nd. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research note on Friday, September 14th. They issued an outperform rating and a $79.00 target price for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Axon Enterprise from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Thursday, August 9th. Finally, Imperial Capital upgraded shares of Axon Enterprise from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $50.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $62.64.

More at: thelincolnianonline.com

[JakeStraw] NYPD pulls thousands of body cameras from streets after cop's explodes The depar...

JakeStraw — 10/22/2018 2:17:25 PM

NYPD pulls thousands of body cameras from streets after cop's explodes
The department suspects a battery defect made it ignite
cnet.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Taser-maker loses sixth patent challenge in a row against Digital Ally Axon Ent...

Zen Dollar Round — 10/2/2018 1:24:50 PM

Taser-maker loses sixth patent challenge in a row against Digital Ally

Axon Enterprise Inc. (Nasdaq: AAXN), formerly known as Taser International Inc., lost its sixth challenge in a row against Lenexa-based Digital Ally's patents.

In the latest challenge, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company tried to invalidate Digital Ally's Patent No. 9,712,730, which involved a system to mount a portable camera to clothing, a vehicle or anything carried by the user, such as a firearm. But the U.S. Patent Office refused to review the patent, saying the information Axon provided didn't demonstrate enough evidence that the device was unpatentable.

Digital Ally (Nasdaq: DGLY) said the "730" patent in question isn't involved in any active litigation, so they were perplexed by the challenge, but pleased to see the patent upheld.

"The Patent Office's recent decision on the '730 Patent confirms the strength of our patent portfolio," Digital Ally CEO Stanton Ross said in a release. "We have repeatedly said that Digital Ally is the leading innovator of new and life-saving technology for law enforcement and this most recent decision of the Patent Office further justifies our beliefs. Our patent portfolio is strong, robust and the envy of the industry. We remain hopeful that Axon will recognize our innovation and rightful ownership of our valuable intellectual property, but if not, we will continue our fight."

Digital Ally has been engaged in a legal battle with Axon over its intellectual property for about three years now. Digital Ally says Axon is infringing on its patents for technology that activates a camera system when specified triggers — such as turning on emergency lights — occur. Digital Ally said the infringement led them to lose a lot of revenue.

The ongoing legal battle also has been taking a toll on the company's finances. Combined with the loss of business, the company was forced to cut about 40 percent of its workforce earlier this year. Digital Ally even submitted filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that indicated it was concerned about the company's ability to continue as a going concern and that the board was reviewing its strategic alternatives.

But gaining several wins defending its patents enabled the company to sign a deal with Brickell Key Investments LP in August, receiving $10 million of working capital in exchange for a percentage of potential legal settlements or court awards.

Digital Ally also was able to sell 2.4 million shares of stock last week, raising about $6.75 million, which pushed the company above the minimum threshold of $2.5 million in stockholder equity that is required to remain listed on the Nasdaq exchange.

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon To Unveil Next Generation TASER Weapon and Body Camera on October 6 at IACP...

Zen Dollar Round — 10/2/2018 1:20:32 PM

Axon To Unveil Next Generation TASER Weapon and Body Camera on October 6 at IACP

Axon celebrates 25 years with new TASER weapon and body-worn camera at annual International Association of Chiefs of Police conference

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon ( AAXN), the global leader in connected law enforcement technologies, today announced that it will unveil a new TASER weapon and body camera at the 125th International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. The announcement will be made at Axon's 25th Anniversary Party, which will celebrate Axon's 25 year history of technology innovation in the public safety space. Axon CEO and founder Rick Smith will announce the new products to a sold-out audience of around 3,000 global law enforcement professionals on Saturday, October 6th at the House of Blues, Orlando, Fla.

"Since the launch of our first TASER device, public safety officers have saved more than 200,000 lives from death or serious injury using TASER conducted energy weapons in situations where lethal force could have been used instead," says Smith. "It has been a privilege to innovate in the public safety space for the last 25 years and we hope these new product launches demonstrate that we're still just getting started."

Axon will showcase its new products at the IACP Axon booth, October 7-9. The Axon booth is officially sponsored by FirstNet, built with AT&T – the only nationwide public safety communications platform designed by first responders, for first responders. FirstNet provides a reliable and highly secure connection to the critical information first responders need. At the booth, conference-goers can get hands-on with the TASER weapon along with other new and existing product offerings on the Axon network. Visit Axon's booth number 1839. Verizon, the voice network used the most by public safety and a leading innovator in public safety communications, is the official sponsor of Axon's unveiling of the new TASER weapon and body camera products. Verizon operates the nation's largest and most reliable 4G LTE network. FirstNet and Verizon are both connecting Axon's wireless product offerings.

