The Bot Brief

"There is no force on earth more powerful than an idea whose time has come."     

- Victor Hugo

Bots in the News:

Falling interest rates based upon a cooler inflation picture, together with euphoria over a cease fire in Gaza, led investors to move back into equity positions. With a risk-on posture the Bot Index gained 3.76% versus the 2.91% increase noted by the S & P 500. Excellent or poor earnings created exceptional results at each end of the performance spectrum. Shares of Faro Corp. and Intuitive Surgical experienced superior earnings while iRobot’s stock dropped over 15% when its results disappointed investors. Other gainers without strong earnings tailwinds included Tesla (up 8% after two consecutive weekly declines), Fanuc Corp. (gained 12.94%), Cognex (+ 7.40%) and Lincoln Electric (rose 7.65%).

Faro Technologies experienced the largest improvement (21.93%) following comments by its CEO, “I am proud of our ongoing progress in profitability, achieving 55.7% gross margins, GAAP net loss of $0.3 million and $8.9 million of adjusted EBITDA, or 10.7% of revenue, all exceeding our expectations for the third quarter. This marks a significant transformation in our operations over the past year, as it’s the first time that we have delivered back-to-back double-digit quarterly adjusted EBITDA margins in almost a decade." A leading analyst bumped his price target to $36 (the stock closed at $30.84).

Intuitive Surgical gained 8.25% based upon a preliminary report of revenues during the fourth quarter of $2.4 billion, surpassing expectations of $2.2 billion.

Greenland, Canada and, perhaps, Space??

With ongoing discussions regarding the new Administration’s geopolitical outreach, the more likely USA expansion is in outer space. With successes by SpaceX and the upcoming Blue Horizon’s massive rocket, scientists, explorers and entrepreneurs are rapidly viewing outer space as the newest colonialism. The moon, Mars and asteroids are new targets of these interstellar voyagers.

Market Intelligence News & Insights:

North American Robot Orders Hold Steady in Q1 2025 as A3 Launches First-Ever Collaborative Robot Tracking

Robot orders in North America remained essentially flat in the first quarter of 2025, with companies purchasing 9,064 units valued at $580.7 million, according to new data released by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). Compared to Q1 2024, this represents a 0.4% increase in units ordered and a 15% rise in order value, signaling continued demand and increased investment in higher-value automation systems.

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One of the more unique ‘out of the box’ space exploration concepts come from a company called SpinLaunch. This 2014 founded company has raised $150 million in venture capital to create a kinetic energy space launch system. To avoid traditional fuel related propulsion, SpinLaunch will utilize a centrifugal force accelerator to spin a rocket with speeds of up to 4,700 mph, sufficient to launch a small payload (440 lbs.) into low altitude orbit. Not only is this objective good for this planet, but it is also extremely cost effective, reducing launch costs by a factor of 20.

SpinLaunch is just a number of space exploration ventures with objectives of colonization, mineral extraction, defense and pharmaceutical discoveries. The future is changing daily and is a perfect example of robotics and automation outside our own current environment.

Member: American Economic Association, Society of Professional Journalists, United States Press Association. Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, Robotic Industries Association (now A3 Automation), Member IEEE.

The Bot Brief is a weekly newsletter designed for economists, investment specialists, journalists, and academicians. It receives no remuneration from any companies that may from time to time be featured in the brief and its commentaries, analysis, opinions, and research represent the subjective view of Balcones Investment Research, LLC. Due to the complex and rapidly changing nature of the subject matter, the company makes no assurances as to the absolute accuracy of the material presented.