When looking at the future of law enforcement envisioned by Axon Enterprise CEO Rick Smith, I can’t help but think of the 1993 Sylvester Stallone movie “Demolition Man.” In that movie, they portray a more civilized society where police utilize non-lethal AI-like systems and surveillance-driven technologies to maintain order. The movie portrays violent, lethal manners of containment as a crude relic of the past. Granted ,many personal freedoms are encroached in that movie and that’s where the comparison ends. But AXON is designing a more balanced, ethical and technology-driven approach to law enforcement. We own AXON in our Tactical Alpha Growth and Active Opps portfolio at Inside Edge Capital and will be looking to increase our size in AXON. The company, formerly Taser International, has offerings in non-lethal weaponry, vehicle surveillance, systems to improve police force productivity, decision support and real-time operations utilizing artificial intelligence — as well as drone technology that act as first responders. To make one more fundamental case of how AXON can improve productivity, the company claims police officers spend 40% of their time on paperwork. Axon has solutions to utilize AI so officers can spend more time in the field and less time behind a desk. AXON recently broke out on the weekly chart from the $700-$720 resistance zone that should now be considered support. Provided the stock does not break back below $690, I see a potential move towards the upper end of the dashed parallel channel into the $900’s. Looking at the annual revenue and EPS figures below the chart, revenues have been growing steadily, but you’ll see a “shocking” (bad joke, I know) 2025 EPS drop of 75.21%. Those 2025 projected EPS numbers of $1.19 are GAAP earnings. The expected non-GAAP earnings for all of 2025 are $6.11 compared to $5.94 for 2024. Looking ahead to 2026, expected non-GAAP earnings are 7.50 for a 22.7% growth rate. As shown on the chart, 2026 GAAP earnings are expected to grow by 116.39% to $2.58 in EPS. The discrepancy between GAAP and non-GAAP comes from the company CEO Smith’s policy of aggressive long-term compensation plan tied to performance goals. The company issues aggressive equity-based incentives to employees to attempt to hit those goals. Another reason for the discrepancy, according to company reports, is — when Axon acquires another company, intangible assets like software or patents are amortized in GAAP but are excluded from non-GAAP. Moving down to the daily chart we see AXON has carved out a “bull flag” consolidation pattern above the newly formed support zone and today we are extending higher. The 50-day average volume for AXON is 609,000 shares, so to help confirm the breakout I would like to see a few days on which volume exceeds 700,000 shares. In our Active Opps portfolio we hold a 4.02% allocation. After publishing this article I’m looking to increase the holding to approximately 5%-6% of the portfolio. In our slightly less aggressive but still growth-oriented model Tactical Alpha Growth, we hold a 1% allocation established on Aug. 28 that we’re also looking to increase. If you look back to that time frame, you’ll see a similar bull flag technical pattern (red arrow) that set up the breakout into the $400’s. AXON is not trying to create a utopian overreach society like Demolition Man, but I think it is trying to take the best parts of non-lethal policing, officer accountability and efficiency, deterrent systems, all utilizing AI technologies. This name likely remains in our portfolios for the foreseeable future. -Todd Gordon, Founder of Inside Edge Capital, LLC We offer active portfolio management and regular subscriber updates like the idea presented above. DISCLOSURES: Gordon owns AXON personally and in his wealth management company Inside Edge Capital. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
