--- title: "Zebra Technologies has $2.58 billion of debt against $182 million of cash, with $1.95 billion due May 2027" description: "Zebra sells the scanners and handhelds the AI buildout runs on, and its filing of November 3 shows who gets paid first: $2.58 billion of debt, mostly due on May 25, 2027, against $182 million of cash, with refinancing promised this quarter and debt service coming out of cash until it closes. The buyback fell to $75 million in the third quarter from $568 million in the first half, so ZBRA shareholders and the lender now compete for the same cash." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Applications" published: 2026-11-10T16:12:06.026Z modified: 2026-11-10T16:12:06.026Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/zebra-technologies-has-2-58-billion-of-debt-against-182-million-of-cash-with-1-95-billion-due-may-2027 language: en keywords: "Zebra Technologies, Debt, Buybacks, Memory Prices, Earnings" --- # Zebra Technologies has $2.58 billion of debt against $182 million of cash, with $1.95 billion due May 2027 > Zebra sells the scanners and handhelds the AI buildout runs on, and its filing of November 3 shows who gets paid first: $2.58 billion of debt, mostly due on May 25, 2027, against $182 million of cash, with refinancing promised this quarter and debt service coming out of cash until it closes. The buyback fell to $75 million in the third quarter from $568 million in the first half, so ZBRA shareholders and the lender now compete for the same cash. On November 3, Nathan Winters, chief financial officer of [Zebra Technologies](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/zebra-technologies), buried a date in the [third-quarter earnings call](https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/11/62822004/zebra-technologies-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript): "later this month we plan to refinance our credit facility, which is supposed to mature in May of 2027" [1]. Zebra makes the barcode scanners and handheld computers that warehouses and hospitals run on, and it had just reported a record quarter and raised its outlook [2]. The shares fell about 9% to $329.50 anyway [3]; the memory bill behind that drop was [covered here on November 4](https://theinference.org/article/zebra-technologies-beat-and-raised-guidance-but-a-145-million-memory-bill-sent-the-stock-down-9). What nobody wrote up is the balance sheet under the quarter. ## The bill comes due in May 2027 Zebra closed the quarter with $2,578 million of debt and $182 million of cash [2][4]. Its Term Loan A and revolver, $1,954 million combined, mature on May 25, 2027, and [the filing says the company will refinance them this quarter](https://6ix.com/news/zebra-technologies-quarterly-report-for-quarter-ending-october-3-2026-form-10-q) and meet debt payments from cash on hand and operations until the deal closes [2]. As the maturity came within twelve months, $1.9 billion of debt moved into the current column, to $2,077 million from $141 million at the end of December [2]. *Chart: **Zebra moved $1.9 billion of debt into current liabilities as May 2027 approached** Range chart comparing Zebra's debt classification at December 31, 2025, and October 3, 2026. Current portion of debt rises from $141 million to $2,077 million; long-term debt falls from $2,361 million to $494 million.* *Zebra moved $1.9 billion of debt into current liabilities as May 2027 approached [2]* ## The buyback slowed and no one said why Zebra generated $661 million of free cash flow in the first nine months and spent $643 million of it on 2,697,227 of its own shares [2]. Only $75 million of that, 229,206 shares, landed in the third quarter, against $568 million in the first two [2]. [A filing records 1,593,819 shares for $385.31 million repurchased](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/tranche-update-on-zebra-technologies-corporation-s-equity-buyback-plan-announced-on-february-12-202-ce785fdedb8ff02d) under the February 12 authorization [5], so the program is funded and only the pace changed. On the call, management took a question on capital allocation and never mentioned the slowdown [1]. ## Cash generation did not become cash Free cash flow rose to $661 million from $504 million a year earlier [2], yet cash ended at $182 million, down from $1.05 billion [4], with inventory up to $851 million from $729 million at year-end [6]. *Chart: **Zebra's cash fell to $182 million even as free cash flow stayed positive every quarter** Line chart of Zebra's cash and equivalents and quarterly free cash flow, 12 fiscal quarters from Q4 2023 to Q3 2026. Cash peaks at $1,053 million in Q3 2025 and falls to $182 million in Q3 2026, while free cash flow stays positive every quarter.