Topic: How To Invest

Pat: I would like to know what you think of Verifone Systems and its prospects. Please advise.

Article Excerpt

VeriFone Systems Inc., $23.32, symbol PAY on New York (Shares outstanding: 85.4 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion), develops and manufactures technology that makes electronic payments faster and more secure. The company makes many different kinds of point-of-sale equipment, including cash registers, card and cheque readers, and receipt printers. VeriFone also makes software that manages online transactions. The company began operating in 1981. It first sold shares to the public on May 4, 2005, for $10.00 each. VeriFone sells its products to a wide range of customers, including banks, retailers and government agencies. The company gets about 80% of its revenue by selling hardware. The remaining 20% comes from software support, installation, maintenance and other related services. In its second quarter, which ended April 30, 2010, the company’s revenue rose 19.4%, to $240.7 million from $201.6 million a year earlier. Many of VeriFone’s North American customers have upgraded their electronic-payment systems to comply with new credit-card security standards. As well, customers outside of…