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>>> Trane Launches Climate Changer Magicube Air Handling Unit in Asia Pacific
PR Newswire
Jul 10, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trane-launches-climate-changer-magicube-020000673.html
Modular Design Leads to New Experience of Convenient Installation
SHANGHAI, July 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Trane®, a strategic brand of Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator, announced the launch of the revolutionary Climate Changer Magicube (CLCM) air handling unit to address the challenges associated with the installation and maintenance of air conditioning equipment in modern buildings. Featuring with an innovative modular design, the CLCM unit simplifies installation and maintenance processes significantly, which also effectively reduces the cost associated with constructing, operating and maintaining the building's air-conditioning system, and creates a clean and comfortable environment with high-quality air for users.
During the installation of air handling unit in mixed-development and office buildings, it is often to encounter the issue of needing to dis-assemble and re-assemble the unit due to limited space. However, traditional air handling units are often complex to dis-assemble and re-assemble, making the process time-consuming and labor-intensive. Additionally, this can potentially damage the unit and lead to problems like air and heat leakages.
"With its compact individual modules, the innovative CLCM unit is easy to move and assemble on-site, making it especially suitable for mixed-development and office buildings with limited installation space that require multiple reassemblies," said Bruce Gu, Vice President of Engineering and Technology at Trane Technologies Asia Pacific. "Building on Trane's century-long history of climate control technology, we expect this new product to continuously provide our customers with more flexible and efficient air conditioning solutions."
Customize air conditioning solutions with flexible Magicube combinations
This new product features a unique modular connecting design that allows for flexible combinations: side-by-side combination to increase air volume; front-to-back combination to expand functionality. This innovative design enables customers to tailor the system according to their specific demand, providing better customization experience. Another significant highlight is its standardized design. All models are equipped with the fans, filters and other common components of standard sizes. Combined with the universal coil for left-hand and right-hand configurations and a pull-out coil design, the coil connection side can be flexibly adjusted on-site, making installation and maintenance more convenient. This not only expands the application range of the product, but also frees the customers from a large stock of spare parts. In addition, this product series is also smaller in size compared to traditional air conditioning units, which can further save costs for the customers.
For the appearance design, CLCM unit features a new casing made of high-strength frames. This robust casing not only prevents damage during transportation and re-assembly, which may lead to issues like air leakage and heat transfer, but also ensures the efficient performance with a low thermal transmittance. Additionally, the unit is equipped with a step-shape panel design that further reduces the air leakage rate and the risk of cold bridge condensation with multiple sealing measures, thereby improving the overall performance, quality and reliability of the product. Moreover, the interior of the new casing structure is smoother and cleaner, making it less prone to dust accumulation and easier to maintain.
In terms of energy conservation and environmental protection, Trane has set a higher benchmark with a forward-looking vision. The CLCM unit series is equipped with EC fans that offer superior economic value. Under full-load operation, these fans can save energy by 15%-30% compared with ordinary fans using AC motors, achieving the market-leading Grade1 of Grade 2 energy efficiency level.
In addition, the CLCM unit innovatively introduces a QR code solution for on-site assembly. Upon arrival at the installation site, the customer's personnel can simply scan the QR code on the product to access 3D installation instructions that provides a clear display of sorting information and installation sequence, enabling easy assembly of the equipment even without professional guidance. This significantly improves the efficiency and quality of the installation process.
Ensure healthy air with dual-mode sterilization
Given the significant rise in concern for health and environmental protection in recent years, the CLCM series is specially designed with a dual-mode system. This system includes a built-in high-voltage electrostatic sterilization device and a plug-in photocatalyst sterilization device, ensuring users enjoy better air quality.
In the high-voltage electrostatic sterilization mode, tiny particle pollutants smaller than 0.01 micron will be adsorbed on the dust collection plate by the energy instantly released from the high-voltage charge. This mode can achieve a PM2.5 purification rate of 99% and a sterilization rate of 99.6% within one hour, and it can eliminate 99% of influenza virus within two hours, effectively improving indoor air quality.
Additionally, in the plug-in photocatalytic sterilization mode, the CLCM unit can degrade organic pollutants such as formaldehyde, benzene and ammonia. It can achieve a disinfection rate of up to 99.99%, a sterilization rate of up to 99.68%, and a TVOC purification rate of 78.9% within two hours. Furthermore, negative oxygen ions are released during the sterilization process to further purify the air.
About Trane Technologies
Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands Trane® and Thermo King®, and our portfolio of environmentally responsible products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes and transportation. For more on Trane Technologies, visit tranetechnologies.com.
About Trane
Trane – by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator – creates comfortable, energy efficient indoor environments for commercial and residential applications. For more information, please visit www.trane.com or www.tranetechnologies.com.
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>>> BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks. It also provides global risk management and advisory services. The firm manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. It also launches and manages open-end and closed-end mutual funds, offshore funds, unit trusts, and alternative investment vehicles including structured funds. The firm launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and real estate mutual funds. It also launches equity, fixed income, balanced, currency, commodity, and multi-asset exchange traded funds. The firm also launches and manages hedge funds. It invests in the public equity, fixed income, real estate, currency, commodity, and alternative markets across the globe. The firm primarily invests in growth and value stocks of small-cap, mid-cap, SMID-cap, large-cap, and multi-cap companies. It also invests in dividend-paying equity securities. The firm invests in investment grade municipal securities, government securities including securities issued or guaranteed by a government or a government agency or instrumentality, corporate bonds, and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. It employs fundamental and quantitative analysis with a focus on bottom-up and top-down approach to make its investments. The firm employs liquidity, asset allocation, balanced, real estate, and alternative strategies to make its investments. In real estate sector, it seeks to invest in Poland and Germany. The firm benchmarks the performance of its portfolios against various S&P, Russell, Barclays, MSCI, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch indices. BlackRock, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in New York City with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts; London, United Kingdom; Gurgaon, India; Hong Kong; Greenwich, Connecticut; Princeton, New Jersey; Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Sydney, Australia; Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, District of Columbia; Toronto, Canada; Wilmington, Delaware; and San Francisco, California.
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>>> Republic Services, Inc. (RSG), together with its subsidiaries, offers environmental services in the United States. It is involved in the collection and processing of recyclable, solid waste, and industrial waste materials; transportation and disposal of non-hazardous and hazardous waste streams; and other environmental solutions. Its residential collection services include curbside collection of material for transport to transfer stations, landfills, recycling centers, and organics processing facilities; supply of recycling and waste containers; and renting of compactors. The company also engages in the processing and sale of old corrugated containers, old newsprint, aluminum, glass, and other materials; and provision of landfill services. It serves small-container, large-container, and residential customers. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated through 353 collection operations, 233 transfer stations, 206 active landfills, 71 recycling centers, 6 saltwater disposal wells, and 7 deep injection wells, as well as 3 treatment, recovery, and disposal facilities in 41 states; and 20 treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. It also operates 73 landfill gas-to-energy and renewable energy projects, and 12 closed landfills. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Fortinet - >>> Cybersecurity remains a high-priority for senior executives. The costs of a breach can be enormous. And this is not only about monetary damages, but also the tarnishing of the brand.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-qqq-stocks-buy-now-161140946.html
What's more, the cybersecurity industry has thousands of players, which has added to the complexities for managing the technologies. As a result of this, there is more of a focus on vendor consolidation, with a report from Gartner indicating that 97% of enterprises are considering this strategy over the next three years.
This is good news for Fortinet (FTNT, $74.33). Founded in 2000, the company is one of the largest providers of cybersecurity. Fortinet has a platform that can meet the many critical needs for many customers – whether small organizations or global behemoths.
And the proof is in the pudding. In Q1 2023, FTNT reported total revenue of $1.3 billion, up 32% on a year-over-year basis. Cash flows from operations were an impressive $647.2 million, compared to $396.1 million in Q1 2022.
With its resources and large team of cybersecurity experts, Fortinet has continued to innovate at a rapid clip. The company has over 1,280 global patents and has made heavy investments in artificial intelligence – all of which will provide even more motivation for customers to consolidate on the company's platform.
Not only is FTNT one of the best QQQ stocks to watch going forward, but it is also a top cybersecurity stock for investors considering jumping in on this growing industry.
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>>> Is Fortinet Stock a Once-in-a-Decade Buying Opportunity?
By Nicholas Rossolillo
Nov 10, 2022
https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/11/10/is-fortinet-a-once-in-a-decade-buying-opportunity/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article
KEY POINTS
Fortinet maintained its solid growth outlook for 2022 but cautioned it's seeing customer spending beginning to normalize.
This is a highly profitable cybersecurity business, one that has been rewarding shareholders with stock buybacks this year.
