The Bot Brief

Bots in the News:

Despite weakness from several Asian components, the Bot Index gained 1.46% for the past week. That number exceeded the S & P 500, whose fortunes faltered by some 47 basis points. While Cognex Corp., Zebra Technologies and AeroVironment contributed to the outperformance, the real strength in the Bot Index came from Rockwell Automation and Faro Technologies.

Rockwell increased 16.22% as FactSet noted, “EPS beat the highest analyst estimate, and sales also were above expectations.” However, the really significant catalyst came from increased guidance from management. Rockwell Automation raised its forecast for adjusted EPS to $9.20-$10.20 for the fiscal year ending in September, up from $8.60-$9.80 a share. Management now expects full-year sales in a range from a 4.5% decline to a 1.5% increase. That's up from the previous range of -5.5% to +0.5%. Rockwell did not update its organic-sales forecast, citing potential impacts from tariffs. The company attributed its expansion to come from the opportunity to provide services to the domestic manufacturing sector as companies seek to offset tariff wars.

Faro Technologies was the major component that added luster to the Bot Index’s performance. The company announced its acquisition by AMETEK for $44 per share. The purchase price (for all outstanding shares) represents a 40% increase from the prior week’s closing price and is a $920 million acquisition for AMETEK. Both companies are in the measurement and image solution business that will, as noted by Rockwell’s strategic position, benefit from the resourcing of manufactured goods back within U.S. soil. With the closing price of $42.17, there is little opportunity for arbitrage investment seekers, as regulatory concerns will slow the consummation of the transaction.

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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Shares of Google were hit to the tune of nearly 7% during the week as “Apple executive Eddy Cue said that searches on Safari declined for the first time ever in April. Cue attributed the decline to people using more artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and predicted that AI search engines will eventually replace traditional search.” In addition to investors’ concerns regarding the search engine, regulatory reviews, a lawsuit by Mexico over the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and a report that the company will pay $1.4 billion to Texas to settle a lawsuit claiming the company collected users' data without permission.

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 company 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 the absolute accuracy materials presented.