IBM is tapping into all of its resources to meet its 2015 projected growth targets, and they are "well on track," according to CEO Virginia Rometty. She recently became the first female CEO in the company's history, and she took over a five-year plan to increase software development to half of their earnings. The software includes business trend analysis and projection and also cloud computing and emerging growth markets, stated Bloomberg's Beth Jinks.
IBM claims to continue investing "in market opportunities and drive productivity," which could mean that they will be looking for companies to acquire if market conditions and valuations are right. They also mentioned "the company will continue to rebalance its workforce to opportunities and skills aligned with its key investments and hire resources to drive growth initiatives." This includes a "rebalancing" of their workforce, or a series of job cuts and rehires.
Rometty conveyed a strong outlook for the company saying, "Our strong strategic positioning, solid balance sheet, recurring revenue, robust profit streams and unmatched global reach give us confidence that we will achieve success in the next five years." They have high goals, but they appear to be positioning themselves to be able to attain them. Not only does the management talk with the drive to achieve their goals, but they are also willing to acquire other companies to do so.
Business section: Investing ideas
Are you bullish on IBM's future growth? Here is a list of tech companies that have been floating around the takeover rumor mill that are also undervalued by LFCF/EV. Do you think IBM might be targeting any of these names?
List sorted by market cap. (Click here to access free, interactive tools to analyze these ideas.)
1. Dell (Nasdaq: DELL): Provides integrated technology solutions in the information technology (IT) industry worldwide. Market cap at $30.95B. Takeover/LBO rumor sourced from Seeking Alpha. Levered free cash flow at $3.83B vs. enterprise value at $25.04B (implies a LFCF/EV ratio at 15.3%).
2. Nokia (NYSE: NOK): Provides Internet and digital mapping and navigation services worldwide. Market cap at $19.35B. Takeover/LBO rumor sourced from Wall Street Daily. Levered free cash flow at $1.93B vs. enterprise value at $10.85B (implies a LFCF/EV ratio at 17.79%).
3. Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC): Provides security, storage, and systems management solutions to secure and manage information. Market cap at $13.26B. Takeover/LBO rumor sourced from Seeking Alpha. Levered free cash flow at $1.37B vs. enterprise value at $12.46B (implies a LFCF/EV ratio at 11.%).
4. Brocade Communications Systems (Nasdaq: BRCD): Supplies networking equipment comprising end-to-end Internet protocol based Ethernet and storage area networking solutions. Market cap at $2.65B. Takeover/LBO rumor sourced from CRN. Levered free cash flow at $376.60M vs. enterprise value at $2.82B (implies a LFCF/EV ratio at 13.35%).
5. Intersil (Nasdaq: ISIL): Engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits. Market cap at $1.44B. Takeover/LBO rumor sourced from Seeking Alpha. Levered free cash flow at $157.73M vs. enterprise value at $1.18B (implies a LFCF/EV ratio at 13.37%).
6. Entegris: Develops, manufactures, and supplies products and materials used in processing and manufacturing in the semiconductor and other high-technology industries worldwide. Market cap at $1.31B. Takeover/LBO rumor sourced from iStockAnalyst. Levered free cash flow at $102.43M vs. enterprise value at $966.39M (implies a LFCF/EV ratio at 10.6%).
7. EarthLink: Provides communications services to individual and business customers in the United States. Market cap at $823.21M. Takeover/LBO rumor sourced from The Motley Fool. Levered free cash flow at $166.24M vs. enterprise value at $1.20B (implies a LFCF/EV ratio at 13.85%).
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.
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Kapitall's Danny Guttridge does not own any of the shares mentioned above.
