Industrial conglomerate Honeywell International’s (HON) shares have gained modestly over the past week as its top executives have emphasized the growing role of “physical AI” and automation in the critical infrastructure industry.
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Anant Maheshwari, Honeywell’s president and CEO of global regions, emphasized in an interview with Bloomberg the expanded adoption of artificial intelligence in settings such as airports, hospitals, and vehicle factories in 2025 to improve building performance or general workflow.
Maheshwari spoke on the sidelines of the India Energy Week 2026, which is taking place in Goa, India, from Tuesday to Friday. His comments come several days after Vimal Kapur, the chairman and CEO of the diversified tech and manufacturing company, similarly harped on the rising demand for automation for critical infrastructure.
Honeywell Bets on Forge for ‘Physical AI’
Kapur, who spoke with CNBC TV18 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, Switzerland, noted that automation remains central to the diversified technology and manufacturing company’s business. The chief executive noted that Honeywell was betting on its Forge platform to help businesses achieve “physical AI” — that is, using artificial intelligence on physical infrastructure to enhance workflow and productivity.
Forge refers to Honeywell’s cloud-based industrial operations software that helps businesses across sectors such as manufacturing, building, and aerospace to optimize their performance and improve safety using AI and other Internet of Things technologies, such as sensors.
The platform underpins Honeywell Connected Solutions, the company’s AI-driven system that unifies key building-management applications and technologies into a single interface to support smoother operations. Honeywell recently noted that improvements to Forge helped it to boost recurring revenues across its portfolio during the third quarter of 2025.
Is HON a Good Stock to Buy?
On Wall Street, Honeywell International’s shares remain a Moderate Buy based on analysts’ consensus rating. This breaks down to seven Buys, four Holds, and one Sell issued by 12 analysts over the past three months.
Moreover, the average HON price target of $235.08 implies over 6% growth potential.