With a plan to continue growing at a rapid pace for the next few years, this still looks like a top cybersecurity buy.
The stock has given back over a year's worth of gains, even as cybersecurity demand soars.
Make no mistake, cybersecurity is a secular growth trend. As computing technology deepens its roots in the global economy, businesses have new opportunities ahead of them -- but they're simultaneously faced with new dangers too. The pandemic accelerated reliance on digital processes, which has in turn boosted demand for cybersecurity.
But that hasn't equated to shareholder gains. Take Fortinet (FTNT -0.08%), for example. It's the second-largest cybersecurity pure-play stock (as measured by revenue, behind only Palo Alto Networks), and shares are down 30% so far in 2022 as the bear market rages on. Business itself is booming, though. Is this a once-in-a-decade buying opportunity for this long-term growth story?
Q3 was good, but it's all about the guidance
Fortinet's third-quarter revenue increased nearly 33% year over year to $1.15 billion -- driven by a 39% increase in product sales ($469 million) and a 28% increase in services ($681 million). Earnings per share jumped 65% to $0.33, and free cash flow was up 20% to $395 million (for a very healthy free-cash-flow margin of 34%).
Why is the market so down on Fortinet? Just like last quarter, free-cash-flow growth came in a bit light. That's a function of Fortinet's spending this year on research and development, as well as a sizable expansion of its sales and marketing team. The company sees big opportunities ahead of it (more on that in a moment), so it's keeping the foot on the gas to hold onto some of its momentum. With global economic conditions worsening, that's making some investors a bit nervous.
It isn't just the third-quarter free cash flow that's a problem for the market, though. After two years of accelerating growth in Fortinet's hardware sales, CFO Keith Jensen said on the earnings call the company is "seeing early signs of a transition back to more normalized customer buying behaviors."
What does that mean? Well, back in 2019 before the pandemic, revenue for Fortinet's product and services segments increased a respective 17% and 21%. While that's respectable, it's far lower than the full-year 2022 outlook for revenue to increase about 33% from 2021 (at the midpoint of guidance). If customer buying "normalizes" to a pre-pandemic pace, Fortinet is poised for a big deceleration in the next few years.
Buy Fortinet for the long haul
Worries aside, there is still plenty to like about Fortinet at this juncture. The company benefits from a type of cybersecurity flywheel effect. Once Fortinet's security equipment is installed, customers usually begin to pay for ongoing software and services attached to the hard asset. That means Fortinet's rapid rise in product sales this year should lead to a nice tail of service sales growth in the next few years -- even as product sales ease up.
Additionally, Fortinet has been investing heavily into new services in areas like employee endpoint protection (a must-have for remote workers) and providing various network security technologies from a single platform (from mobile 5G network operators to more traditional networks). CEO Ken Xie said this has led to expanding relationships with existing customers, especially as larger organizations look for more simplicity by consolidating the number of security vendors they use.
With that as the backdrop, Fortinet doesn't see a slowing economy -- perhaps even a recession -- as a significant risk to the medium-term guidance it laid out in May 2022. Specifically, management expects to reach $8 billion in revenue by 2025 (which would work out to a 22% average annual growth rate from today), and a 2025 free-cash-flow margin roughly in line with where it is now. Additionally, Fortinet has returned $2.56 billion to shareholders over the last 12-month stretch via share repurchases. Balancing profitable growth with shareholder returns will remain the focus going forward.
Fortinet stock now trades for 43 times expected 2022 adjusted earnings, or 35 times trailing-12-month free cash flow. With growth still going strong and a possible rebound in profitability in store next year as Fortinet's heavy rate of investment spending eases, it isn't an unreasonable price tag. The stock's fall this year doesn't exactly spell once-in-a-decade opportunity. However, if Fortinet achieves its goals, this remains a top buy among cybersecurity stocks in my book.
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Cintas - >>> 1 Current and 1 Future Dividend Aristocrat to Buy and Hold Forever
Motley Fool
By Josh Kohn-Lindquist
Apr 2, 2022
https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/04/02/1-current-and-1-future-dividend-aristocrat-to-buy/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article
KEY POINTS
Nike's digital transformation is just beginning, and its brand is stronger than ever.
Cintas continues to post strong sales growth regardless of the economic climate.
Excellent return on invested capital metrics mean these two may outperform.
These apparel-focused stocks look to continue their decades-long histories of beating the market.
While most apparel stocks make for better buy-low and sell-high candidates than genuine buy-and-hold investments, two businesses stand out as the exception: Nike (NKE 2.10%) and Cintas (CTAS -0.32%).
Despite operating in wildly different segments of the broader clothing industry, the two behemoths have smashed the S&P 500 index's returns over the last three decades.
So what exactly makes these two stocks different than the rest of their apparel peers?
Let's take a look.
Cintas
While calling Cintas a genuine apparel company is a bit of a stretch, it is home to a uniform rental service that makes up the most significant portion of its sales. Helping more than 1 million businesses get "ready for the workday," Cintas offers everything from these uniforms to COVID-19 test kits, restroom supplies, fire extinguishers, and personal protective equipment.
Despite seeming like an unexciting operation, Cintas has posted stock returns that are anything but -- rising 1,000% in just the last decade.
Perhaps most incredibly, Cintas not only survived the onset of COVID-19 -- it thrived in it.
From 2019 to 2021, earnings per share (EPS) and free cash flow steadily increased despite lockdowns that hampered the broader economy.
This fact is important to investors today, with inflation rising to 7% in the United States and forcing us to consider just how recession-proof our favorite holdings may be.
Heading into its third-quarter earnings report, Cintas faced myriad worries: inflation, escalating political tension, rising fuel prices, labor shortages, and a travel and hospitality industry that has not yet returned to full strength. However, the company went on to post 10% and 14% revenue and EPS growth, respectively, for the quarter -- showing that even with two of its main verticals -- travel and hospitality -- still struggling, it could be counted on for growth.
Furthermore, like Nike, Cintas owns a strong and growing ROIC, which clocked in at 20% as of its most recent quarter.
Thanks to this growing ROIC, the recession-proof nature of its operations, and its history as a Dividend Aristocrat, Cintas looks to be an excellent option to consider holding for the long term.
While the soon-to-be (Nike) and current (Cintas) Dividend Aristocrats pay 0.9% dividends, Cintas holds a more robust dividend growth rate of 22% annually over the last five years despite having already bumped its dividend for 38 years straight.
Ultimately, both businesses have a maximum dividend potential of nearly 3%, highlighting their promising combination of a reasonable dividend yield and a low payout ratio. So whether it is Nike's brand power or Cintas' ability to weather any economic storm, these are two great dividend growers to consider in today's volatile times.
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>>> 16 big stocks near records before the New Year
Yahoo Finance
by Brian Sozzi
December 30, 2021
The big keep getting bigger.
Troll the list of 52-week highs (see some names below) in the record-setting stock market right now, and it's a who's who of big cap, household name companies.
The stocks mentioned here reflect a couple themes being played by investors into 2022: likely increased at-home food/consumer products consumption with the Omicron variant raging (Hershey, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Mondelez, Proctor & Gamble, Constellation Brands, Yum! Brands); solid health care plays amid the ongoing pandemic (Abbott, McKesson, Zoetis); economic recovery names (Norfolk Southern, Paychex, Hilton); the hot U.S. housing market continues (Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams).
Hershey (HSY)
Coca-Cola (KO)
McDonald's (MCD)
McKesson (MKC)
Mondelez (MDLZ)
Norfolk Southern (NSC)
Paychex (PAYX)
Proctor & Gamble (PG)
Sherwin Williams (SHW)
Constellation Brands (STZ)
Yum! Brands (YUM)
Zoetis (ZTS)
CME Group (CME)
Hilton (HLT)
Abbott (ABT)
Home Depot (HD)
Of course, the moves higher in these big cap stocks come as the broader market remains in full Santa Claus Rally mode despite the fast-spreading COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, investors are feeling emboldened to bid up these stocks even as they are far from cheap from a valuation perspective.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) notched its 70th record close of the year on Wednesday. It represented the second highest number of record closes for the S&P 500 in a calendar year. Back in 1995, the S&P 500 saw 77 record closing highs according to Bloomberg data.
Most on Wall Street expect the rally to continue into the early part of January, reflecting favorable seasonal factors such as money managers making new bets for the New Year.
"We encourage our clients not to get out, to stay in the market. When the recoveries hit, when the sentiment changes, it happens so quickly that often by the time you're able to get back into the market, you have already missed out," said Erin Gibbs, Main Street Asset Management chief investment officer, on Yahoo Finance Live.
In other words, the big ... may keep on getting bigger.
