Garmin: Navigating the Currents of Progress

The instruments of Garmin – purveyors of location and, increasingly, everything about location – have been experiencing a rather significant upward trajectory. Shares, as they are wont to do, climbed a respectable 11% this week, following the pronouncements from the Company’s quarterly reckoning. Sales increased by 17%, earnings per share by 16% – numbers that, frankly, caused the Wall Street oracles to revise their predictions. Management, in a display of optimism that borders on the recklessly cheerful, suggests a further 9% growth in sales and earnings for the coming year. This, naturally, has sent ripples of excitement through the Guild of Alchemists and Venture Capitalists.¹

Garmin: A Well-Rounded Dividend-Growth Stock

The truly remarkable thing about Garmin’s recent performance isn’t simply the growth, but the breadth of it. It appears the company has managed to avoid the common pitfall of success – becoming a one-trick pony, or in this case, a one-GPS pony. Each of their five divisions – Fitness, Outdoor, Marine, Aviation, and the mysteriously named Auto OEM – all contributed to the positive results. Fitness, predictably, led the charge with a 33% increase, bringing in a respectable 2.4 billion units of whatever currency they’re using these days.² Outdoor followed with 5%, Marine with 10%, Aviation with 13%, and Auto OEM with a solid 9%. A balanced portfolio, one might say, if one were inclined towards financial metaphors.

Fitness ($2.4 billion in sales) up 33%
Outdoor ($2.1 billion in sales) up 5%
Marine ($1.2 billion in sales) up 10%
Aviation ($1 billion in sales) up 13%
Auto OEM ($0.7 billion in sales) up 9%

Crucially, this growth hasn’t come at the expense of profitability. Operating income increased by 19%, demonstrating a commendable ability to expand without sacrificing margins. They’ve also been garnering accolades, receiving five CES 2026 Innovation Awards. But the truly fascinating development, at least from an equity perspective, is the deployment of their Autoland system. An aircraft in Colorado, experiencing a rather alarming depressurization event, utilized the system to land safely. While a small part of their overall operations, it showcases a technological capability that’s increasingly relevant in a world obsessed with automation, and, let’s be honest, terrified of pilots.³

Fuelled by these double-digit gains and expanding margins, Garmin has announced a 17% increase in its dividend – the eighth consecutive year of increases. They’re also remarkably debt-free, boasting a 1.5% dividend yield and a consistently strong return on invested capital of 20%. This is due, of course, to their successful innovation track record. Trading at 28 times earnings, Garmin isn’t cheap. But its technological prowess and diversification make it worthy of a premium, in my estimation. It’s a solid, if not entirely exciting, investment for those seeking stability in a world that’s increasingly prone to unexpected turbulence.

The question, as always, is not just where Garmin is now, but where it’s navigating towards. The currents of technological progress are strong, and the company’s ability to adapt and innovate will be crucial. But for now, it appears to be charting a steady course, and that, in the turbulent seas of the market, is a reassuring sight.

¹The Guild, naturally, demands a cut of all successful ventures, claiming it provides “essential guidance” (mostly in the form of strongly worded letters and exorbitant fees).
²Units, of course, being a rather fluid concept these days. Some currencies are more fluid than others.
³Pilots, while generally competent, are prone to human error. Autoland, being a machine, is only prone to machine error, which, arguably, is more predictable.

2026-02-19 23:22

Garmin: A Well-Rounded Dividend-Growth Stock

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