To learn more about these product announcements, tune in to www.axon.com/IACP at 9:30 pm ET on Saturday, October 6.

[JakeStraw] Boston Police Department Joins Forces with Axon for Body-Worn Camera Program mar...

JakeStraw — 9/20/2018 8:37:35 AM

Boston Police Department Joins Forces with Axon for Body-Worn Camera Program
markets.siliconinvestor.com
BPD's deployment of Axon's Body 2 cameras follows a year-long pilot program. The goals of the program included analyzing changes to officer productivity as well as reviewing feedback from both police and community when body cameras were present in the field.

"It is clear from the pilot program that the use of body cameras helps to build trust between members of the community and our officers," says BPD Commissioner William Gross. "By moving forward with body cameras, we are continuing to increase transparency and public trust."

[JakeStraw] Why I Don't Buy Axon Enterprise's SaaS Claim finance.yahoo.com

JakeStraw — 9/13/2018 9:17:29 AM

[JakeStraw] For a long time, Axon was just a stun gun manufacturer known as Taser Internatio...

JakeStraw — 8/24/2018 8:25:17 AM

For a long time, Axon was just a stun gun manufacturer known as Taser International. But with a name change last year, the company's transformation was formalized. While Axon's weapons segment is still very strong (and benefits from a virtual monopoly in the field), it is the company's software ambitions that have me really excited.

While there's nothing terribly special about Axon's body cameras, it's the Evidence.com platform for storing and analyzing the video from the cameras that makes it an excellent investment. Once a police department signs on to use the platform, it gets locked into Axon's system. The costs -- in finances, time to retrain entire workforces, and risks involved with losing crucial evidence -- associated with switching to another provider are onerous. And given that Axon just secured a monopoly in this field as well, there's still lots of room to run.

Next year, the company plans to roll out a new records management system, which uses AI and could save thousands of hours of paperwork to free up police officers. Management expects this to be a $2 billion market alone. Who knows how Axon will help make law enforcement more efficient (and accountable) in the years ahead?
fool.com

[JakeStraw] Axon Reports Second Quarter Results; Software Annual Recurring Revenue of $93 Mi...

JakeStraw — 8/8/2018 10:59:18 AM

Axon Reports Second Quarter Results; Software Annual Recurring Revenue of $93 Million
Total quarterly revenue of $99 million, up 25% year-over-year
Axon Cloud revenue of $23 million, up 76% year-over-year
Software & Sensors annual recurring revenue of $92.7 million, up 70% year-over-year
Completed a successful $246 million public offering of common stock
Began field testing of Axon Records with a partner agency
Maintaining full year revenue guidance; reiterating full year operating margin outlook and introducing full year adjusted EBITDA margin guidance of 14% to 16%
markets.siliconinvestor.com

[JakeStraw] Axon Announces Strategic Wireless Collaboration with Verizon and Arrangement wit...

JakeStraw — 8/8/2018 8:39:13 AM

Axon Announces Strategic Wireless Collaboration with Verizon and Arrangement with AT&T to Improve Network Communications for Law Enforcement
markets.siliconinvestor.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon to Release Second Quarter 2018 Earnings on August 7, 2018 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz...

Zen Dollar Round — 8/3/2018 2:28:05 PM

Axon to Release Second Quarter 2018 Earnings on August 7, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon (Nasdaq: AAXN), the global leader in connected law enforcement technologies, today announced that it will report 2018 second quarter financial results after the market closes on August 7, 2018. Axon executives Rick Smith, CEO and founder; Luke Larson, president; and Jawad Ahsan, CFO will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the Company's financial results at 5 p.m. ET that same day.

To join the live audio call, please dial 877-303-9126 (domestic) or +1-253-237-1156 (international) and use conference ID number 9995809.

The call will be available via live audio webcast and archived replay on Axon's investor relations website at investor.axon.com.

Direct link to webcast: edge.media-server.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Axon Enterprise Sees Its Composite Rating Rise To 96 Axon Enterprise ( AAXN) sa...

Zen Dollar Round — 7/26/2018 5:09:37 AM

Axon Enterprise Sees Its Composite Rating Rise To 96

Axon Enterprise ( AAXN) saw its IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating jump to 96 Tuesday, up from 94 the day before.

The upgrade means the stock currently tops 96% of all other stocks in terms of key performance metrics and technical strength. The top-performing stocks tend to have a 95 or better grade as they begin to launch a significant move so be sure to keep that in mind when looking for the best stocks to buy and watch.

