Why State Farm and Google have invested big-time in ADT

Brian Sozzi

ADT CEO Jim Devries is continuing to make power moves.

Devries inked a deal this month with insurance provider State Farm, which will see the company invest $1.2 billion into the connected home play. State Farm will be a 15% holder in ADT and put its COO Paul Smith on the board of directors.

According to Devries, the deal will help ADT reach new consumers with its various security products.

"Traditionally, insurance has been about restoration," Devries told Yahoo Finance Live at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on Monday. "And by partnering with State Farm and putting our products together, we will be able to shift purely from restorative insurance to more of a predict and prevent model. So we think it's great for customers and great for both companies."

It's the second key deal signed by Devries since taking over as ADT CEO in 2018.

The company secured a $450 million investment from Google in September 2020. Since then, the pair have developed a suite of connected Nest devices that have started to hit the marketplace.

After the State Farm investment, Google will be a 6% holder in ADT.

"For Google, it's principally about hardware distribution and increasing the number of subscribers that they have for their Nest video analytics product," Devries explained of the Google deal.

Devries's efforts to turn ADT around have begun to play out. Second-quarter sales and adjusted operating profits rose 23% and 55%, respectively, from the prior year as the company gained new subscribers and kept others on the platform despite rising economic uncertainty.

Sign for ADT Security Corporation, a residential and business alarm system provider, in San Ramon, California, September 17, 2017. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Sign for ADT Security Corporation, a residential and business alarm system provider, in San Ramon, California, September 17, 2017. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) (Smith Collection/Gado via Getty Images)

ADT shares are up 7% in the past year versus a 9% drop for the S&P 500, as investors began to buy into the turnaround story.

"It's a complex story," Devries said. "And it has taken a while to unfold. We think that this State Farm opportunity will serve as a significant catalyst for us, not only for improved subscriber acquisition efficiency, but from a retention and growth perspective. So we'll keep keep telling the story. We've always been a show me stock."

ADT is majority-owned by private equity powerhouse Apollo Global Management, which is the majority owner of Yahoo Finance.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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