Developing-country economies may be smoldering and about to go up in flames ��but the inhabitants of Congress, like Emperor Nero in Ancient Rome, are still fiddling away merrily, impervious to the world outside.
An impasse in Congress over extra powers and new money for the International Monetary Fund, the 70-year-old institution at the center of world finance, is endangering the stability of the global economy at an ill-starred time. During the annual spring meeting of the IMF and World Bank amid the cherry blossoms of Washington this past weekend, I sensed a palpable bitterness and frustration about American intransigence among delegates from developing and developed countries alike.
Senior policymakers repeatedly told me that U.S. obstructionism is depriving the IMF of funding needed to ward off serious financial problems in key emerging-market countries, which could have serious repercussions on the U.S. as well as other parts of the world. All this is coinciding, I was told, with deep-seated tectonic shifts in the world economic balance of power.
Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Own For 2015: Littelfuse Inc.(LFUS)
Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells circuit protection devices for use in the automotive, electronic, and electrical markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers electronic circuit protection products, such as fuses and protectors, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, varistors, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, discrete transient voltage suppression diodes, TVS diode arrays and protection thyristors, gas discharge tubes, and power switching components, as well as fuseholders, blocks, and related accessories under PICO II, and NANO2 SMF, TECCOR, SIDACtor, and Battrax brand names. It offers its electronic circuit protection products for use in wireless telephones, consumer electronics, computers, modems, telecommunications equipment, telephones, data transmission lines, and alarm systems. The company also provides automotive fuses that are used in automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road equipment to protec t electrical circuits and the wires that supply electrical power to operate lights, heating, air conditioning, radios, windows, and other controls, as well as offers fuses for the protection of electric and hybrid vehicles. It markets its automotive fuse products under ATO, MINI, MAXI, MIDI, MEGA, MasterFuse, JCASE, and CablePro brand names. In addition, Littelfuse manufactures various low-voltage and medium-voltage circuit protection products, such as power fuses that are used in the protection from over-load and short-circuit currents in motor branch circuits, heating and cooling systems, control systems, lighting circuits, and electrical distribution networks to electrical distributors and their customers in the construction, original equipment manufacturers, and industrial maintenance and repair and operating supplies markets. Littelfuse sells its products through direct sales force and manufacturers? representatives. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS ) has signed an agreement to acquire Key Safety Systems' Hamlin subsidiary for $145 million in cash, Littelfuse announced Monday.
Hot Forestry Stocks To Buy Right Now: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd(RDY)
Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pharmaceutical company. It produces finished dosage forms, active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, and biotechnology products. The company also conducts research in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, and bacterial infection. In addition, it involves in the contract manufacture generic prescription and over-the-counter products for branded and generic companies in the United States. The company primarily focuses on therapeutic categories of cardiovascular, diabetes management, gastro-intestinal, and pain management. It markets its products in India, the United States, Europe, and the Russian Federation. The company has a co-development and commercialization agreement with Rheoscience A/S for the development and commercialization of Balaglitazone/DRF 2593, a partial PPAR-gamma agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; an agreement with ClinTec Internatio nal for the development of an anti-cancer compound, DRF 1042; collaboration with the National Cancer Institute in Maryland; and an agreement with Argenta Discovery Limited for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also has an agreement with 7TM Pharma for drug discovery collaboration on selected drug targets; and an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc to develop and market pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncology, gastroenterology, and pain management. Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Following FDA approval of its abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA,�Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY ) announced today that it launched its lamotrigine extended-release tablets, the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal.�
- [By Benjamin Shepherd] We’re now into day 15 of the US government shutdown, as House Republicans stubbornly try to defund Obamacare. No matter what sort of deal is eventually struck, health care costs aren’t likely to come down any time soon. And that’s good news for generic drug makers.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is one of the biggest players in generic drugs, offering more than 200 off-brand medications in the areas of cardiovascular disease, pain management and oncology, among others. In fact, this India-based company has become one of the largest makers of generics in the world, helping to drive more than 20 percent annual compounded earnings growth at the company over the past decade. - [By Dan Carroll]
The company's generic drug segment should also help push emerging market sales. Abbott markets generic pharmaceuticals outside the U.S. only, and while the division isn't growth-oriented -- sales actually fell around 2% for the quarter -- it provides an entry for the company to push into lucrative new markets such as India, where generics make up the large majority of the country's retail market. The company will face tougher competition in this industry, however: Firms such as India-based Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY ) have also pushed hard into emerging markets lately, and Dr. Reddy's in particular should benefit from its being headquartered in one of the industry's top locales.