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Ecolab - >>> This Company's Vision for the Future Could Help You Beat the Market
Ecolab is poised to restart revenue growth and expand its market share in a post-pandemic world.
Motley Fool
by Josh Kohn-Lindquist
Aug 14, 2021
https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/08/14/this-companys-vision-for-the-future-could-help-you/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article
It is a beautiful thing when a CEO's vision for their company's future lines up with my investment thesis for its stock. This alignment of values seems to be the case for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL), the water, hygiene, and infection prevention services company.
President and CEO Christophe Beck summarized its aims during the Q2 earnings call: "Global trends in people health, like infection prevention and food safety; as well as planet health, like water and carbon emissions, are becoming front and center for every business leader -- and there's no one positioned to help customers on both fronts better than Ecolab."
Sourcing clean water, healthy food, and reliable energy safely will be significant hurdles facing the world as its population grows. Ecolab is off to a great start to meet these challenges. In 2020, it conserved over 200 billion gallons of water, prevented the creation of 3.5 metrics tonnes of CO2, provided 1.3 billion people with safe food, and cleaned 66 billion hands.
Simply put, I think the world needs the services of a company like Ecolab, so long as it remains the top dog in improving sustainability and eliminates a few current weaknesses.
Quick SWOT Analysis
First things first, let's take a brief overview of the company's current operations by looking at the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for Ecolab.
Strengths: Dividend Aristocrat status, fortress-like financial metrics, 9% profit margins, and leadership position give Ecolab a rock-solid foundation for future growth. Thanks to this solid financial footing, the company is positioned beautifully to capture market share as it continues to navigate its way out of the pandemic.
Weaknesses: Revenue per share has only grown from $40 to $42 since 2012. While profitability and efficiencies, in general, have been maximized for the company, it needs to restart revenue growth to become a long-term investing success.
Opportunities: Ecolab saw a 53% increase in data center sales versus Q2 2019, highlighting how valuable trend sustainability may be to the "big tech" companies moving forward. This sales segment is still in its infancy and represents Ecolab's most significant catalyst for revenue growth.
Threats: While COVID-19 did, unfortunately, help highlight the importance of a variety of Ecolab's offerings, EPS was still down 30% in 2020 due to its impact. Investors need to see EPS normalize and expand again when we emerge from the pandemic.
Overall, Ecolab has the resources it needs to overcome the blows its taken to revenue. I think the future could hold good things for the company (and its shareholders), especially if it can capitalize on its massive market opportunity.
A few promising points on market opportunity
Delivering on its promise to help provide safe food, clean water, and healthy environments, Ecolab has positioned itself as the leader within its industry. However, the following two points show that growth is far from over, even though the company sits at a $63 billion market cap.
Ecolab is the true leader in its industry, posting four times the sales of its nearest peer. Despite this leadership position, it only has a 9% overall share of the $135 billion in annual sales.
Due to the highly fragmented industry, Ecolab could capture new sources of sales growth by simply expanding its market share. As one of the few global brands in its sector, Ecolab has the power of scale on its side versus its more localized peers. Furthermore, Ecolab can land significant contracts with some of the largest companies in the world, thanks to its size and ability to offer products that smaller companies cannot.
In addition to market share expansion, the overall market opportunity for Ecolab has grown by 9% annually over the last decade. The facts that environmental, social, and governance investing (ESG) is becoming an area of focus for more investors and Ecolab's core offerings are growing more critical over time suggest a bright future for its stock.
An investor's next move
As the industry leader in sustainability, Ecolab has positioned itself to grow its market share in new, adjacent categories, such as its data center, water management, or its life sciences segment. With its vision of a truly sustainable future, the company offers investors intriguing potential to beat the market.
As is often the case with great businesses, Ecolab trades at a premium valuation posting a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 50 and a price-to-cash-flow (PCF) ratio of 33. Due to these temporarily inflated valuation figures, I believe it is more helpful to look at Ecolab through the lens of its $63 billion market cap versus its $135 billion annually (and growing) market opportunity.
Going forward, I will be holding management's feet to the fire as their long-term sales and EPS growth goals are 6% to 8% and 15%, respectively. Having grown revenue by 7% annually over the last decade, these goals are ambitious yet reasonable. But, perhaps most importantly, I will be watching to ensure Ecolab builds upon its current 9% market share in the coming quarters.
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>>> STERIS plc (STE) provides infection prevention and other procedural products and services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, and Life Sciences. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; accessories for gastrointestinal (GI) procedures, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services. It also provides capital equipment installation, maintenance, upgradation, repair, and troubleshooting services; preventive maintenance programs and repair services; instrument and endoscope repair and maintenance services; and custom process improvement consulting and outsourced instrument sterile processing services. This segment offers its products and services to acute care hospitals and other healthcare settings. The Applied Sterilization Technologies segment provides contract sterilization and testing services for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers through a network of approximately 50 contract sterilization and laboratory facilities. The Life Sciences segment designs, manufactures and sells consumable products, such as formulated cleaning chemistries, barrier and sterility assurance products, steam and vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilizers, and washer disinfectors. This segment also offers equipment installation, maintenance, upgradation, repair, and troubleshooting services; and preventive maintenance programs and repair services. The company is based in Dublin, Ireland. <<<
>>> Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) provides broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers FortiGate hardware and software licenses that provide various security and networking functions, including firewall, intrusion prevention, anti-malware, virtual private network, application control, web filtering, anti-spam, and wide area network acceleration. The company also provides FortiSwitch product family that offers secure switching solutions for connecting customers their end devices; FortiAP product family, which provides secure wireless networking solutions; FortiExtender, a hardware appliance; FortiAnalyzer product family, which offers centralized network logging, analyzing, and reporting solutions; and FortiManager product family that provides central and scalable management solution for its FortiGate products. It offers FortiWeb product family provides web application firewall solutions; FortiMail product family that secure email gateway solutions; FortiSandbox technology that delivers proactive detection and mitigation services; FortiClient that provides endpoint protection with pattern-based anti-malware, behavior-based exploit protection, web-filtering, and an application firewall; FortiToken and FortiAuthenticator product families for multi-factor authentication to safeguard systems, assets, and data; and FortiEDR/XDR, an endpoint protection solution that provides both comprehensive machine-learning anti-malware execution and real-time post-infection protection. The company provides security subscription, technical support, professional, and training services. It sells its security solutions to channel partners and directly to various customers in telecommunications, technology, government, financial services, education, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. It has strategic alliance with Linksys. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
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>>> Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes a range of navigation, communication, and information devices in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Australian Continent, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Its Fitness segment offers running and multi-sport watches; cycling products; activity tracking and smartwatch devices; and fitness and cycling accessories. This segment also provides Garmin Connect and Garmin Connect Mobile, which are web and mobile platforms; and Connect IQ, an application development platform. The company's Outdoor segment offers adventure watches, outdoor handhelds, golf devices, and dog tracking and training devices. Its Aviation segment designs, manufactures, and markets various aircraft avionics solutions comprising integrated flight decks, electronic flight displays and instrumentation, navigation and communication products, automatic flight control systems and safety-enhancing technologies, audio control systems, engine indication systems, traffic awareness and avoidance solutions, ADS-B and transponder solutions, weather information and avoidance solutions, datalink and connectivity solutions, portable GPS navigators and wearables, and various services products. The company's Marine segment provides chartplotters and multi-function displays, cartography products, fish finders, sonar products, autopilot systems, radars, compliant instrument displays and sensors, VHF communication radios, handhelds and wearable devices, sailing products, entertainment, digital switching products, and trolling motors. Its Auto segment offers embedded computing models and infotainment systems; personal navigation devices; and cameras. The company sells its products through independent retailers, online retailers, dealers, distributors, installation and repair shops, and original equipment manufacturers, as well as an online webshop, garmin.com. Garmin Ltd. was founded in 1989 and is based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
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CSX Corp - >>> Top Railroad Stocks for Q2 2021
CP.TO, CSX, and GBX are top for value, growth, and momentum, respectively
Investopedia
By NATHAN REIFF
Mar 17, 2021
https://www.investopedia.com/investing/railroad-stocks/?utm_campaign=quote-yahoo&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral
The railroad industry is one of the major components of the transportation sector and is closely tied to the economy's growth. Railroad companies operate vast networks that transport agricultural products, packaged foods, commodities, electronics, and other goods to companies and consumers. Major companies in the industry include Union Pacific Corp. (UNP), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), and CSX Corp. (CSX).
The railroad industry does not have its own benchmark, but as a part of the broader transportation sector its performance can be reasonably approximated by the iShares Transportation Average ETF (IYT). IYT has outperformed the broader market with a total return of 78.4% over the past 12 months, above the Russell 1000's total return of 53.5%.1 The benchmark figures above and all statistics in the tables below are as of March 15.
