Recently, Texas Instruments
The company's business outlook is showing strong growth across a broad range of its semiconductor products. Yesterday, TI boosted earnings guidance from a range of $0.31 to $0.35 to a range of $0.36 to $0.38 a share. Nice jump!
The company, well-known for its patent portfolio, also made several product announcements that should fuel significant future growth:
- In the DSP (digital signal processor) arena, there is DaVinci, TI's next-generation technology. Coming later this year, it will enable original equipment manufacturers to more quickly develop innovative, cost-effective digital video products using software from partner Microsoft
(NASDAQ:MSFT) . - In the DLP (digital light processing) marketplace, there was a new chipset for the front-projection market. The company promises the ultimate high-definition experience (with a 50% brightness increase in mid-tone images). Clearly, someone believes the company; this technology will find its way into products from 13 manufacturers, including Mitsubishi, Samsung, and Sharp.
These and other product announcements highlight what analysts already know: TI, with $12.6 billion in trailing annual revenue, will continue to grow rapidly. Analysts expect 20% annual growth for the next five years. (The S&P 500 is expected to expand at a mere 10.6% annual rate.)
All that growth comes at a price. The stock trades for 26.7 times this year's earnings. That's not cheap, but given analysts' growth expectations, it's not overly expensive, either.
All that growth comes with a soft pillow stuffed with $4.1 billion in net cash (cash minus total debt), which makes nice insurance for a rainy day.
So add it up. Although the company remains exposed to product cycles, TI boasts a strong patent portfolio, excellent products, a recent history of strong innovation, and a rock-solid balance sheet. Sounds a bit like microprocessor giant Intel
Fool contributor W.D. Crotty does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. Click here to see The Motley Fool's disclosure policy.