Hot Forestry Stocks To Buy Right Now: Research in Motion Ltd (BBRY)
Research In Motion Limited, incorporated on March 7, 1984, is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services, it provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to information, including e-mail, voice, instant messaging, short message service (SMS), Internet and intranet-based applications and browsing. The Company's technology also enables an array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services through software development kits, wireless connectivity to data and third-party support programs.Its portfolio of products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations and millions of consumers around the world and include the BlackBerry wireless solution, the RIM Wireless Handheld product line, the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, software development tools and other software and hardware.
On March 25, 2011, the Company purchased 100% of the shares of a company whose technology is being incorporated into the Company�� developer tools. On April 26, 2011, the Company purchased certain assets of a company whose acquired technologies will be incorporated into the Company�� products. In June 2011, the Company acquired Scoreloop. On March 8, 2012, the Company acquired Paratek Microwave Inc. During the fiscal year ended March 3, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company purchased 100% interests of a company, whose technology will be incorporated into its technology; whose technology offers cloud-based services for storing, sharing, accessing and organizing digital content on mobile devices; whose technology is being incorporated into an application on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet; whose technology offers a customizable and cross-platform social mobile gaming developer tool kit, and whose technology will provide a multi-platform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution for managing and securing mobile devices for enterpris! es and government organizations.
On April 24, 2012, the Company launched BlackBerry 7 smartphone, the BlackBerry Curve 9220, for customers in Indonesia. April 18, 2012, it launched BlackBerry 7 smartphone, the BlackBerry Curve 9220, for customers in India. On April 17, 2012, it announced availability of the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone in Spain. On April 3, 2012, it launched BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, and launched four BlackBerry smartphones powered by the BlackBerry 7 operating system (OS) in Cambodia, which included BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Bold 9790, BlackBerry Curve 9360 and BlackBerry Curve 9380. On April 2, 2012, it announced the availability of BlackBerry App World, the official application store for BlackBerry smartphones in Brunei, and it announced availability of the BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphones for Cell C customers in South Africa. On March 27, 2012, it launched of the BlackBerry solution in Benin Republic. On March 15, 2012, it launched of BlackBerry services in China. On March 7, 2012, it launched the BlackBerry service in Angola.
The Company's primary revenue stream is generated by the BlackBerry wireless solution, consists of smartphones and tablets, service and software. BlackBerry service is provided through a combination of its global BlackBerry Infrastructure and the wireless networks of its carrier partners. On February 21, 2012, it released the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 software. It generates hardware revenues from sales, primarily to carriers and distributors. During fiscal 2012, the Company launched the wireless fidelity (WiFi)-enabled BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in 44 markets around the world. On July 21, 2011, the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet received Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 certification.
BlackBerry Smartphones and Tablets
BlackBerry smartphones uses wireless, push-based technology that delivers data to mobile users��business and consumer applications. BlackBerry s! martphone! s integrate messaging including instant messaging, email and SMS; voice calling; Webkit browser; multimedia capabilities; calendar, and other applications. During fiscal 2012, it introduced 10 new smartphones and launched software updates to both its smartphone and tablet platforms. BlackBerry smartphones are available from hundreds of carriers and indirect channels, through a range of distribution partners, and are designed to operate on a variety of carrier networks, including HSPA/HSPA+/UMTS, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, CDMA/Ev-DO, and iDEN.
During fiscal 2012, its BlackBerry smartphone and tablet portfolio included BlackBerry Bold series, BlackBerry Torch series, BlackBerry Curve series and The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Its BlackBerry Bold series includes BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 and BlackBerry Bold 9790. The Company�� BlackBerry Torch series include BlackBerry Torch 9810 and All-Touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860. The Company's BlackBerry Curve series include BlackBerry Curve 9350/9360/9370 and All-Touch BlackBerry Curve 9380 Smartphone. The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet features the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0. The BlackBerry PlayBook offers a seven-inch high definition display, a dual core one gigahertz processor, dual high definition cameras, multitasking and a Web browsing.