Here are the top 3 railroad stocks with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.
Best Value Railroad Stocks
These are the railroad stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows you’re paying less for each dollar of profit generated.
Best Value Railroad Stocks
Price ($) Market Cap ($B) 12-Month Trailing P/E Ratio
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. ( CP.TO) CA$464.64 CA$61.9 25.8
CSX Corp. (CSX) 93.48 71.3 26.0
Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) 212.67 142.5 27.0
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.: Canadian Pacific Railway is a Canada-based company that offers rail transportation services, including intermodal shipping, rail siding construction, and logistics services. In early march, Canadian Pacific announced updates to its Hydrogen Locomotive Program, whose goal is to create a locomotive that produces zero emissions. In the latest development, Canadian Pacific plans to retrofit a diesel-powered locomotive with Ballard hydrogen fuel cells. It would be the first hydrogen-powered line-haul freight locomotive in North America.2
CSX Corp.: CSX provides domestic and international freight transportation services. The company offers rail, domestic container shipping, barging, intermodal, and contract logistics services between global hubs. The company's rail transportation services are focused in the eastern U.S. In February, CSX announced that its board of directors authorized an 8% increase in its quarterly dividend, from $0.26 to $0.28 per share. The new dividend was paid on March 15, 2021.3
Union Pacific Corp.: Union Pacific transports agricultural, automotive, chemical, and other products. The company provides routes from West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, Canada, and Mexico.
Fastest Growing Railroad Stocks
These are the railroad stocks with the highest year-over-year (YOY) operating income, also called operating earnings, growth for the most recent quarter. Rising earnings show that a company’s business is growing and is generating more money that it can reinvest or return to shareholders. Operating income excludes non-operating income and expenses (such as investment gains or losses), one-time items, as well as interest and taxes. This helps investors get a clearer picture at the strength of the underlying business without the effect of unusual one-off events, such as large tax credits, asset sales, or lawsuit settlements. If you decided to invest in a company, it's still important to look at these one-off non-operating expenses and incomes, as they can still influence a company's overall financial health.
Fastest Growing Railroad Stocks
Price ($) Market Cap ($B) Operating Income Growth (%)
CSX Corp. (CSX) 93.48 71.3 5.3
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. ( CP) 372.40 49.6 2.6
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) 260.27 65.6 1.4
Source: YCharts
CSX Corp.: See company description above.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.: See company description above. Note that common shares of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. trade on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.4
Norfolk Southern Corp.: Norfolk Southern is a rail transportation company operating primarily in the Southeast, East, and Midwest. The company transports raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. Through agreements with other carriers, it also provides service throughout the U.S., as well as transport of overseas freight.
Railroad Stocks with the Most Momentum
These are the railroad stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.
Railroad Stocks with the Most Momentum
Price ($) Market Cap ($B) 12-Month Trailing Total Return (%)
Greenbrier Companies Inc. ( GBX) 48.83 1.6 172.2
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) 260.27 65.6 80.5
Kansas City Southern ( KSU) 219.81 20.0 73.9
Russell 1000 N/A N/A 53.5
iShares Transportation Average ETF (IYT) N/A N/A 78.4
Source: YCharts
Greenbrier Companies Inc.: Greenbrier Companies is primarily engaged in the design, manufacture, and marketing of railroad freight car equipment. The company manufactures both railcars and marine vessels, provides repair and refurbishment for intermodal and conventional railcars, and provides complementary leasing and services. In February, Greenbrier announced plans to form GBX Leasing, a joint venture with The Longwood Group, a transportation equipment advisory and asset management firm. GBX Leasing will develop a portfolio of leased railcars primarily built by Greenbrier. The initial equity investment in the JV will benefit from specific tax advantages related to financial losses under the U.S. CARES Act passed in early 2020 to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.5
Norfolk Southern Corp.: See company description above.
Kansas City Southern: Kansas City Southern is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, operates a railroad system providing shippers with freight services in commercial and industrial markets in the U.S. and Mexico.
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>>> Okta, Inc. (OKTA) provides identity management platforms for enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, universities, non-profits, and government agencies in the United States and internationally. The company offers Okta Identity Cloud, a platform that offers a suite of products to manage and secure identities, such as Universal Directory, a cloud-based system of record to store and secure user, application, and device profiles for an organization; and Single Sign-On that enables users to access their applications in the cloud or on-premise from various devices with a single entry of their user credentials. It also provides Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication, a product that provides an additional layer of security for cloud, mobile, and Web applications, as well as for data; Lifecycle Management, which enables IT organizations or developers to manage a user's identity throughout its lifecycle; API Access Management that enables organizations to secure APIs; Advanced Server Access to secure cloud infrastructure; and Access Gateway that enables organizations to extend the Okta Identity Cloud from the cloud to their existing on-premise applications. In addition, the company offers customer support and training, and professional services. Okta, Inc. sells its products directly to customers through sales force, as well as through channel partners. The company was formerly known as Saasure, Inc. Okta, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
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>>> American Water Arm & Flo by Moen Unite to Stop Water Wastage
Zacks
July 8, 2020
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-water-arm-flo-moen-133401777.html
American Water Works AWK announced that its unit, American Water Resources has entered into a partnership with Flo by Moen. The primary objective of the partnership is to offer its customers the all-in-one water leak detection system, Flo by Moen Smart Water Shutoff.
The Smart Water Shutoff is a tool that will assist customers to detect water leaks within their home’s plumbing, avoid over usage that can result in unexpected increase in water bills and conserve freshwater resources that may be wasted due to undetected leaks.
Aim to Save Potable Water
The undetected average household water leaks result in wastage of nearly 10,000 gallons of water per year. When the Smart Water Shutoff is installed in a home’s main water supply line, the device provides round-the-clock, reliable monitoring of water usage, temperature, pressure, and flow to provide peace of mind that a home is being protected from water damage.
Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, people are staying at home to check the spread of the virus. In addition, the hot summer season will further increase the demand for water from the residential group. Amid the rising usage of potable water, this tool will stop the wastage of potable water and help lower utility bills of an average household.
Aging Water Infrastructure
The U.S. water and wastewater infrastructure is aging, and a major portion of the same is nearing the end of effective life. Per a finding from American Society of Civil Engineers, there are 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States, resulting in the wastage of more than 2 trillion gallons of treated drinking water.
So, it is quite essential to make repairs and upgrade old and soiled water and wastewater mains to prevent wastage, as well as lower the possibility of potable water contamination. American Water is quite active in making regular investments in its service territories and maintaining the water mains. American Water has plans to invest $8.8-$9.4 billion in the 2020-2024 time period and $20-$22 billion in the next decade. These investments will allow it to maintain and expand its existing water infrastructure and provide reliable water services to the expanding customer base.
In addition to American Water, Essential Utilities WTRG is also making regular investments in water and wastewater systems. Its long-term plan is to invest $2.8 billion in the 2020-2022 time period to rehabilitate, and strengthen the existing water and natural gas pipeline systems. Similarly, California Water Service Group CWT is planning to invest within $260-$290 million in 2020 for strengthening its existing water infrastructure.
Price Performance
Shares of American Water have outperformed the industry in the past 12 months.
Zacks Rank & Key Pick
Currently, the company has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Eversource Energy - >>> Top Utilities Stocks for July 2020
NRG, PNW, and NEE are top for value, growth, and momentum, respectively
Investopedia
By JASON FERNANDO
Jun 29, 2020
https://www.investopedia.com/top-utilities-stocks-4582243?utm_campaign=quote-yahoo&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&yptr=yahoo#citation-45
The utilities sector is made up of companies that provide electricity, natural gas, water, sewage and other services to homes and businesses. Many of these companies are heavily regulated, and include Duke Energy Corp. (DUK), Southern Co. (SO), and American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEC). Utilities stocks, as represented by the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), have underperformed the broader market, with a total return of -6.0% compared to the S&P 500's total return of 5.7% over the past 12 months.1? These market performance numbers and the statistics in the tables below are as of June 25.
Here are the top 3 utilities stocks with the best value, the fastest earnings growth, and the most momentum.
Best Value Utilities Stocks
These are the utilities stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows you’re paying less for each dollar of profit generated.
BEST VALUE UTILITIES STOCKS
NRG Energy Inc.: NRG Energy is an integrated power company that produces, sells, and distributes energy and energy services. The company provides energy production and cogeneration facilities, thermal energy production, and energy resource facilities. On May 7, NRG reported a 7% decline in revenue and a 75% decline in net income for Q1 2020, which ended March 31, 2020. The company said that there has been a reduction in load across its markets due to COVID-19, and that uncertainty about demand will continue until the economy recovers.2?
