Robotics Stocks Will Thrive in the Wake of COVID-19

Shares of robotics manufacturers ABB (NYSE: ABB) and Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) both jumped Tuesday following so-so earnings reports during a trading session that was anything but decidedly bullish. Rockwell topped its sales and earnings estimates for the three-month stretch ending in March, but the bar was set low. Unlike ABB, Rockwell Automation managed to grow its top and bottom lines, yet each company cautioned investors that coronavirus-related shutdowns were already taking a financial toll on the quarter currently underway. The stocks rallied anyway.

That bullish interest may be rooted in an idea that's much bigger than last quarter or the present quarter, however.

While the sheer disruption caused by the coronavirus is making it difficult to "do" any sort of business, and the prospect of a recession is forcing some organizations to rethink spending plans, the COVID-19 contagion has exposed a weak link in the world's commerce engine -- people. If people can't or won't work, things don't get done. Robots, however, don't get sick.

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Source Fool.com