BlackBerry Enterprise Solution
BlackBerry Enterprise Server is software that acts as the centralized link between BlackBerry smartphones, enterprise systems, business applications and wireless networks. BlackBerry Enterprise Server integrates with enterprise messaging systems including Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise to synchronize with BlackBerry smartphones to provide mobile users with wireless access to e-mail, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks. It also provides access to business applications and enterprise systems. In addition, it provides security features and offers administrative tools. BlackBerry Enterprise Server is required for certain other enterprise ! solutions! , such as BlackBerry Mobile Voice System (for bringing desk phone functionality to BlackBerry smartphones); BlackBerry Clients for Microsoft Office Communications Server, IBM Lotus Sametime and Novell GroupWise Messenger (for enterprise instant messaging); IBM Lotus Connections (for enterprise social networking); IBM Lotus Quickr (for document sharing and collaboration); and Chalk Pushcast Software (for corporate podcasting).
The Company�� BlackBerry Mobile Fusion provides a Web-based interface that allows enterprises to provision, audit, and protect mobile devices including BlackBerry smartphones, BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, and devices that use iOS and Android. BlackBerry Balance helps enterprises support the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is free server software that synchronizes BlackBerry smartphones with Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Windows Small Business Server. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express works with Microsoft Exchange 2010, 2007 and 2003 and Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 and 2003 to provide users with wireless access to e-mail, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks, as well as other business applications and enterprise systems behind the firewall.
BlackBerry Mobile Voice System (BlackBerry MVS) allows organizations to converge office desk phones and BlackBerry smartphones. BlackBerry MVS is consists of three components: BlackBerry MVS Client, BlackBerry MVS Services, and BlackBerry MVS Server. It unifies fixed and mobile voice communications. Hosted BlackBerry services bring the BlackBerry Enterprise Server features, functionality, and security capabilities in a package that is managed for end users. Hosted BlackBerry services are conveniently handled and supported by a BlackBerry certified partner from the BlackBerry Alliance Program, giving small and medium -sized enterprise (SME) enterprises the support and convenience they need.
Service
The Company generates service rev! enues fro! m billings to RIM's BlackBerry subscriber account base. It generates service revenues primarily from a monthly infrastructure access fee charged to a carrier or reseller, which the carrier or reseller in turn bills the BlackBerry subscriber.
BlackBerry Technical Support Services
BlackBerry Technical Support Services are a suite of annual technical support and software maintenance programs. The programs are designed to meet the customer�� BlackBerry support needs by offering a contact for BlackBerry wireless solution technical support directly from the Company.
Non-Warranty Repairs
The Company generates revenue from its repair and maintenance program for BlackBerry smartphones that are returned to it by the carrier, the reseller, or the customer. It generates revenue for repair after the expiration of the contractual warranty period.
The Company competes with Apple Inc., Microsoft Inc., Nokia Corporation, Dell, Inc., Fujitsu Limited, General Dynamics Corporation, Hitachi America, Ltd., HTC Corporation, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, Mitsubishi Corporation, Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc., NEC Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, ZTE Corporation, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Notify Technology Corporation, Openwave Systems Inc., Seven Networks, Inc., Sybase, Inc. and Good Technologies.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tom Taulli]
For BlackBerry (BBRY), the last few years have been a nightmare. During this period, BBRY stock has lost billions in market value, and it looked as if the company�� survival was in doubt.
- [By Reuters]
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images TORONTO -- BlackBerry reported a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion Friday, in line with last week's warning, days after accepting its largest shareholder's tentative $4.7 billion bid to take it out of the public eye. BlackBerry (BBRY), which had warned of poor results on Sept. 20, said its net loss for the second quarter ended on Aug. 31 was $965 million, or $1.84 a share. Revenue fell 45 percent to $1.6 billion from a year earlier. The loss included a writedown of about $934 million for unsold Z10 phones, a touchscreen model that the company had hoped would reverse its fading fortunes. The phone has sold badly with business and consumer customers alike. "This write-off is very real," said Morningstar (MORN) analyst Brian Colello. "They bought a lot of inventory hoping to sell it. The auditors were not convinced that BlackBerry can sell it or sell it at prices that the company was hoping for. We see no reason to be more optimistic than them." Excluding the Z10 writedown and restructuring costs, BlackBerry reported a loss of $248 million, or 47 cents a share. The company plans to shed 4,500 jobs, or more than one-third of its workforce, as it shrinks to focus on corporate and government customers. It will not host the typical post-results call for investors after signing a tentative $9-a-share agreement to be acquired by a consortium led by Fairfax Financial, its largest shareholder, Monday. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company's steep revenue decline and mounting losses have revived fears that BlackBerry, a pioneer in the smartphone sector, faces an ignominious death. "We are very disappointed with our operational and financial results this quarter and have announced a series of major changes to address the competitive hardware environment and our cost structure," Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said in the earnings statement. BlackBerry said Heins wasn't available for an interview. The company said it
- [By Matt Thalman]
In the following video, Fool contributor Matt Thalman discusses which recent price cut makes more sense: BlackBerry's (NASDAQ: BBRY ) recent move to lower the Z10's cost or Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT ) move to reduce the price tag on the Surface tablet.
