Research powers IBM

Article Excerpt

IBM, $121.67, is a buy. The company (New York symbol IBM; Shares o/s: 890.6 million; Market cap: $107.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 5.4%) is a research powerhouse—it continues to devote a high 9% of its revenue to research and development. In fact, it spent a whopping $3.2 billion on R&D in the first half of this year alone. Some of that spending goes to projects that have huge potential, but could take years to bring to market. For example, IBM is now working on quantum processor chips that are much faster than chips that currently power regular computers. Quantum computing would also spur demand for the company’s analytics software, which can process vast quantities of data. Companies mostly write off their research costs when they spend the money, and this depresses the current year’s earnings. Information on corporate research spending is freely available, yet many investors pay little attention to it. Investors recognize that research can lead to new or improved products or…