Rethink your definition of 'tech stock'
These shares have some traditional characteristics, yet they remain cheaper than they should be.
I am loving these technology company earnings. No, I am not talking about Microsoft (MSFT), which was pretty darned good, or Salesforce.com (CRM), which has been terrific.
I am talking about the new technology companies, companies like Under Armour (UA), like PPG Industries (PPG), like Honeywell (HON), like Schlumberger (SLB).
They are developing and innovating and taking share for doing so. Under Armour, the apparel company, developed new forms of fiber that are lighter weight but tough that athletes love. Its technology is what's driving sales, including the spectacular numbers it put up last week.
PPG has made technological breakthroughs that have made the company's coatings the envy of the world. We don't think that tech can play a role in something as mundane as paint, but it isn't just because PPG has been able to sell paint better than the other guys -- its coatings are regarded as so superior to the rest of the world's coatings that the Japanese and Chinese carmakers demand PPG's materials to be able to maintain higher price points than they would otherwise command.
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Honeywell's turbo technology has made a major difference in fuel consumption. Ever wonder why cars get more miles per gallon these days? A large part of it is because Honeywell makes turbo engines that save gasoline.
Finally there's Schlumberger. When you listen to this company, you hear how we were able to find much more oil and gas than we thought our country had. Schlumberger is about scientists and engineers finding inexpensive and safe ways to get more fossil fuels out of the ground, and it is the best at it.
Until people realize these are technology stocks, they will remain cheaper than they should be, and the stocks will continue to go higher because the companies' amazing innovations are the envy of the world.
(Microsoft owns and publishes Top Stocks, an MSN Money site.)
Jim Cramer is a co-founder of TheStreet and contributes daily market commentary to the financial news network's sites. Follow his trades for Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer co-manages as a charitable trust and is long SLB.
If you guys are so against Cramer why waste the time to read and comment. There are analysts I do not like, so I don't read their work. Cramer is mostly entertainment. I think he is funny, though I don't follow much of his advice. I just can't understand why so many of you complain so hard about a guy that you claim to not be worth the air you are using. Read and laugh, or don’t and stay away. Your negativity and asinine remarks benefit no one.
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