Axon Enterprise is now out of buy range after clearing the 28.06 buy point in a cup with handle.
One weak spot is the company's 74 EPS Rating, which tracks quarterly and annual earnings-per-share growth. Look for that to improve to 80 or better to show it's in the top 20% of all stocks.

Its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of B shows moderate buying by institutional investors over the last 13 weeks.

The company posted a 129% increase in earnings for Q1. That means it's now generated two straight quarters of rising EPS gains. Revenue growth climbed 28%, up from 15% in the prior report. That marks one quarter of rising revenue increases. The company's next quarterly report is expected on or around Aug. 8.

Axon Enterprise earns the No. 4 rank among its peers in the Security/Safety industry group. MSA Safety ( MSA) is the No. 1-ranked stock within the group.

Link at: investors.com

[Zen Dollar Round] Hello, I'm J.F. Sebastian. After searching the forums at SI and not finding one ...

Zen Dollar Round — 7/26/2018 4:55:02 AM

Hello, I'm J.F. Sebastian. After searching the forums at SI and not finding one related to Axon Enterprise, Inc., I was about to create my own when I realized I needed to check for any that had been created with under Axon's former name, TASER International, Inc., trading under the symbol TASR.

After seeing this thread and noticing that moderator Jill had not posted on this thread since 2008, nor on SI at all since 2010, I PM'ed Dmitry to inquire if I might take over the moderation duties here. He accepted my request, so I updated the introduction and I'm making my first post.

With AAXN up 175% year-to-date and their transition and expansion into wearable body cameras for law enforcement, I think the sky is the limit for the company's future prospects. As mentioned in the intro, I've seen AAXN show up many times on "best stocks to own" type lists this year, and after some investigation, I agree.

I look forward to contributing to a more active thread and getting the word out about this great company.

Yes, I am long AAXN. :-)

[JakeStraw] Axon Announces Orders for 10,113 TASER Smart Weapons markets.siliconinvestor.com

JakeStraw — 7/13/2018 12:24:54 PM

[JakeStraw] The country’s largest body camera supplier is giving police free AI to analyze c...

JakeStraw — 4/5/2017 2:40:34 PM

The country’s largest body camera supplier is giving police free AI to analyze crime footage
qz.com

[JakeStraw] Sacramento, San Bernardino and Pittsburgh Police Deploy Cameras on the Axon Netw...

JakeStraw — 3/22/2017 8:13:30 AM

Sacramento, San Bernardino and Pittsburgh Police Deploy Cameras on the Axon Network
finance.yahoo.com

[JakeStraw] Orange County Sheriff's Office, Tempe and Denver Police Departments Deploy Axon ...

JakeStraw — 10/9/2015 8:30:26 AM

Orange County Sheriff's Office, Tempe and Denver Police Departments Deploy Axon Body Cameras with Evidence.com from TASER
finance.yahoo.com

[Glenn Petersen] No., though I did make a few trades in its distant cousin DGLY. TASR is obviousl...

Glenn Petersen — 8/25/2015 8:25:41 PM

No., though I did make a few trades in its distant cousin DGLY. TASR is obviously the premier play in this niche.

[JakeStraw] Hey Glenn, Are you still following TASR?

JakeStraw — 8/14/2015 3:26:00 PM

[Glenn Petersen] Taser’s Latest Police Weapon: The Tiny Camera and the Cloud By QUENTIN HARDY N...

Glenn Petersen — 2/21/2012 3:51:02 PM

Taser’s Latest Police Weapon: The Tiny Camera and the Cloud

By QUENTIN HARDY
New York Times
February 21, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO — Sgt. Brandon Davis vividly recalled the moment before he killed Eric Wayne Berry, but it was not the way it really happened.

“I told him to drop his weapon, twice,” the police officer then in Fort Smith, Ark., said. But after repeated viewings of a video of the shooting, captured by a minicamera he was wearing, he said, “it turned out it was nine different times. He kept telling me to drop my weapon.” When Mr. Berry raised his .45-caliber pistol on the officer and leaned at an angle that could improve his marksmanship, Sergeant Davis said, he shot Mr. Berry in the heart.

The shooting, tragedy that it was, was speedily cleared by his superiors because the entire incident was captured on tape. “It happened at noon on a Wednesday,” Sergeant Davis said. “I first watched it with the police psychiatrist on Thursday morning. I got out of there and I was cleared for work.” He has watched it many times since then, to shed any lingering doubts about his course of action.

Sergeant Davis, who now works on the police force in nearby Greenwood, was testing a new kind of camera, to be worn by an officer, when his fatal encounter was recorded in November 2009. Since then, both the hardware and software in the system have been significantly modified by Taser International, the maker of the camera. Taser is better known for stun guns that deliver a painful and immobilizing electric shock.