- [By Alex Dumortier, CFA]
BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY )
Shares of BlackBerry fell by more than a quarter on Friday, as the company disappointed with the results of its fiscal first-quarter ended June 1. The magnitude of the stock's loss hints at the magnitude of the negative surprise, and, indeed, the company lost $0.06 per share (excluding one-time items) where analysts had been expecting a $0.13-per-share profit.
Hot Forestry Stocks To Buy Right Now: Ashley(l)
Laura Ashley Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, distribution, sale, and licensing of clothing, accessories, and home furnishings in the United Kingdom and internationally. It offers various furniture products, including beds, upholstered furniture, mirrors, and cabinet furniture; home accessories, such as lighting products, gifts, bed linen, rugs, throws, cushions, and children?s accessories; and decorative products comprising curtains, blinds, fabrics, paints, decorative accessories, and wall coverings. The company also offers fashion products, such as clothing that include dresses, knitwear, tops, blouses, skirts, trousers, leggings, coats, jackets, swimwear, and shoes, as well as accessories comprising bags, purses, jewellery, and scarves. In addition, it provides design services for homes; and licenses various products, such as stationery, wooden flooring, blinds, interior window shutters, carpets, nursery produ cts, fireplaces, garden products, eyewear, tiles, promotional gifting, toiletries, shoes, and Fairtrade clothing. The company sells its products through retail stores, online, and mail order. As of January 29, 2011, it operated 217 stores, including 138 mixed product stores, 55 home stores, 22 home concession stores, 1 gifts and accessories store, and 1 clearance outlet in the United Kingdom; and 240 franchised stores in 29 countries. The company is based in London, the United Kingdom.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Julius Ferraro]
Diamond offshore is a $9 billion dollar offshore driller that is currently 50.4% owned by Loews Corporation (L). I like that the Tisch family has a significant ownership because in the case of an economic downturn, Diamond Offshore can be provided with the capital that it may need by some of Loews other businesses. Its Expected to earn $4.80 for this year and trades at a fair valuation of 11.8 times earnings. In addition, out of all of the offshore drillers Diamond is the most conservative with $1.2 billion in cash and $1.5 billion in debt. Diamond Offshore is the only A rated drilling contractor.
- [By Robert Rapier]
Meanwhile, sponsor�Loews�(NYSE: L) has added to the cash drain by converting its class B units into common that will cost Boardwalk an additional $25 million in distributions annually. The Bluegrass Pipeline Boardwalk is marketing in a partnership with Williams (NYSE: WMB) is looking more and more as a defensive measure to replace lost business than as a path to future glory. And it now faces competition that could drive expected returns lower.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Big Earnings Movers: Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE: PBR) is up 9.1% at $17.35 after reporting earnings and getting a ratings boost. Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is down 2.5% at $45.39 as the company struggles to boost revenues. Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW) is up 5.8% at $20.91 as franchise revenues rose much faster than costs. Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) is down 0.2% at $48.70.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Looking for the next Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B)? You could do worse than Loew’s Corp. (L), Deutsche Bank says.
Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesBoth companies own insurance companies. And both use the cash spun off by those operations to invest elsewhere. Deutsche Bank dubs them “investor insurers,” and right now Loew’s looks cheap, the German investment bank’s analysts argue in a report starting Loew’s as a buy.
