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To: Jurgis Bekepuris who wrote (50796)2/6/2013 3:31:52 PM
From: Dennis 3  Respond to of 78468
 
glw, is a manufacturing company so yes there will be years cap exp will be a drag on fcf. But glw is diversifying with gg. gg will go in car entertainment system, tablets, smartphones. They also mention that they won some contracts to install it in car for windows and windshields to lower the weight of a car, hence lower gas consumption. Also smartphones in china, india and other emerging market has low penetration and there is tremendous market here for gg. people replace smartphones every 2-3 years versus tv's which is longer. Another drag on earnings was solar.



To: Jurgis Bekepuris who wrote (50796)2/6/2013 9:50:56 PM
From: Spekulatius2 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 78468
 
Re GLW - I agree with your assesment. The process to make a tougher glass, that GLW has branded Gorilla glass is well known and off patent for a long time. Sure, GLW has some additional IP but there is already competing product out there by the Japanese.

It is important to note that GLW is foremost a "material" company, not and "industrial" company. The difference is that a material company supplies a commodity. With GLW, there is a technological component to it, but in the end, they produce a commodity. With a material company, the IP lies mostly with processes not the product. It's harder to brand and since it is more or less interchangable, form fit and function differences matter less. That is why GLW has these boom bust cycles and I think it is a less desirable business overall.

It is also capital intensive, because since the know how is in how you make it, not what you make, you have to make it yourself, which means you can't outsource. Industrials can outsource many not so critical steps and parts (make versus buy), hence they are in most cases less capital intensive.

There is a question, if GLW is really cheap, considering all above. You look up a very alt chart and really wonder if it's a dead end stock. Sure it screens cheap, with nice book value and balance sheet and a somewhat low PE. But if I really regard GLW as a material company, I have to compare it more with a steel company (perhaps one with a technological edge like Posco) and then GLW does not look cheap any more, while a somehwat industrial company like NOV ith a PE 10% higher looks pretty good in comparison.

(Jurgis posts regarding GLW really got me thinking...)