On Tuesday, Taser will announce a camera, a half-ounce unit about the size of a cigar stub that clips on to a collar or sunglasses of an officer and can record two hours of video during a shift. The information is transferred by a docking station to a local machine, and eventually stored in a cloud-computing system that uses Taser’s online evidence management system.

Taser, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., has had its share of controversies over its electric-shock guns, which Rick Smith, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, says are used by 17,000 of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Although it is sold as a nonlethal weapon, the device’s safety has been repeatedly questioned. The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the company’s safety claims in 2005 and 2006, and while it took no action against Taser, the company’s shares fell 78 percent in 2005 as sales declined. Law enforcement agencies with tight budgets also slowed their orders.

Fears about the safety of Tasers remain, despite company claims they are safer than nightsticks or guns. The 2007 “Don’t Tase Me Bro” video of a student receiving shocks at a political event was seen six million times on YouTube, keeping concerns high. Last spring, a team of cardiologists at the University of California, San Francisco, said Taser-related safety research may be biased because of ties with the company, something Taser denies.

Mr. Smith, who has had himself shocked in public with versions of his product seven times just to allay fears, said, “You have to lead from the front.”

But the camera system, called Axon, is one way to defuse the controversies. Taser already has some 55,000 minicameras mounted on Tasers. But the camera is only triggered when the gun is drawn. It could do the same for police shootings. The video, however, would not capture the events leading up to that point and provides no context that might justify the weapon’s use.

“One big reason to have these is defensive,” Mr. Smith said. “Police spend $2 billion to $2.5 billion a year paying off complaints about brutality. Plus, people plead out when there is video.” Sergeant Davis says Mr. Berry’s widow later claimed her husband was holding a cellphone, not a gun, but the video exonerated the officer.

In Taser’s cloud evidence system, which resides on Amazon.com’s cloud storage service, the videos can be tagged and labeled for record-keeping. The software has editing capabilities to protect the identities of some people captured on the video, like victims of child sex crimes or undercover officers. The video cannot be deleted while in the camera, though an officer can choose when to turn his camera on and off, something Mr. Smith does not think will happen often during confrontations because the videos could help clear law-abiding officers.

“When people know they are on camera, they act like better citizens,” said Hadi Partovi, an Internet entrepreneur who is on Taser’s board.

That goes for law enforcement officers, too, said Mr. Smith. “We have more cameras on cops than anyone else.”

Jay Stanley, a policy analyst with the speech, privacy and technology project at the American Civil Liberties Union, was enthusiastic about the prospect of body cameras on law officers.

“We don’t want the government watching the people when there is no reason, but we do support the people watching the government,” he said. “There are concerns about police editing or deleting files, but overall the cost and benefits make it worthwhile.”

By holding the video evidence on remote servers, Taser hopes to help law enforcement agencies achieve the cost savings that cloud computing has provided for business and industry. The cloud product, Taser says, does not require an information technology professional on the police department’s payroll. It cuts down on losses from poor storage of disks or tape, loss or theft of evidence or even evidence-tampering.

Taser will charge clients on a sliding scale that involves both the amount of data stored and customer support. The system could cost a small department a few thousand dollars a year or a few hundred thousand dollars for a large force. Taser is initially offering the first year of the service at no charge in the hopes of luring a lot of customers to the cloud. The new cameras sell for $1,000, including a battery that lasts 14 hours.

In an era of tight budgets, that might not be an easy sale. “This is at least a $1 billion opportunity,” said Mr. Partovi, who is better known for inventing, along with his twin, a social music sharing service called iLike, which was sold to MySpace in 2009 for about $20 million. “Once video is up in the cloud, why not photos? Why not all sorts of evidence? It will make it easier for different agencies to collaborate.”

Taser’s competitors say wearable video will be big, but they doubt the police will move to cloud-based evidence systems. “CSI and all those shows with ‘video forensics’ mean juries have come to expect camera evidence,” said John McConnell, a Nashville entrepreneur who has sold dashboard cameras to police departments for over a decade. He is moving into body cameras, but asks, “Have you ever seen a law enforcement agency outsource their evidence room?”

If body cameras do catch on, the images will almost certainly flood the Internet. Video from cameras mounted on dashboards of police cruisers is already a staple on YouTube. Footage of a New Hampshire law officer’s murder in 2007 has been seen 2.3 million times.

Some of Sergeant Davis’s deadly encounter is also online, through a local television station that got the footage. That is fine with him, he said, because it could possibly serve as a useful training model for other officers.

nytimes.com