PPL Corp.: PPL is an energy and utility holding company that, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. On May 8, the company announced its Q1 2020 earnings, posting a 7.5% gain in net income per share even though non-GAAP earnings from operations declined about 4%.3?
Exelon Corp.: Exelon is a utility services holding company that, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and distribution of energy in both the United States and Canada. Its energy operations are diversified across various sources, including fossil fuels, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, and renewables.
Fastest Growing Utilities Stocks
These are the utilities stocks with the highest year-over-year (YOY) earnings per share (EPS) growth for the most recent quarter. Rising earnings show that a company’s business is growing and is generating more money that it can reinvest or return to shareholders.
FASTEST GROWING UTILITIES STOCKS
Pinnacle West Capital Corp.: Pinnacle West Capital is a utility holding company that, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. On June 23, the company said that it does not expect the COVID-19 pandemic to result in any disruptions to their customers’ power supply as it implements numerous steps to protect employees and maintain service. These include adding additional layers of backup personnel to help prevent potential service disruptions, and implementing new sanitation and hygiene practices. The company also said it's providing various concessions to customers who may be unable to pay their energy bills.4?
Sempra Energy: Sempra is an energy services holding company that, through its subsidiaries, generates electricity, delivers natural gas, operates natural gas pipelines and storage facilities, and operates a wind power generation project. The company announced on June 24 that it had completed the $2.2 billion divestiture of its Chilean assets, which were sold to the Chinese investment holding company, State Grid International Development. This is part of a broader effort to sell its South American assets, and Sempra thus far has raised approximately $5.82 billion, including the sale of its Chilean holdings.5?
Alliant Energy Corp.: Alliant Energy is a public-utility services company that supplies electricity, natural gas, and water to residential and commercial customers. The company serves customers in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. On May 26, the company announced plans to expand its solar energy infrastructure in Wisconsin, which ultimately would provide power to 175,000 homes per year.6?
Utilities Stocks with the Most Momentum
These are the utilities stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.
UTILITIES STOCKS WITH THE MOST MOMENTUM
NextEra Energy Inc.: NextEra is an electric power and energy infrastructure company that generates electricity through wind, solar, and natural gas. Through its subsidiaries, the company also operates multiple commercial nuclear power units. CEO Jim Robo has said that the company's strong underlying businesses, along with about $12 billion in liquidity, should enable NextEra to deliver adjusted EPS near the "top end" of the company's expectations for the next 3 years.7?
Eversource Energy: Eversource Energy is a utility holding company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of natural gas and electricity. The company earlier this year agreed to acquire the Massachusetts natural gas assets of Columbia Gas for $1.1 billion from NiSource Inc. (NI).8?
Dominion Energy Inc.: Dominion Energy is a producer and transporter of energy products. The company provides natural gas and electric energy transmission, gathering, and storage solutions. On June 18, the company announced several measures designed to help customers who are experiencing difficulty making their payments, due in part to the economic disruptions caused by COVID-19
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Hormel - >>> From Spam to Corned Beef, Sales of Canned Meat Are Booming
Bloomberg
By Ken Parks, Jacqueline Davalos, Greg Ritchie, and Heesu Lee
June 20, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-20/from-spam-to-corned-beef-sales-of-canned-meat-are-booming?srnd=premium
Consumers look to cut down on costs with tinned options
Return to comfort food also props up the cult favorites
Canned meat is having a moment.
Demand is booming across the globe. In the U.S., sales surged more than 70% in the 15 weeks ended June 13. In the U.K., consumption of canned corned beef has taken off. Even in South Korea, where Spam is an old favorite, sales are expanding at the fastest pace in years.
At first, people were loading up on pantry staples with a long shelf life during lockdown conditions. Then, shortages of some fresh meat supplies, especially in the U.S., also helped to drive sales. Now, the economic downturn is underpinning demand.
There’s the obvious factor of income here. With millions thrown out of work in the last few months, consumers are looking for a way to cut back on grocery bills, and they’re trading in fresh meat for canned varieties. But there’s also something deeper going on -- a return to comfort food and nostalgia in troubled times.
Ray Herras, a graduate student at Columbia University, is a Filipino American. Spam gained popularity in the cuisines of Southeast Asia after occupying U.S. forces brought the canned ham with them. For Herras, Spam is a taste of childhood.
“I grew up eating Spam. It is deeply ingrained in Filipino culture, but I wasn’t really eating Spam until quarantine,” said Herras, who started adding it to his grocery purchases at least every other week. He’s not sure how much longer he’ll keep the buying up, but it’s always a staple whenever he’s “feeling homesick,” he said.
Canned meat has been available for more than 80 years. It’s sometimes frowned upon by filet-mignon loving elites, but it’s also got a cult following. Spam musubi -- think of it like a porky twist on sushi -- is a popular snack in Hawaii. In Korea, it’s eaten with kimchi and steamed rice. In the U.S., a slice of fried Spam with eggs can be a breakfast treat. And in the U.K., tinned corned beef is served up as hash with potatoes and fried onions.
But while the die-hard fans are always there, the recent boom in sales is something even the canned meat makers didn’t see coming.
“Even I thought it could be difficult to increase our sales of canned meat to more than what we expected,” said Kasper Lenbroch, chief executive officer of the unit that houses the Tulip brand at Danish Crown Group, Europe’s top meat processor. “It’s not very often when you’re in food that you can see traditional products like these grow as much as they have done right now.”
Sales of Tulip Pork Luncheon Meat, sold in 120 markets around the world, are expected to go up 25% this year, Lenbroch said. Sales are “growing all over,” including in the U.K., Germany, Greece, Japan and Singapore, among many others.
Marfrig Global Foods SA, the Brazilian beef giant, is seeing a similar jump at its Uruguay business, which supplies corned beef to the U.S. Sales of the product are expected to reach as high as 3,500 metric tons this year, said Marcelo Secco, CEO of the unit. That would be up almost double compared with 2019, when about 1,800 tons were sold, he said.
Secco points to the recent jump in U.S. meat prices as turning consumers on to canned alternatives. Some of America’s biggest livestock slaughter plants were forced to close earlier this year after coronavirus outbreaks saw thousands of workers falling ill. That caused wholesale beef prices to double in about a month. While the market has come back down, corned beef was there to help fill supply gaps -- and now that consumers have returned to the old staple, they may be more inclined to stick with it.
“There isn’t a supermarket in the U.S. that doesn’t have corned beef,” Secco said. “It’s a product that everyone knows.”
While U.S. sales of canned meat have slowed since an initial surge when lockdowns started in mid-March, they are still well above 2019 levels. In the week ended June 13, sales were up 17%, according to Nielsen data.
Hormel Food Corp.’s Spam was already seeing sales growth in the past several years, but nothing like the increase taking place now.
“The last time Spam saw a similar pattern in interest was back to when the brand started during the Great Depression. The economic situation wasn’t great -- that was carried into World War II,” said Brian Lillis, Hormel’s senior brand manager for Spam. “What we saw over the last few months is really people all over the country purchasing the product.”
Spam has a storied history in South Korea, the No. 2 consumer after the U.S. It’s a popular holiday gift sold in lavish packages, which make up about 60% of annual sales, according to CJ CheilJedang Corp., the Korean producer of the tinned ham.
When coronavirus cases started spreading in the country in February and March, consumers stayed home and cooked more -- but many people still had leftover Spam from holiday packages. It wasn’t until April that sales really started taking off.
In the two months of April and May, CJ saw Spam sales soar more than 50% from a year earlier.
“The outbreak of coronavirus has revived the domestic canned food industry, which was on the verge of entering a period of stagnation,” said Lee Seung Hoon, a spokesman at CJ. “Now we are expecting growth in the market.”
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Fiserv - >>> How can the companies that help us pay for goods survive a coronavirus shutdown?
MarketWatch
April 14, 2020
By Emily Bary
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-can-the-companies-that-help-us-pay-for-goods-survive-a-coronavirus-shutdown-2020-04-14?siteid=bigcharts&dist=bigcharts
The payments industry in the age of COVID-19: PayPal and Square look for new opportunities, while Visa and Mastercard look to survive a new kind of economic downturn
As the COVID-19 outbreak curtails consumer spending, some younger payment-processing companies are getting creative, while the stalwarts are betting their resilient business models can withstand the latest economic downturn.
PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL, +3.26% and Square Inc. SQ, +6.57% are among a handful of financial-technology companies that have been approved to distribute small-business loans through their platforms as part of the Paycheck Protection Program, as well as to help disburse stimulus payments to individuals.
