by Ian Wyatt, editor $100K Portfolio
"The Four Horsemen of Technology" have a strong history of financial
success and have conquered their respective industries. They have
evolved into stable, secure and reliable businesses, yet their stocks
trade at historically low valuations.
Here's a look at
Intel (
INTC),
Microsoft (
MSFT),
Cisco Systems (
CSCO) and
IBM (
IBM).
Now could be the premiere time to invest in America's greatest
technology stocks and earn above-average returns for years to come.
It's a natural progression in business. Companies evolve over time from
startups to cash cows. The phases take different amounts of time, but
the order of transformation always follows the same path: startup,
growth, expansion and mature business.
And over the past 30
years, these companies have been the power players of the technology
sector. But these stocks have gone through another type of
transformation. They also now become value names.
Intel got
its start when two Fairchild Semiconductor employees left the company to
start up a new venture. Intel initially had mixed results, but the
invention of the personal computer altered the semiconductor industry.
Buoyed
by the success of IBM's personal computer in the 1980s, Intel's growth
soared. By the 1990s, Intel's Pentium processer was a household name.
The
technology upgrade solidified the company within the industry. With a
focus on making its products faster and smaller than the competition,
Intel today remains a dominant force in personal electronics.
Sales
rebounded dramatically in 2010 and continued to grow to a record $53.9
billion through 2011. Margins also expanded and the company logged
record operating income last year. The stock also pays a $0.84 per share
dividend for a 3% yield.
Perhaps one of the greatest American
success stories of our generation is that of Microsoft. Bill Gates but
he went from being a broke Harvard dropout to rank at the top of Forbe's
Billionaire list in the United States with a net worth of $61 billion.
He also took a young software start-up from less than $1 million in
revenue in 1975 to a company that generated $73 billion in annual sales
last year.
Microsoft struggled for prominence early on, but
collaboration with IBM in 1983 began its pathway to success.