dividends paid

GOOGLE INC. $753 (Nasdaq symbol GOOG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 327.0 million; Market cap: $243.3 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 5.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.google.com) rose to a new all-time high of $764.89 on September 25, 2012. The stock is now up 17% since the start of the year. The company’s main Internet search business continues to grow strongly, particularly among mobile users. Google’s Android software now powers around two-thirds of the world’s smartphones. That’s driving more traffic to its websites and letting it charge higher advertising rates. Google is also benefiting from problems with the new street-mapping application, or app, on Apple’s (Nasdaq symbol AAPL) new iPhone 5. Apple recently replaced the popular Google Maps app with its own version. However, errors with this new app may prompt Apple to switch back....

Sales of automated teller machines (ATMs) continue to rise. That’s partly because banks in the developing world are buying more ATMs as they continue to expand their operations. ATMs also have appeal to banks in developed countries because they help them lower their labour costs. NCR and Diebold are benefiting from both of these trends. Moreover, both stocks trade at attractive multiples to earnings. NCR CORP. $23 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 159.1 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) is a leading maker of ATMs, checkout scanners, cash registers and self-serve kiosks. NCR is benefiting from its $1.2-billion purchase of Radiant Systems Inc. in August 2011. Radiant makes point-of-sale terminals and self-serve kiosks for hotels, restaurants and gas stations. NCR also sold its struggling DVD-rental kiosk business for $100 million. These moves pushed up NCR’s revenue by 10.8% in the second quarter of 2012, to $1.4 billion from $1.3 billion a year earlier. Earnings jumped 48.9%, to $67 million, or $0.41 a share, from $45 million, or $0.28....

TERADATA CORP. $73 (New York symbol TDC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 168.6 million; Market cap: $12.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.9; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; ww.teradata.com) continues to see strong demand for its analytics services, which help businesses gather and analyze large amounts of data, including customer purchasing patterns. The company’s revenue rose 14.5% in the three months ended June 30, 2012, to $665 million from $581 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 28.3%, to $0.77 from $0.60. However, the company is facing stronger competition from bigger companies like IBM and Oracle. That could force it to lower its prices, which would hurt its profit margins. Teradata is a hold....

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $33 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 491.8 million; Market cap: $16.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.7; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) reported that its revenue rose 6.6% in the three months ended August 31, 2012, to $1.08 billion from $1.01 billion a year earlier. The company is doing a good job of selling its Creative Cloud package of photo-editing and desktop-publishing programs as a subscription service instead of a one-time purchase. Subscription revenue jumped 50.9% in the quarter, and now accounts for 16% of its overall revenue, up from 11% a year earlier. Adobe still gets 75% of its revenue from direct software sales. The remaining 9% comes from services and support. Earnings rose 6.7%, to $291.2 million from $272.8 million. Earnings per share rose 5.5%, to $0.58 from $0.55, on more shares outstanding. These figures exclude several unusual items, such as restructuring charges and gains on investment sales....

ACI WORLDWIDE $42.71 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-334-5101; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 39.8 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; No dividends paid) makes software that is used to process transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments. In mid-February 2012, ACI completed its purchase of S1 Corp. for $540 million in cash and stock. This acquisition is a good fit: S1 sells transaction software for banks, credit unions, retailers and other payment processors. It has over 3,000 clients worldwide. In the second quarter of 2012, ACI’s revenue rose 32.1%, to $149.8 million from $113.4 million a year earlier. S1’s $43.1-million contribution was the main reason for the gain....

AMAZON.COM $261.68 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206- 266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 452.1 million; Market cap: $118.3 billion; No dividends paid) has unveiled two new devices: the Kindle Paperwhite e-book reader and a larger version of the Kindle Fire tablet computer, named the Kindle Fire HD. However, even though its two new products have strong potential, Amazon must continue to deal with intense competition in the e-book market from big rivals like Apple, Barnes & Noble and Google. As well, the Apple iPad is now the dominant tablet, and significant new competitors, including Google and Microsoft, have entered this market. Amazon.com is still a hold.

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $13.48 (NewYork symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 244.7 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; No dividends paid) is the world’s largest tire maker, with over 60 plants in 25 countries. In the three months ended June 30, 2012, the company’s sales fell 8.4%, to $5.15 billion from $5.62 billion a year earlier. North American sales rose 1.7%, to $2.5 billion from $2.4 billion, but weak economic growth cut sales by 21.4% in Latin America; 17.9% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and 4.2% in Asia. Unfavourable foreign currency moves also lowered Goodyear’s overall sales by 6%....

Natural gas prices recently dropped below $2 U.S. per thousand cubic feet, their lowest level in 10 years. That’s because new shale gas discoveries and record warm temperatures have increased inventories. Prices have since moved up somewhat, to $2.77. The low prices have pushed down shares of producers that rely heavily on natural gas, including Bellatrix Exploration and Delphi Energy (below). Even so, the long-term outlook for natural gas prices, and for both these stocks, remains positive. BELLATRIX EXPLORATION $3.82 (Toronto symbol BXE; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-266- 8670; www.bellatrixexploration.com; Shares outstanding: 107.5 million; Market cap: $410.7 million; No dividends paid) produces oil and natural gas in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. Gas makes up about 63% of its output; the remaining 37% is oil....

DOMINO’S PIZZA $34.44 (New York symbol DPZ; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (734-930- 3030; www.dominos.com; Shares outstanding: 56.7 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; No dividends paid) now operates in over 70 markets worldwide. Its international stores supply almost half of its sales and about a third of its earnings. The company still has considerable room to grow internationally. For example, Jubilant Foodworks just opened the 500th Domino’s outlet in India. This company, which has the exclusive rights to operate Domino’s restaurants in that country, aims to continue its aggressive expansion by opening 100 new restaurants over the next year. Jubilant also has franchise rights for Domino’s in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka....

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $33 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 491.8 million; Market cap: $16.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.7; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) reported that its revenue rose 6.6% in the three months ended August 31, 2012, to $1.08 billion from $1.01 billion a year earlier.

The company is doing a good job of selling its Creative Cloud package of photo-editing and desktop-publishing programs as a subscription service instead of a one-time purchase. Subscription revenue jumped 50.9% in the quarter, and now accounts for 16% of its overall revenue, up from 11% a year earlier. Adobe still gets 75% of its revenue from direct software sales. The remaining 9% comes from services and support.

Earnings rose 6.7%, to $291.2 million from $272.8 million. Earnings per share rose 5.5%, to $0.58 from $0.55, on more shares outstanding. These figures exclude several unusual items, such as restructuring charges and gains on investment sales.

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