Despite new opportunities like those, there are still concerns about how the payments industry will fare as the COVID-19 crisis shakes the global economy. Industry giants Visa Inc. V, +4.38% and Mastercard Inc. MA, +5.35% have survived many recessions, but there’s little historical parallel for an event that makes wide swaths of the population afraid to leave their homes. The credit-card networks will be relying on their high margins and enhanced e-commerce exposure to carry them through.
Business in the age of COVID-19: Read how other large companies will be affected by the coronavirus
Though shoppers might be eager to stock up on canned goods, toilet paper and other essentials during the crisis, that can’t make up for the many areas where spending has all but dried up. Retail store closures mean that fewer people are buying discretionary items, restaurants can only do so much business by selling takeout to a wary public, and tourism is virtually nonexistent.
Because payments companies touch so many aspects of the economy, it’s unclear when their businesses could return to normal. No one knows how long or how deep a coronavirus-driven recession would last, which could pressure spending until consumers feel more certain about the economic landscape. Some areas, like travel, may be especially stubborn until a vaccine becomes widely available.
Of course, e-commerce is far more prevalent now than it was a decade ago, giving payment providers a bit of a cushion even as surging unemployment and general unease about the economy prove tougher hurdles to spending. Analysts say PayPal, which conducts nearly all of its business online, could withstand COVID-19 better than most.
While the major players are likely to feel the sting now, a heightened awareness of germ spread could help ultimately accelerate plans by Visa and Mastercard to grow adoption of contactless payments in the U.S.
How the stocks are reacting
Mastercard shares dropped 19% in the first quarter, while Visa shares fell 14%, PayPal shares decreased 11%, and Square shares declined 16%. The S&P 500 SPX, +2.67% was off 20% in the first quarter, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +2.99%, which counts Visa as a component, fell 23%.
Analysts are overwhelmingly bullish on Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal shares, and while Square remains the most controversial of the four, sentiment has become more bullish in recent months as the stock pulled back. Of the 40 analysts who cover the stock, 19 rate it a buy as of April 14, while 19 rate it a hold and two rate it a sell. There were 18 buy ratings, 16 hold ratings, and six sell ratings in late December.
The companies and their numbers
Visa: The card giant has seen “a rapid deterioration of cross-border travel-related spending,” according to a March 30 filing in which the company issued its second profit warning since Visa’s late-January earnings report. Visa told investors in this latest update to brace for mid-single-digit March-quarter revenue growth, below its initial forecast of low double-digit growth. Areas that had seen the greatest negative impacts over the course of March included travel, restaurants, entertainment and fuel.
Revenue and earnings estimates have fallen for Visa’s fiscal second quarter, which ended in March. Analysts tracked by FactSet modeled $5.79 billion in revenue and $1.36 a share in earnings as of late March, down from estimates of $6.11 billion and $1.46 a share, respectively, as of late December.
For the full fiscal year ending in September, the consensus forecast called for $23.41 billion in revenue and $5.57 a share in earnings as of late March, below late-December forecasts of $25.43 billion and $6.21 a share, respectively.
Mastercard: While the company argued back in January that its e-commerce business provided a “natural hedge” on the coronavirus outbreak in China, Mastercard has since acknowledged more risks. The company has issued two revenue warnings since its January earnings report, with the latest one on March 24 calling for low- to mid-single-digit net revenue growth in the first quarter. That’s down from an initial forecast of low-teens growth. While it faces a challenging consumer-spending landscape, Mastercard also highlighted weakness in business spending, pressuring an emerging-growth area for the company as it tries to capture more commercial volume.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet modeled $4.08 billion in first-quarter revenue as of late March, down from an estimate of $4.39 billion at the end of December. Earnings estimates declined to $1.78 a share as of the end of March from $2.02 a share at the end of December.
For the full year, analysts modeled $17.42 billion in revenue as of late March, down from their December estimate of $19.17 billion. They were looking for $7.83 a share in full-year earnings, below their December forecast of $9.05 a share.
PayPal: Unlike Visa, Mastercard, and Square, the company generates nearly all of its revenue from online sales, which was the focus of its Feb. 27 business update. At that point, the company disclosed in a press release that its “business trends remain strong” though cross-border e-commerce had been negatively impacted by the outbreak. PayPal told investors to expect revenue “toward the lower end” of its previously issued forecast of $4.78 billion to $4.84 billion. The company announced April 10 that it was approved to offer access to Paycheck Protection Program loans through the Small Business Administration.
The FactSet consensus reflects that new disclosure, as analysts modeled $4.79 billion in first-quarter revenue as of the end of March, below the $4.84 billion they were projecting as of late December. They also called for 77 cents in adjusted earnings per share, below their late-December projection of 82 cents.
For the full year, analysts expected $20.61 billion in revenue and $3.39 a share in earnings as of late March, below the $20.74 billion and $3.49 a share, respectively, that they had been calling for at the end of 2019.
Square: The company, which has heavy exposure to small- and medium-sized businesses, disclosed on a March 24 investor call that payment volume during the prior 10 days was off 25% from a year earlier, with greater declines in areas that were early to issue shelter-in-place orders. The company also lowered its first-quarter outlook and pulled its full-year forecast. It has been offering tools to sellers that enable them to do business online and offer curbside pickup. Square Capital Lead Jackie Reses tweeted April 13 that the company has been approved for Paycheck Protection Program lending through the SBA.
While revenue estimates for Square’s first quarter have actually increased since December, rising to $1.3 billion from $1.21 billion, they’ve fallen for the second quarter and the full year. Analysts modeled $5.35 billion in full-year revenue as of March 31, down from their estimate of $5.68 billion in late December.
Analysts predicted 13 cents a share in first-quarter adjusted EPS as of March 31, below the 16 cents a share they were calling for in late December. Full-year estimates fell to 64 cents from 96 cents.
Other payments companies to watch: Shopify Inc. SHOP, +12.15% , Global Payments Inc. GPN, +9.84% , Fiserv Inc. FISV, +5.11% and Fidelity National Information Services Inc. FIS, +4.04% .
What analysts are saying
• “A recession coincident with the coronavirus-related social distancing measures could be meaningfully worse for Visa and Mastercard than the [global financial crisis] (because of sizable impact on travel & discretionary spend).” — Bernstein analyst Harshita Rawat, who rates both stocks at outperform with a $190 price target for Visa and a $300 price target for Mastercard.
• “Amid the severe business disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, investors have become highly sensitive to the consequences of companies across various industries accepting government support… Importantly, we do not believe Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal will require government bailouts and do not expect them to face future limitations on share repurchases as a result.” — Instinet analyst Bill Carcache, who has buy ratings on all three stocks.
• “It seems like a definite messaging opportunity for some of the large wallet providers as well as the big card issuers and payments companies like Visa to promote the sanitary aspects of contactless payments,” — Jordan McKee, the research director at S&P Global Market Intelligence’s 451 Research, told MarketWatch.
• “We believe PayPal will be one of the lesser affected companies in our universe because of the heavy weighting of online payment transactions, and we believe PayPal will grow revenue through this period.” — William Blair analyst Robert Napoli, who rates the shares at outperform.
• “Square’s unique and now challenged exposure will make the stock a proxy for some of the most vulnerable businesses, where federal response will be crucial.” — Citi analyst Peter Christiansen, who downgraded Square’s stock to neutral from buy on March 18 while cutting his target price to $50 from $99.
• “We think PayPal and Square are likely to earn the majority of lender origination fees” — Barclays analyst Ramsey El-Assal, who said that lenders will receive 5% from the SBA for loans below $350,000, which he thinks will represent the bulk of PayPal’s and Square’s lending. He expects the program fees to “contribute high margins.”
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>>> NetEase, Inc. operates an interactive online community in the People's Republic of China. The company operates in four segments: Online Games Services, E-Commerce, Advertising Services, and Innovative Businesses and Other Services. It offers various games in a range of genres through mobile devices and PCs, including role-playing games, MMORPGs, battle arena games, simulation games, collectible card games, first-person shooter games, sandbox games, and other types of games to the Chinese market. The company also operates Kaola that sells imported maternity and baby products, skincare and cosmetics, and other general merchandise; and Yanxuan, which sells its private label products, including apparel, homeware, kitchenware, and other general merchandise. In addition, it operates NetEase News App and NetEase Websites, which provide Internet users with Chinese language-based online services that are centered around content and interactive community. Further, the company provides online advertising services comprising banner advertising, channel sponsorships, direct email, interactive media-rich sites, sponsored special events, games, contests, and other activities. Additionally, it offers online services, such as NetEase CC, a live video streaming platform; NetEase Cloud Music, a music-streaming platform; NetEase Youdao Education, an online platform offering educational content and solutions; EaseRead, an online reading platform; and NetEase Pay, a payment platform, as well as email services to individuals and corporates. The company has a strategic partnership with Marvel Entertainment, LLC to create original entertainment content based on internationally beloved Marvel stories. The company was formerly known as NetEase.com, Inc. and changed its name to NetEase, Inc. in March 2012. NetEase, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.
