ALTR
I cut and pasted this because it is a good example of how I choose investments. This blurb doesn't mention that ALTR and XLNX dominate the market with LSCC a smaller 3rd (together 80-85% of the market) and that there are huge barriers to entry including IP, software, and economies of scale. Sales were ~$1.3B in 2000 and dropped to ~$800M in 2001. Too small to attract an INTC for now.
Altera (NasdaqNM:ALTR - news)
Altera is a key player in the market for "programmable logic devices." PLDs are silicon "white boards" that can morph to perform increasingly diverse and high-speed applications, potentially replacing DSPs (digital signal processors) and microprocessors throughout the optical, wireless and networked storage worlds. Programmable devices allow one microprocessor to handle thousands of functions by running thousands of different software programs, creating huge economies of scale in production. Because PLDs thrive by "wasting" logic circuits, they are natural beneficiaries of Moore's Law, which cuts the price of circuits on a chip by half every two years. With each such cycle, programmable logic becomes more irresistible, re-orientating the industry away from integrated producers like Intel (NasdaqNM:INTC - news) and toward PLD producers like Altera (NasdaqNM:ALTR - news ) . In its fiscal year ending December 2001, Altera lost $39.8 million on $839.4 million in revenue. Its stock, which has traded between $14 and $33.59 over the last year, now trades around $22.
Vahan Janjigian Editor Forbes Special Situation Survey Forbes Growth Investor |
