A 43% year-to-date growth in international revenue was one of the highlights of Axon Enterprise’s Q3 report in 2020. It was a hot late summer for the global leader in connected public safety technologies who announced contract awards in Canada and Ukraine in quick succession between August 21 and September 24. Later on, Axon (Nasdaq: AXON) also reported awarded tenders in the United Kingdom and Brazil, which further confirmed the business’ forays into the international market. All of these tenders have been detected by TenderAlpha.com, which is the only government procurement database capable of collecting contract awards data from all over the world. 
Before we dive into the details of the orders, it is fundamental to emphasize that the contracts follow a string of activities undertaken by Axon to expand its international presence. The company has been building its overseas operations actively in the last few years and its efforts are already bearing fruit. 

It was in 2017 that Axon began focusing on a direct sales strategy internationally. Then, a year later, it reported significant strides toward building out its international direct sales force, particularly in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. During the 2017-2018 period, the company posted international growth, which is attributed to sales in Australia, France, Singapore, and the United Kingdom (Axon 2019 Annual Report). 
Throughout 2020, Axon made investments in new geographies, whilst acknowledging the success of its previous investments in countries like India and Ukraine. Notably, the company is looking to open offices and employ staff in these areas. Owing to the excellent results the testing of its overseas strategies has yielded, Axon has decided to double down on these in 2021 by expanding into even more new geographies (Axon Q3 2020 Shareholder Letter).

A cut above the rest in Canada

The first notable partnership between Axon and an international agency that we are going to review consists of the deployment of 2,350 Axon Body 3 cameras along with an additional 3,000 licenses (5,350 total) to its digital evidence management solution, Axon Evidence, by the Toronto Police Service.
The order is no mean feat for Axon, as it followed an almost six-year vendor process - a clear demonstration of the TPS’ determination to choose the best provider carefully. The extensive evaluation found that Axon’s hardware and software services will contribute significantly to TPS’ community relations, enabling citizens to easily share information with the police force. Furthermore, the cloud-based digital evidence management platform will reduce IT infrastructure costs for the Toronto Police. 

Opening up Ukraine

Having become best known for the TASER, Axon finds the international market an important sector of growth for the product line. Therefore, setting foot in Ukraine proved another milestone for Axon as a whole and TASER, in particular. The company received an order from the country's Department of National Police for 200 TASER X2 CEDs, which made the National Police Ukraine’s first law enforcement agency to deploy the device. Axon's Country Manager for Ukraine - Yurii Zhyliaiev - labeled the partnership “critical”, noting that it will pave the way for other agencies and eventually lead to a wider usage of the product in the country. 

Finishing 2020 on a high

While Axon’s Q4 results have not been published yet, there is every reason to believe that the upward trend of its international performance will have continued in the last three months of 2020. The company announced another contract award with the London Metropolitan Police Service in October for the purchase of 19,000 Axon Body 3 cameras and 3,000 Axon Flex 2 cameras - Axon’s latest products. 
Then, before the year was through, Axon also extended its partnership with The São Paulo State Military Police (PMESP) - the largest law enforcement agency in Brazil. A further 2,500 TASER X2 devices were ordered by the PMESP, following a previous order for 1,250 of these units in 2019. 
Perhaps even more significant, though, was the adoption of TASER 7 by The Federal Legislative Police at the Brazilian Senate - the first law enforcement agency in Latin America to use the model. Not only is this contract another testament to Axon’s technological expertise, but it also boosts the company’s reputation in the region, which may lead to the opening up of new market opportunities. 

Influencing Axon’s stock price

Axon’s push in the international market is received well by the investors,too, as evident from the increase in the company’s share price. The last six months have seen Axon’s stock more than double. In mid-August it was trading at USD 79.35, while at the time of writing (February 18, 2021), it has reached USD 178.38. 

 

At the moment, Axon is riding the wave of international expansion and it would be no surprise if in the coming years, the business establishes a presence in countries it has not operated within yet. No matter where it wins a contract, TenderAlpha.com will be able to capture the information for the tender, as it is the only database for government procurement awards that can provide insights into companies’ international contract wins from such varied global geographies. 

Stay tuned for the last part of our analysis of Axon Enterprise’s recent performance where we will discuss the business’ financial results for 2020. In the meantime, check out the first article from the series, which covers Axon’s milestone contract with the Drug Enforcement Administration (link to the article). 

This article was written by members of TenderAlpha's team and does not serve as a recommendation to buy Axon or any other stock. TenderAlpha is not receiving compensation for it and we have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.