Goldman Sachs has launched coverage on Samsara Inc (NYSE:IOT), assigning a Buy rating and setting a price target of $36.00 - about a 32% premium to the prevailing share price of $27.20. The firm positions Samsara as "one of the most defensible growth assets in software today," pointing to the companys combination of edge hardware and a cloud platform that converts operational signals into actionable insights.
Goldman Sachs highlighted Samsaras technical architecture as a strategic advantage. The bank describes the company as occupying both the data origination and execution layers for enterprises that run vehicles, equipment and sites, which it says creates "durable workflow entrenchment and meaningful switching costs." The investment bank further emphasized that Samsaras value proposition rests on owned operating data, embedded processes and daily operational dependency, with AI integrated across the platform to deliver rapid payoff for customers.
From a growth and cash-flow perspective, Goldman Sachs expects Samsara to sustain revenue growth above 20% and to compound free cash flow at a faster rate. The bank acknowledged that the stock currently trades at a premium multiple - 42x EV/FCF on a FY28E basis - but argued the valuation is supported by what it described as "best-in-class unit economics, a long runway for expansion and scaling FCF." That assessment aligns with InvestingPro figures showing recent revenue growth of 28.96% and positive levered free cash flow of $194.24 million, even though the company has not posted net profitability over the last twelve months. InvestingPro further notes Samsaras market capitalization at roughly $16.1 billion and offers deeper research into whether that market value is justified by the companys trajectory.
Broker and market activity surrounding Samsara has been active. TD Cowen, responding to a strong third-quarter performance from the company, raised its price target from $49 to $55 while keeping a Buy rating. TD Cowen highlighted a healthy revenue beat, an acceleration in net new annual recurring revenue growth and a record high for new customer additions. KeyBanc also initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $55 target, pointing to Samsaras modern end-to-end platform and its positioning within what KeyBanc characterizes as the $45 trillion Physical Operations industry.
Customer outcomes are central to the platform story. Swissport North America reported substantial improvements after deploying Samsaras Connected Operations Platform - a 60% reduction in operational incidents and a 23% drop in vehicle damage within 18 weeks. The platform components cited include Vehicle Gateways and AI Dash Cams that provide immediate feedback on driver behavior. Samsaras 2025 Year in Review report is also cited, which states organizations using its platform experienced a 73% reduction in crash rates.
Market sentiment among other research houses includes BMO Capital Markets naming Samsara among its outperform-rated stocks in the expectation of a software sector recovery in 2026, driven in part by clearer artificial intelligence use cases. Across brokers and data services, the narrative centers on the interplay of hardware-software integration, operational data ownership and AI-enabled workflows to create measurable customer return on investment.
The claims and metrics presented by Goldman Sachs, broker upgrades and customer case studies collectively frame Samsara as a platform with a product-led moat. Observers point to the company's daily operational relevance to customers and the embedded nature of its workflows as central to retention and expansion dynamics.
That said, questions remain about valuation and the path to full-scale profitability, even as free cash flow trends are positive. Market participants and data providers continue to evaluate whether Samsaras current $16.1 billion market capitalization adequately reflects its revenue growth, unit economics and the runway Goldman Sachs describes.
Summary - Goldman Sachs initiation casts Samsara as a defensible, data-driven software play with integrated AI and hardware, projecting sustained revenue growth and expanding free cash flow, while acknowledging a premium valuation. Other broker actions and customer results support the narrative of measurable operational improvement from the platform.