dividends paid

TERADATA CORP. $57 (New York symbol TDC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 168.3 million; Market cap: $9.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.4; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teradata.com) makes computers and software that capture and store large amounts of a business’s data, including its sales and inventory. Teradata then analyzes this information and identifies buying habits and trends. This helps its clients make better business decisions. The company continues to add to its expertise in cloud computing, which involves storing data and software on one or more centralized servers. Users access these programs or files over the Internet, or through some other computer network. For example, in January 2011 Teradata paid $525 million for privately held Aprimo, which uses a cloud computing model to sell software and services to over 150,000 clients. Aprimo’s products help its customers evaluate their marketing campaigns....

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $28 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 490.9 million; Market cap: $13.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use Adobe’s software to create print publications and web pages. The company also makes Adobe Flash, which lets web site developers add animation and video. In its third quarter, which ended September 2, 2011, Adobe’s earnings fell 15.2% to $195.1 million, or $0.39 a share. A year earlier, it earned $230.1 million, or $0.44 a share. Without one-time items, earnings per share would have risen 1.9%, to $0.55 from $0.54. Revenue rose 2.3%, to $1.01 billion from $990.3 million....

Chipmakers and software firms operate in highly competitive, fast-changing fields. To cut your risk, we recommend sticking with industry leaders who have built up strong reputations with their customers. These firms also have the financial strength to absorb the high cost of developing new products. Here are three tech companies that are leaders in their niche markets. Sales and earnings at all three are rising, but we see only two as buys at today’s prices. ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $28 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 490.9 million; Market cap: $13.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) makes software that lets...

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $14.10 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Units outstanding: 126.5 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion: No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area near the Alberta/B.C. border. Birchcliff has hired advisors to help sell the company after it received expressions of interest from a number of parties. These potential buyers could include Asian investors. Right now, Birchcliff’s management owns 5% of the company. Prominent Toronto investor Seymour Schulich is Birchcliff’s largest shareholder, with a 26% interest....

WESTJET AIRLINES $12.60 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 139.4 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; No dividends paid) has just signed an interline agreement with Dubai’s Emirates airline. Under these agreements, two airlines cooperate on flights and baggage handling. WestJet has similar arrangements with Air France, China Airways of Taiwan, China Eastern, Alitalia, Korean Air, Australia’s Qantas Airlines, Japan Airlines, Hong Kong-based Dragonair and El Al Israel. Interline deals can become code-sharing agreements. These are similar to interline pacts, but they also let airlines sell seats and move luggage under their own names onto another carrier’s flights. WestJet has codesharing deals with Cathay Pacific, KLM and American Airlines....

ACI WORLDWIDE $28.35 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-334-5101; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 34.3 million; Market cap: $972.4 million; 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. ACI has just bought S1 Corp. for $540 million in cash and stock. S1 sells transaction software for banks, credit unions, retailers and other processors. The company has over 3,000 clients worldwide. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, ACI’s revenue rose 22.7%, to $113.4 million from $92.4 million a year earlier. The company earned $9.8 million, or $0.29 a share, compared to a loss of $150,000, or nil per share. ACI holds cash of $170.8 million, or $4.98 a share....

AMAZON.COM $231.53 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 460.0 million; Market cap: $106.5 billion; No dividends paid) has unveiled new models of its Kindle electronic-book reader, including the Kindle Fire, the company’s first tablet computer. The Kindle Fire features a seven-inch, full colour touch-screen display. It is smaller and has less memory than the top-selling Apple iPad, but it will cost just $199 U.S., compared to $499 U.S. for an iPad. The tablet computer market is fiercely competitive. However, the Kindle Fire’s lower price should help it compete with the iPad and give it an advantage over non-Apple tablets. As well, users will be able to easily buy and download e-books, music, movies and games from Amazon’s web site. The company will also let Kindle Fire users keep their content on its cloud storage service at no extra cost....

TIM HORTONS $49.52 (Toronto symbol THI; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.timhortons.com; Shares outstanding: 161.4 million; Market cap: $8.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%) operates 3,189 coffee-and-donut shops in Canada and 622 in the U.S. Franchisees operate 99.4% of its stores. Tim Hortons earned $95.5 million in the three months ended July 3, 2011. That’s up 1.5% from $94.1 million a year earlier. The company spent roughly $206 million on share buybacks in the quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 7.4%, to $0.58 from $0.54. If you exclude a severance payment to its former chief executive officer, the company would have earned $0.61 a share in the latest quarter....

EUROPEAN GOLDFIELDS $9.97 (Toronto symbol EGU; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (44 (20) 7408 9534; www.egoldfields.com; Shares outstanding: 183.8 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; No dividends paid) has attracted a number of investments from Qatar Holdings LLC, a division of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, to develop its mines. Qatar Holdings has given European Goldfields a seven-year, $600 million U.S. loan. In addition, Qatar Holdings is buying a 9.9% stake in European Goldfields from Greek building firm Aktor Construction. European Goldfields will also issue warrants to Qatar Holdings that give it the option to increase its stake to about 29%. If it exercises these warrants, European Goldfields would get an additional $366.8 million....

FORTRESS PAPER $44.49 (Toronto symbol FTP; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-888-820-3888; www.fortresspaper.com; Shares outstanding: 15.1 million; Market cap: $671.8 million; No dividends paid) bought an idled pulp plant in Thurso, Quebec, for $3 million in April 2010. It then restarted pulp production at this plant. Meanwhile, Fortress has been converting the plant to produce a type of cellulose called dissolving pulp, which is mainly used in viscose fibre, or rayon. The conversion should be fully operational shortly. Dissolving pulp prices remain high, and Fortress has already signed contracts with a number of companies in China. Fortress is also building a 25-megawatt biomass-fuelled cogeneration facility to supply electricity for the Thurso plant....