As a result of being highly acquisitive, the firm's intangible assets are more than 70% of the balance sheet, leading to a negative tangible book value.Impressive margins across its businesses are likely to attract competitors, chipping away at the profitable base in place.Roper's business model is
Success in the outdoor and fitness segments is breathing new life into Garmin.
Demand for several Agilent products remains volatile and dependent on customer R&D expenditures and technology cycles.Expanding into emerging-market segments dominated by entrenched competitors will be expensive and time-consuming.The company missed a valuable window during 2009 to acquire other
While larger players like Danaher currently only compete with Mettler in certain product lines, the company's positioning could be vulnerable if conglomerates set their sights on the broad laboratory measurement market. Danaher could be a particular threat, as it has explicitly stated its growing
The Merck KGaA acquisition offer provides upside for Millipore shareholders.
Garmin is betting on the nüvifone to help it stay relevant as GPS functionality becomes pervasive on cell phones. With no history of success in phones, Garmin faces significant execution risk in a competitive industry.Adoption of GPS service by wireless carriers could cannibalize sales of Garmin's
Agilent's bioanalytical business should be a solid growth engine in the coming years.
Varian's VARI shareholders have approved the plan to sell the company to Agilent A at $52 per share. The transaction is scheduled to close by the end of the year.
Mettler-Toledo International MTD reported third-quarter results that were slightly better than our estimates, but this was not enough to shift our fair value estimate. As is the case with most firms in the medical instrument industry, the revenue deterioration Mettler experienced in the early part