Because some Fools have been clamoring, yes clamoring, for an updated, comprehensive look at where we stand in our high-growth study -- namely, which companies remain to be looked at during this cut -- today we'll provide exactly that.
Below, in the first list, are the companies that remain to be looked at during this round of cuts. Quite a few companies remain, so we may decide to dismiss some of them without devoting much time and space in this column to them. Some are just not in industries that we know well, or care to know well, because -- as I wrote about last week -- we focus on our strengths. By the way, a few other firms have been cut as of today, including Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), because they fell or rose above our market value criteria.
Here's the list of what remains to be looked at in this round:
5-Year Estimated
Company, Ticker Growth Rate BroadVision (Nasdaq: BVSN) 51% Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT) 50% Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) 47% Check Point Software (Nasdaq: CHKP) 40% Siebel Systems (Nasdaq: SEBL) 38% Palm Inc (Nasdaq: PALM) 37% Wind River Systems (Nasdaq: WIND) 37% Trex Company (NYSE: TWP) 35% Concord EFS (Nasdaq: CEFT) 34% Gemstar-TV Guide Intl (Nasdaq: GMST) 33% Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) 31% Solectron (NYSE: SLR) 29% ADC Telelcomunn. (Nasdaq: ADCT) 28% Panera Bread Co (Nasdaq: PNRA) 28% Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) 26% Adobe Systems (Nasdaq: ADBE) 25% Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (Nasdaq: KREM) 25% Nasdaq 100 (AMEX: QQQ) NA
Some interesting names jump off the list. I know that very few companies ever become great and remain great for decades -- as I wrote about in today's Research Feature -- but on this list are a few that just might make the grade.
Software leader Siebel Systems is a recognized powerhouse that is still young and has a promising future; Starbucks has been proving itself as a great public company for nearly ten years; Palm has a nifty little business, although it's still very young and will be under great fire from competition for a long time; finally, Jabil Circuit has a strong business making simple electronic parts that the world needs. And there are others, too, so I'm interested in continuing the study. We're about two-thirds down the original list. (Whew! What a marathon.)
Four companies remain to be analyzed by Drip Fools on our discussion boards, too. We've bypassed these companies ourselves because their market values are too high or their growth rates are too low, but we agreed that if Fools present their arguments on the board, we'll still consider them. Whenever you wish, start posting your arguments if you're a proponent of these companies. The following is the short list. (Corning is the one company that we did look at, courtesy of Vince Hanks.)
For Analysis by Community Fools Corning (NYSE: GLW) 28% Enron (NYSE: ENE) 16% Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) 48% Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) 18%
And, finally, here is our ROYAL Finalist List. (Just kidding; it ain't ROYAL, or even royal). The Finalist List is:
The Current Finalist List Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX) Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA) Millennium Pharmaceuticals. (Nasdaq: MLNM) Mercury Interactive (Nasdaq: MERQ) Genentech (NYSE: DNA) Openwave Systems (Nasdaq: OPWV) Redback Networks (Nasdaq: RBAK) eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY)
If you're wondering what's already been cut, return to this archived and rapidly aging page to see our entire, original list of companies in the study.
I have to say, I am partial, but I really like our Finalist List. Some very interesting, promising companies reside on it. What, with eBay aiming to be the world's largest trading platform, predicting 50% annualized sales growth into 2005, and sales of $3 billion that year; or Genentech, a proven biotech powerhouse with the largest drug pipeline of any; and Paychex, a consistent market-crusher in a service business that will never disappear, just evolve. And finally there's Millennium, a new-age biotech (maybe the most respected one) with a stock in the $30s, down from the $70s.
It's going to be a tough choice just between these companies, let alone after we add a few more to the Finalist List. This reminds me of the New York dog show that I happened to watch on Tuesday night, at the request of another. What a strange event. But it was a nice lineup of dogs in the final round. The lady had a hard time choosing the winner. It took her a long time. We'll share the same fate in choosing our winner. I just hope that we won't have many dogs in our lineup.
Have a Foolish weekend, ya'll. The study is back at ya next week.
Jeff Fischer doesn't own a dog. Of the stocks mentioned in the column, though, he owns eBay, Mercury Interactive and Genentech. To see all his stocks, view his profile. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.