* *Zebra's cash fell to $182 million even as free cash flow stayed positive every quarter [4]* The pressure behind those balances is the AI buildout: [industry DRAM revenue jumped 369% year over year to nearly $200 billion last quarter](https://www.theregister.com/systems/2026/11/05/memory-makers-mint-megabucks-while-buyers-beg-for-mercy/5307846), and "buyers are now competing for supply rather than negotiating on price," says Counterpoint Research [7]. Zebra's own share of that scarcity is the $145 million of extra memory cost it expects this year, company figures say [1]. ## The bulls call the debt modest [The MarketBeat note on the sell-off](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/ZBRA/pressreleases/8676434/zebra-technologies-sell-off-3-factors-investors-may-be-missing/) told investors to expect Zebra to "sustain the aggressive pace" of buybacks and called the debt "modestly high", fixable by "diverting free cash flow from buybacks for a short period" [8]. Management backs the shrug with leverage of 1.6 times, more than $1 billion of credit capacity and full-year free cash flow guided to at least $1 billion [1]. Sixteen analysts average a $415.25 target against a $322.02 close on November 6 [9]; since the print, [Truist](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/truist-financial) sits at Hold and $375, TD Cowen at Buy and $450 [9][10]. The comfort assumes the roll is routine: the filing calls its timing and terms subject to debt-market conditions [2], and the diversion the note prescribed is the one the quarter already shows. *Chart: **Analyst price targets sit up to 40% above the November 6 close** Column chart of Zebra's November 6 close of $322.02 against price targets of $375 from Truist, a $415.25 sixteen-analyst average and $450 from TD Cowen.* *Share price and price targets in dollars as of November 6, 2026. Sources: MT Newswires via MarketScreener; TipRanks via The Globe and Mail. [9][10]* ## The rate comes first The facility prices this quarter [2], and its rate will set 2027's interest expense. Tight pricing with the buyback back at its old pace would keep compounding earnings that a nearly 7% smaller share count already helped [8]. Wide pricing with repurchases stuck near $75 million a quarter makes the last quarter's 28% adjusted EPS growth harder to repeat [1]. The filing and the transcript are linked below. When the facility prices, it will say whose cash this is. ## Takeaway Zebra's May 2027 maturity has pushed $2.08 billion of debt into current liabilities, and the buyback slowed to $75 million while the refinancing is still open. ## Sources 1. [Benzinga, Zebra Technologies Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript, 3 November 2026](https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/11/62822004/zebra-technologies-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript) 2. [6ix / Zebra Technologies Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report for Quarter Ending October 3, 2026, 3 November 2026](https://6ix.com/news/zebra-technologies-quarterly-report-for-quarter-ending-october-3-2026-form-10-q) 3. [Seeking Alpha, Zebra Technologies dips 9% amid higher memory-cost outlook, 3 November 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4664143-zebra-technologies-dips-9-percent-amid-higher-memory-cost-outlook) 4. [Zebra Technologies, quarterly figures from its SEC filings (balance sheet and cash flow), retrieved 10 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000877212) 5. [S&P Capital IQ via MarketScreener, Tranche Update on Zebra Technologies Corporation's Equity Buyback Plan announced on February 12, 2026, 3 November 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/tranche-update-on-zebra-technologies-corporation-s-equity-buyback-plan-announced-on-february-12-202-ce785fdedb8ff02d) 6. [Compound, Zebra Automation Growth vs Memory-Cost Margin Pressure, 9 November 2026](https://compound.ie/wealth/zebra-automation-growth-memory-margin/) 7. [The Register (Counterpoint Research data), Memory makers mint megabucks while buyers beg for mercy, 5 November 2026](https://www.theregister.com/systems/2026/11/05/memory-makers-mint-megabucks-while-buyers-beg-for-mercy/5307846) 8. [MarketBeat via The Globe and Mail (Thomas Hughes), Zebra Technologies' Sell-Off: 3 Factors Investors May Be Missing, 4 November 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/ZBRA/pressreleases/8676434/zebra-technologies-sell-off-3-factors-investors-may-be-missing/) 9. [MT Newswires via MarketScreener, Rothschild & Co Redburn Adjusts Price Target on Zebra Technologies to $427 From $454, 9 November 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/rothschild-co-redburn-adjusts-price-target-on-zebra-technologies-to-427-from-454-ce785fd3da8df126) 10. [TipRanks via The Globe and Mail, Zebra Tech (ZBRA) Receives a Buy from TD Cowen, 6 November 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/ZBRA/pressreleases/8701021/zebra-tech-zbra-receives-a-buy-from-td-cowen/) --- Zebra Technologies has $2.58 billion of debt against $182 million of cash, with $1.95 billion due May 2027 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/zebra-technologies-has-2-58-billion-of-debt-against-182-million-of-cash-with-1-95-billion-due-may-2027