Research spending will help these three

Article Excerpt

Computer-chip stocks can put on huge growth spurts, but fall just as fast. This is because new technologies can quickly make today’s chips obsolete. To succeed over the long term, investors should focus on companies that are leaders in their markets and have large customer bases, such as these three. All have low debt and lots of cash to keep developing new products. These factors put them in a good position to quickly increase their earnings and market shares once the economy starts growing again. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC. $19 (New York symbol TXN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $24.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; WSSF Rating: Average) makes chips for a wide variety of electronic devices, including cellphones, DVD players and digital cameras. It also makes handheld calculators. The company has over 80,000 customers, but cellphone maker Nokia Corp. (New York symbol NOK) accounted for 18% of its 2008 sales. Texas Instruments earned $17 million,…