Hot Forestry Stocks To Buy Right Now: United States Steel Corporation(X)
United States Steel Corporation produces and sells steel mill products in North America and Central Europe. It operates in three segments: Flat-rolled Products (Flat-rolled), U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Flat-rolled segment offers slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, as well as iron ore and coke. This segment serves service center, conversion, transportation, construction, container, and appliance and electrical markets in North America. The USSE segment offers slabs, sheets, strip mill plates, tin mill products, and spiral welded pipes, as well as heating radiators and refractory ceramic materials. This segment serves the European construction, service center, conversion, container, transportation, and appliance and electrical, as well as and oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. The Tubular segment offers seamless and electric resistance welded steel casing and tubing; and standard, and line pipe and mechanical tubing. It primarily serves customers in the oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. The company also provides transportation services, including railroad and barge operations. In addition, it owns, develops, and manages various real estate assets, which include approximately 200,000 acres of surface rights primarily in Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania; participates in joint ventures that are developing real estate projects in Alabama, Maryland, and Illinois; and owns approximately 4,000 acres of land in Ontario, Canada. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Investors turned bullish on higher steel prices for U.S. producers in 2013, helping to spur stocks like US Steel (X) and AK Steel (AKS) higher during the latter half of the year. They might want to rethink that position this year.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
The market decided to let the good times roll today as Microsoft (MSFT), Pfizer (PFE), United Steel (X) and Fossil Group (FOSL) led the major benchmarks higher.
- [By Alex Planes]
The end of an error
On April 24, 2001, a two-decade-long mistake was finally corrected when USX announced its plans to split two jointly held but separately traded businesses into their own fully independent companies: U.S. Steel (NYSE: X ) and Marathon Oil. The steel and oil companies had operated together under the USX umbrella since 1986 after merging in 1982, although each had been traded independently since 1991. - [By Ben Levisohn]
U.S. Steel (X) had been down so long, it was starting to look like nothing would ever lift it up.
ReutersThen the upgrades started coming, and shares of U.S. Steel started to run. Its shares have returned 44% during the past three months, outpacing Commercial Metals Company’s (CMC) 21% gain, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 18% rise, and Nucor’s (NUE) 9.7% advance .
And wouldn’t you know it, here’s another upgrade, this time from KeyBanc, propelling shares higher today. KeyBanc’s Philip Gibbs and Tyler Kenyon explain why they like U.S. Steel:
In our late October report on X, we noted the Company was “scratching the surface” on operational improvement, and we expected shares to edge higher over the near term. While X shares have appreciated by 16% since that report vs. the S&P 500 of +4% and the [Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX)] of +3%, we believe shares have more room to run based on our positive carbon hot-rolled steel pricing revisions for 2014: meaningful raw material cost tailwinds (coal, scrap, iron ore); low Street EPS and EBITDA expectations for 2014-2015; an ever-increasing interest rate environment (benefits for pension exposure); more evidence of European macro stability; and above-average likelihood of incremental operational efficiency announcements such as a joint venture or tolling agreement with Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI).
Gibbs and Kenyon raised U.S. Steel to Buy from Hold and expect it to earn $2.05 in 2014, well ahead of the consensus estimate of $1.21.
While Gibbs and Kenyon are bullish on U.S. Steel, They’re not nearly as positive on Commercial Metals Company, Nucor and Steel Dynamics. They explain why:
Commercial Metals Company, Nucor Corporation, and Steel Dynamics, Inc. are more in line with Street estimates to reflect our expectation for early 2014 metal spread compression vs. late 2013 levels as scrap costs have run more aggressively tha
Hot Forestry Stocks To Buy Right Now: VCA Antech Inc (WOOF)
VCA Antech, Inc., incorporated on May 4, 1987, is a national animal healthcare company operating in the United States and Canada. The Company provides veterinary services and diagnostic testing to support veterinary cares. The Company operates in two segments: animal hospital and laboratory. Its all other category includes Vetstreet and Medical Technology operating segments. The Company sells diagnostic imaging equipment and other medical technology products and related services to the veterinary markets. The Company's animal hospitals offer a range of general medical and surgical services for companion animals, as well as specialized treatments, including advanced diagnostic services, internal medicine, oncology, ophthalmology, dermatology and cardiology. On January 31, 2012, it expanded its operations into Canada with an increased investment in Associate Veterinary Clinics (1984) Limited (AVC), which operates 44 hospitals in three Canadian provinces. On February 1, 2012, it acquired ThinkPet's, Inc. (ThinkPets). In 2012, it acquired 79 animal hospitals, including 44 with the acquisition of AVC, one laboratory and ThinkPets.
