If you want to own a very broad play on scientific research, particularly biological research, you might want to look at Fisher Scientific (NYSE:FSH). A huge company with hundreds of thousands of customers, Fisher is a leading supplier to labs, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and research facilities around the world.
For the company's third quarter, revenue climbed nearly 13% though organic growth was more on the order of 4%. Because of some significant expenses from restructuring, acquisitions, and inventory adjustments, Fisher presents earnings information on a generally accepted accounting principles basis and an adjusted basis. Using the adjusted numbers, operating margin improved nicely as operating earnings grew 28%. The company is also doing well on cash flow, with 63% growth in operating cash flow on a comparative nine-month basis.
Investors familiar with companies like Baxter (NYSE:BAX), CardinalHealth (NYSE:CAH), or Hospira (NYSE:HSP) might see some similarities with Fisher. In each case, there can be considerable leverage in the business model and some real competitive advantages to size and scope.
Fisher is also hoping to expand its private-label offerings. These products carry meaningfully higher margins yet can still be cheaper and more appealing to the customer. As someone who used to work in a research lab, I can attest to the fact that money is always tight, and a company that can save you a few bucks here and there without compromising quality is welcome indeed.
Last but not least, the company isn't giving in to calls for management to spend its cash on share buybacks. This is a mixed blessing in my book. While I think many companies give in too easily to calls for buybacks, it can't be ignored that Fisher's historic returns on capital haven't been all that great. It's one thing to keep cash within the business if new projects will generate strong economic returns, but it's quite another if those returns aren't higher than the cost of capital.
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