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PPG - >>> Shares of this proxy for the economy plunge the most in 9 years on rising costs, weak China demand
PPG shares plummeted more than 10 percent for their biggest drop in nine years after the company said it expects to report weaker-than-expected third quarter earnings.
The industrial coatings manufacturer could be seen as a corporate barometer for the health and direction of the global economy because of the many markets it serves.
In the most recent quarter, PPG "experienced the highest level of cost inflation since the cycle began two years ago," CEO Michael McGarry says.
Oct 9, 2018
Michael Sheetz
CNBC.com
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/09/economic-proxy-ppg-shares-plunge-on-weaker-demand-higher-costs.html
PPG shares plummeted more than 10 percent Tuesday, a day after the industrial coating manufacturer warned that it is getting hurt by rising costs from raw materials and oil.
PPG's guidance for its upcoming third quarter earnings report was about 10 cents a share weaker than expected, according Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
The 135-year-old PPG is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of coatings and specialty materials, with a market capitalization of about $26 billion. Due to PPG's size and the breadth of other sectors it supports, the company is seen as a corporate barometer for the health and direction of the global economy.
"During the quarter, we saw overall demand in China soften, and we experienced weaker automotive refinish sales as several of our U.S. and European customers are carrying high inventory levels due to lower end-use market demand," Chairman and CEO Michael McGarry said in a statement Monday.
The plunge in share prices Tuesday was the biggest in nine years.
McGarry said PPG is "disappointed with the third quarter earnings results," which the company now expects to be in the range of $1.47 a share to $1.51 a share. PPG is expected to report its final third-quarter earnings on Oct. 18.
Rising materials, freight and oil costs were listed as contributing factors for PPG's weak quarter.
"We experienced the highest level of cost inflation since the cycle began two years ago," McGarry said.
PPG expects to increase the average global price by 10 percent on products it sells to automotive equipment manufactures, beginning Nov. 1. The company said this price change is a response to the rising costs.
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>>> WEC Energy Group, Inc. was a diversified holding company with natural gas and electric utility operations, an approximately 60% equity ownership interest in American Transmission Company LLC, and non-utility electric operations through its We Power business, as of December 31, 2016. Its segments include Wisconsin; Illinois; Other States; Electric Transmission; We Power, and Corporate and Other. Wisconsin includes the electric and natural gas utility operations of Wisconsin Electric Power Company, Wisconsin Gas LLC, and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, including WE's and WPS's electric and natural gas operations in the state of Michigan. Illinois includes the natural gas utility and non-utility operations of The Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company and North Shore Gas Company. Other states includes the natural gas utility and non-utility operations of Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation and Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation. <<<
>>> Fiserv, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides financial services technology worldwide. The company?s Payments and Industry Products segment provides debit and credit card processing and services; electronic bill payment and presentment services; Internet and mobile banking software and services; person-to-person payment services; and other electronic payments software and services. This segment also offers card and print personalization services; investment account processing services for separately managed accounts; and fraud and risk management products and services. Its Financial Institution Services segment provides account processing services, item processing and source capture services, loan origination and servicing products, cash management and consulting services, and other products and services that support various types of financial transactions. This segment also offers a range of services, such as customization, business process outsourcing, education, consulting, and implementation services; and ACH, treasury management, source capture optimization, and enterprise cash and content management solutions, as well as case management and resolution services to the financial services industry. The company also provides document and payment card production and distribution, check processing and imaging, source capture systems, and lending and risk management products and services. Fiserv, Inc. serves banks, thrifts, credit unions, investment management firms, leasing and finance companies, retailers, merchants, mutual savings banks, and building societies. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin. <<<
McDonald's, Yum Brands - >>> McDonald's sells China operations for $2.08 bn
1-9-17
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/mcdonalds-sells-china-operations-for-dollar208-bn/ar-BBy3FWs?OCID=ansmsnnews11
As McDonald's sells a controlling stake in it's mainland China and Hong Kong franchise business, it announces plans to open 1,500 new restaurants in five years in those markets© Provided by AFP As McDonald's sells a controlling stake in it's mainland China and Hong Kong franchise business, it announces plans to open 1,500 new restaurants in five years in those markets
US fast-food giant McDonald’s will sell a controlling stake in its China and Hong Kong business for up to $2.08 billion to a consortium including state-owned Citic and the Carlyle Group, it was announced Monday.
The deal is part of an international turnaround plan by the Golden Arches as it struggles with sluggish growth at home.
Citic Limited, Citic Capital Holdings, Carlyle Group and McDonald’s will form a company that will act as a franchisee for the chain’s business in mainland China and Hong Kong for 20 years, the companies said in a joint statement.
Citic is a vast Chinese state-owned conglomerate with interests in businesses ranging from energy and manufacturing to real estate.
It said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the purchase would deepen its exposure to China's consumer sector, "which is poised to be the main driver of China's economy for decades to come".
The burger chain last year announced plans to sell its over 2,600 restaurants in China and Hong Kong, after sales took a hit as tensions in the South China Sea dented US companies' earnings in the country.
Its China business also suffered a blow in 2014 after a food safety scandal involving one of its meat suppliers.
The deal gives McDonald's partners "who have an unmatched understanding of the local markets and bring enhanced capabilities", CEO Steve Easterbrook said in the statement.
Citic and Citic Capital will have a stake of 52 percent, Carlyle will take 28 percent and McDonald’s will retain 20 percent of the new company.
It will focus on growth in China's smaller regional cities and plans to open more than 1,500 restaurants in the mainland and Hong Kong over the next five years.
“Citic and Carlyle’s resources will allow McDonald’s to expand rapidly and refurbish old restaurants, which is expensive to do,” Ben Cavender of China Market Research Group told Bloomberg News.
“Given that McDonald’s lags behind KFC in terms of store count in China, we can expect them to expand aggressively and invest heavily.”
- Global overhaul -
The Illinois-based burger chain has been overhauling its global structure under Easterbrook to compensate for slower growth in markets such as France and the US, its largest market.
The global restructuring plan calls for refranchising 4,000 restaurants by the end of 2018, with the long-term goal of franchising 95 percent of its outlets.
The new company will focus on menu innovation and enhanced restaurant convenience, and McDonald's existing management team will continue to lead the business, the statement said.
McDonald's opened its first restaurant in mainland China in 1990 and currently employs over 120,000 people, it said, adding that the fast-food chain is the country's second-largest.
It was one of the largest-ever China deals for asset manager Carlyle, which has invested more than $7 billion of equity in the world's second-largest economy, according to the statement.
The deal is expected to be closed in mid-2017 pending regulatory approval.
Investors appeared to welcome the deal, as shares of Citic Limited closed up 1.24 percent on the Hong Kong exchange Monday.
Rival Yum Brands, owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, last year split off its $6.9 billion China business into a separate company, Yum China, to focus on its huge but struggling restaurant empire in the country.
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>>> Church & Dwight Co., Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division (SPD). The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as baking soda, carpet and cat litter deodorizers, clumping cat litters, washing soda, fabric softeners, daily shower cleaners, cleaning products, dishwashing detergents and boosters, laundry and cleaning solutions, and bathroom cleaners, as well as powder, liquid, and unit dose laundry detergents; and personal care products comprising toothpastes and oral rinses, home pregnancy and ovulation test kits, deodorants and antiperspirants, toothbrushes, shampoos, dietary supplements, depilatories, lotions, creams, waxes, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and feminine hygiene products, as well as condoms, lubricants, and vibrating products. The Consumer International segment sells personal care, household, and over-the-counter products in international markets, such as Canada, France, Australia, China, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Brazil. The SPD segment offers animal nutrition products, including feed grade sodium bicarbonate, rumen fermentation enhancers, feed grade potassium carbonate, rumen bypass fat and lysine, omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids, natural sodium sesquicarbonate, and refined functional carbohydrate; and specialty chemicals, such as performance grade sodium bicarbonate, and potassium carbonate and bicarbonate. It also provides specialty cleaners, such as aqueous cleaners and deodorizers for commercial and industrial applications. The company sells its products through supermarkets, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs, drugstores, convenience stores, home stores, dollar and pet stores, and other specialty stores, as well as through Websites. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. was founded in 1846 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey.
