These hot techs could stumble

Article Excerpt

These three companies have a long history of developing cutting-edge products. That’s partly why they’re hitting new multi-year highs. However, disruptive new technologies could quickly overtake their latest offerings and slow their growth. APPLE INC. $129 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.8 billion; Market cap: $748.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.7; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apple.com) aims to cut its reliance on the iPhone smartphone, which supplies nearly 70% of its revenue, with several new products. One example is its recently launched Apple Pay service, which lets users add their credit card information to their phones. They can then use them to make purchases at any tap-and-pay-enabled cash register and, in some cases, online. To prevent fraud, the phone will confirm the user’s identity by scanning their fingerprint. So far, Apple Pay is only available in the U.S., but local banking rules could make it hard to bring the service to other…