The Company provides various communication, marketing solutions and other services to the veterinary community. The Company's network of animal hospitals is supported by more than 3,000 veterinarians and had approximately 7.4 million patient visits during the year ended December 31, 2012. The Company's network of veterinary diagnostic laboratories provides testing and consulting services used by veterinarians in the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring, treatment and prevention of diseases and other conditions affecting animals. The Company's network of veterinary diagnostic laboratories provides diagnostic testing for over 16,000 clients, which includes standard animal hospitals, large animal practices, universities and other government organizations. The Company's medical technology business sells digital radiography and ultrasound imaging equipment, provid! es education and training on the use of that equipment, and provides consulting and mobile imaging services.
The Company's Vetstreet business provides services to veterinary practices, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and the pet owning community. The Company's services to veterinary practices include subscriptions to the Company's Pro Pet Portals. The Pro Pet Portal provides an online platform for the veterinarian to offer secure individualized portals for pet owners, as well as practice Websites that are branded to the individual veterinary clinic. The Company also sells appointment reminder notices that are sent to pet owners on behalf of their clinics. The Company's services to manufacturers involve targeted marketing programs to animal hospitals whom are subscribers to the Company's Pro Pet Portal.
Animal Hospital
As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated 609 animal hospitals serving 41 states and three Canadian provinces. The Company's Animal Hospital revenue accounted for 78% of total revenue in 2012. In addition to general medical and surgical services, the Company offers specialized treatments for companion animals, including advanced diagnostic services, internal medicine, oncology, ophthalmology, dermatology and cardiology. The Company also provides pharmaceutical products for uses in the delivery of treatments by its veterinarians and pet owners. Many of the Company's animal hospitals offer additional services, including grooming, bathing and boarding. The Company also sells specialty pet products at its animal hospitals, including pet food, vitamins, therapeutic shampoos and conditioners, flea collars and sprays, and other accessory products.
Laboratory
The Company operates a veterinary diagnostic laboratory network serving all 50 states and certain areas in Canada. The Company's Laboratory revenue accounted for 16% of total revenue in 2012. The Company service a diverse customer base of over 16,000 clients, including animal! hospital! s the Company operates, which accounted for 16% of total laboratory revenue in 2012. The Company's diagnostic spectrum includes over 300 different tests in the area of chemistry, pathology, endocrinology, serology, hematology and microbiology, as well as tests specific to particular diseases. As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated 55 veterinary diagnostic laboratories. The Company's laboratory network includes primary hubs that are open 24 hours per day and offer a testing menu, secondary laboratories that are open 24 hours per day and offer a testing menu servicing large metropolitan areas, and short-term assessment and treatment (STAT) laboratories that service other locations with demand sufficient to warrant nearby laboratory facilities and are open primarily during daytime hours. In 2012, the Company derived approximately 85% of its laboratory revenue from metropolitan areas, where the Company offers twice-a-day pick-up service and same-day results. In addition, in these areas the Company generally offers to report results within three hours of pick-up. Outside of these areas, the Company typically provides test results to veterinarians before 8:00 a.m. the day following pick-up.
The Company competes with IDEXX Laboratories, Demand Force, and ePet Health.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
About�a week ago, Wall Street was biting small cap pet stock Petmed Express Inc (NASDAQ: PETS) for not living up to its earnings expectations�- meaning it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock�and compare its performance with other pet stocks like mid cap PetSmart, Inc (NASDAQ: PETM) and small cap VCA Antech Inc (NASDAQ: WOOF). I should also mention that we have recently added Petmed Express to our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio because we think the stock is undervalued in the pet space and has tremendous growth potential�moving forward.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on VCA Antech (Nasdaq: WOOF ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Sean Williams]
Let's also not forget about the physical surgical and veterinary centers themselves. VCA Antech (NASDAQ: WOOF ) , for instance, operates more than 600 hospitals around the U.S., as well as 55 diagnostic laboratories. Like PetSmart, VCA hasn't seen a decline in revenue in any of the past 10 years, growing sales by 212% over that timespan thanks to growth in services rendered, ample pricing power, and strong ancillary sales of premium food and vitamins from its hospitals and veterinary centers.
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