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>>> Public Storage is an equity real estate investment trust. It engages in the acquisition, development, ownership, and operation of self-storage facilities in the United States and Europe. The firm's self-storage facilities offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis for personal and business use. It also has interests in commercial properties containing commercial and industrial rental space and ancillary operations, which include reinsurance of policies against losses to goods stored by its self-storage tenants and and retail operations comprising merchandise sales. Public Storage was founded in 1971 and is based in Glendale, California. <<<
>>> C. R. Bard, Inc. designs, manufactures, packages, distributes, and sells medical, surgical, diagnostic, and patient care devices worldwide. It offers vascular products, including percutaneous transluminal angioplasty catheters, chronic total occlusion catheters, guidewires, fabrics, meshes, introducers, and accessories; valvuloplasty balloons; peripheral vascular stents, covered stents, and vascular grafts; vena cava filters; biopsy devices; and temporary pacing electrode catheters for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease and heart arrhythmias. The company?s urology products include Foley catheters to reduce the rate of urinary tract infections; surgical slings to treat stress urinary incontinence; fecal incontinence products; devices for the treatment of pelvic floor and vaginal prolapse; brachytherapy services, devices, and radioactive seeds to treat prostate cancer; intermittent urinary drainage catheters, and urine monitoring and collection systems; ureteral stents; specialty devices for stone removal; catheter stabilization devices; and products for therapeutic hypothermia. It also provides specialty vascular access catheters and ports, vascular access ultrasound devices, dialysis access catheters, and enteral feeding devices to treat and manage various cancers and other diseases and disorders. In addition, the company offers surgical specialty products, such as implanted grafts and fixation devices for hernia and soft tissue repair products; surgical sealants for intraoperative sealing of air leaks in thoracic surgery; and other products that include irrigation, wound drainage, and original equipment manufacturers? products. It sells its products directly to hospitals, individual healthcare professionals, extended care facilities, and alternate site facilities, as well as through hospital/surgical supply and other medical specialty distributors. C. R. Bard, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. <<<
>>> The Sherwin-Williams Company is engaged in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Paint Stores Group, Consumer Group, Global Finishes Group, and Latin America Coatings Group. It provides architectural paint and coatings, protective and marine products, automotive finishes and refinish products, original equipment manufacturer product finishes, and related items. The company offers its products under the Sherwin-Williams, Dutch Boy, Krylon, Minwax, Thompson's, Water Seal, and other brands. It also licenses technology and trade names. As of July 17, 2014, the company?s Sherwin-Williams branded products are sold through a chain of approximately 4,100 company-operated stores and facilities, as well as its other brands products are sold through mass merchandisers, home centers, independent paint dealers, hardware stores, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors. The Sherwin-Williams Company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. <<<
>>> SBA Communications Corporation owns and operates wireless communications tower structures, rooftops, and other structures that support antennas used for wireless communications in the United States and its territories, as well as in Canada, Central America, and South America. The company operates in two segments, Site Leasing and Site Development. SBA Communications Corporation leases antenna space to wireless service providers on towers that it own or operate; and manages rooftop and tower sites for property owners under various contractual arrangements. As of December 31, 2013, it owned 20,079 towers. The company also managed or leased approximately 4,800 actual or potential towers. In addition, it provides various site development services comprising network pre-design; site audits; identification of potential locations for towers and antennas; support in buying or leasing of the location; assistance in obtaining zoning approvals and permits; tower structure construction; antenna installation; and radio equipment installation, commissioning, and maintenance. SBA Communications Corporation was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. <<<
>>> Public Storage is an equity real estate investment trust. It engages in the acquisition, development, ownership, and operation of self-storage facilities in the United States and Europe. The firm's self-storage facilities offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis for personal and business use. It also has interests in commercial properties containing commercial and industrial rental space and ancillary operations, which include reinsurance of policies against losses to goods stored by its self-storage tenants and and retail operations comprising merchandise sales. Public Storage was founded in 1971 and is based in Glendale, California. <<<
>>> Mead Johnson Nutrition Company manufactures, distributes, and sells infant formulas, children?s nutrition, and other nutritional products. Its infant formula products include formulas for routine feeding; solutions formulas for addressing mild feeding problems, such as gas/fussiness, soy formula, lactose intolerance, anti-regurgitation, and cow?s milk protein allergy risk; and specialty formula products, including formulas for addressing severe intolerance, formulas for premature and low birth weight infants, and medical nutrition products. Its children?s nutrition products comprise products for meeting children?s nutritional needs at one to three years of age, three to five years of age, and beyond five years of age. The company?s children?s nutrition products also include nutritionally-balanced milk supplements for children targeting nutritional needs during specific stages of development; powered milk supplements; and milk modifiers in powder form. It also produces a range of other products, including pre-natal and post-natal nutritional supplements for expectant and nursing mothers. The company markets its products primarily under the Enfamil Premium, Enfamil Premium Newborn, Enfamil A+, Enfalac A+, Enfapro A+, Enfamil Gentlease, Enfapro Premium, SanCor Bebé, SanCor Bebé Premium, Enfamil ProSobee, Enfamil LactoFree, Enfamil AR, Enfamil HA, Enfamil Comfort, Enfamil for Supplementing, Nutramigen, Nutramigen AA, Pregestimil, Enfamil Premature, Enfacare, Enfagrow, Enfagrow A+, Enfagrow Premium, Enfamil Human Milk Fortifier, Sustagen KID, Lactum, Alacta, ChocoMilk, and Cal-C-Tose brand names. It sells its products to mothers, health care professionals, and retailers in approximately 50 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The company was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Glenview, Illinois. <<<
>>> Hormel Foods Corporation processes, markets, and sells consumer-branded meat and food products. The company operates in five segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Specialty Foods, and International & Other. The Grocery Products segment offers shelf-stable food products, including canned luncheon meats, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, stews, chilies, hash, meat spreads, flour and corn tortillas, salsas, and tortilla chips in the retail market. The Refrigerated Foods segment provides branded and unbranded pork and beef products for retail, foodservice, and fresh product customers. The Jennie-O Turkey Store segment offers branded and unbranded turkey products for retail, foodservice, and fresh product customers. The Specialty Foods segment is involved in the packaging and sale of various sugar and sugar substitute products, salt and pepper products, liquid portion products, dessert mixes, ready-to-drink products, sports nutrition products, gelatin products, and private label canned meats to retail and foodservice customers. This segment also processes, markets, and sells nutritional food products and supplements to hospitals, nursing homes, and other marketers of nutritional products. The International and Other segment manufactures, markets, and sells its products internationally. Hormel Foods Corporation sells its products through sales personnel, as well as through independent brokers and distributors primarily in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, England, Japan, Mexico, Micronesia, the Philippines, and South Korea. The company was formerly known as George A. Hormel & Company and changed its name to Hormel Foods Corporation in January 1995. Hormel Foods Corporation was founded in 1891 and is based in Austin, Minnesota. <<<
>>> Fiserv, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides financial services technology worldwide. The company?s Payments and Industry Products segment offers electronic bill payment and presentment, card-based transaction processing and network services, ACH transaction processing, account-to-account transfer products, and person-to-person payments; Internet and mobile banking systems; and related services, including document and payment card production and distribution, check processing and imaging, source capture systems, and lending and risk management products and services. This segment also provides investment account processing services for separately managed accounts, card and print personalization services, and fraud and risk management products and services. Its Financial Institution Services segment offers account processing services, item processing and source capture services, loan origination and servicing products, cash management and consulting services, and other products and services that support various types of financial transactions to banks, thrifts, and credit unions. The company also provides consumer and business payments solutions, such as account-to-account transfer, account opening and funding, data aggregation, small business invoicing and payments, and person-to-person payments services. It serves banks, thrifts, credit unions, investment management firms, leasing and finance companies, retailers, merchants, and government agencies. Fiserv, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin. <<<
>>> Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. operates as a brand owner, manufacturer, and distributor of non-alcoholic beverages in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The company operates in three segments: Beverage Concentrates, Packaged Beverages, and Latin America Beverages. It offers a portfolio of flavored (non-cola) carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) and non-carbonated beverages (NCBs), including ready-to-drink teas, juices, juice drinks, mixers, and water. The company?s brand portfolio includes CSD brands, such as Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, 7UP, Squirt, Crush, A&W, Peñafiel, Sunkist soda, Schweppes, and Sun Drop; and NCB brands comprising Snapple, Hawaiian Punch, Mott?s, Clamato, Mr & Mrs T mixers, and Rose?s. It sells its products primarily to bottlers, distributors, and retailers. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas. <<<
>>> Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, a life science and high technology company, develops, manufactures, purchases, and distributes various chemicals, biochemicals, and equipment worldwide. Its chemical products and kits are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, and diagnosis of disease; and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and high technology manufacturing. The company sells its products to commercial laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, industrial companies, universities, diagnostics companies, biotechnology companies, electronics companies, hospitals, governmental institutions, and non-profit organizations. Sigma-Aldrich Corporation was founded in 1951 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri. <<<
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