BeforeApple (AAPL) invented the iPod, the company controlled about 10 percent of the PC market at its peak. That didn’t generate huge business. But by reinventing towards having the most user-friendly consumer tech, and some software behind it, the company managed to become a multi-trillion-dollar behemoth. Other companies are making similar pivots today, finding new lines of businesses with higher profit margins and growth potential. One such play?BlackBerry (BB). Known for its phones before the iPhone grabbed the bulk of the market, the company noted that its systems had the best t...

While it’s usually a good idea in investing not to fight a central bank, it can sometimes be a good idea to buy when a regulatory authority is stepping up its bounds. That’s especially true when targeting a company that can thrive even under a stricter regulatory regime. Chinese companies have come under fire in recent weeks, as many tech companies are looking to tighten up how their data is protected, deal with the effects of increased antitrust laws, and the like. The selloff has been sharp and steep enough to suggest that it’s time to look at a contrarian buy. Among China’s bigges...

The past few years have seen a number of companies have their data hacked. This can include everything from customer sales data to personal information as well. These hacks tend to lead to a drop in share price of a company, but they tend to recover in time. The most recent company to see a big hack isT-Mobile (TMUS). The telecom giant has reported that the latest hack is a big one. While unfortunate, the effects of the hack are likely to be limited in terms of costs to the company, as many firms have found out over the years. T-Mobile is one of just a handful of mobile telecom co...

Home prices continue to move higher at a record pace. That’s led to a strong demand for more housing to meet this lack of supply, and existing homeowners are looking to upgrade their homes as well. These trends point strongly to home supplier companies, and that trend looks set to continue even if home prices moderate in the coming months ahead. The top two players for home improvement are, by far,Home Depot (HD) andLowe’s (LOW). Both companies have reported better-than-expected results in recent quarters thanks to trends in home improvements, a trend that looks likely to continue as...

In fact, no asset moves up or down in a straight line. Even a stock or sector in a hot uptrend can be hit with a wild downtrend. Traders astute enough to recognize a temporary setback rather than a cyclical change are likely able to fare well by buying a dip and obtaining the best possible profit. Last week,Morgan Stanley (MS) warned on memory maker stocks, nothing that the pricing environment would be difficult going into next year. Time will tell if that’s the case, given rising memory needs for a number of new devices hitting the markets today. In any event, the warning caused a n...

The past few years has seen an explosion in companies going public through the IPO process. Most are successes, seeing shares immediately rise as they start trading. However, there have been a number of companies that have initially slid from their opening price, creating what’s called a “failed IPO.” Some companies have been able to recover in time, most famously social media giantFacebook (FB) which had a failed IPO when it first went public. The most recent failed IPO?Coinbase (COIN). The cryptocurrency brokerage company went public right as Bitcoin prices were peaking in the spri...

The only constant in the world is change. Companies that have been around for decades (or even over a century) need to either adapt or die. Some companies are getting the message that if they want to stay relevant tomorrow, they need to make changes today. Big tech companies have fared well in this regard, expanding into new areas and new technologies. But other large companies are making moves too. One surprising play has beenWalmart (WMT). The retailer has expanded online to compete with rising  ecommerce sales. But the company is also looking to expand everyday low prices to cu...

With the stock market at all-time highs, investors can either jump in at high prices, look for value trades, or focus on great companies trading at reasonable prices. That last category has been strong for strategies such as dividend growth. More companies continue to raise their dividends, signaling a return to normal, or at least that a company can thrive during a pandemic. One of the latest companies to announce a dividend increase isPapa John’s International (PZZA). The pizza giant has had strong sales, with earnings up over 56 percent in the past year and revenue up 12 percen...

Yes, the energy industry is changing. But it’s a trend that won’t happen overnight. A number of oil giants are looking into going carbon neutral, but setting goal dates as far out as 2050, nearly 30 years away. Even the shift towards electric vehicles this year is unlikely to become a majority of vehicle sales this decade, at least not without the heavy push of the hands of governments of developed nations. That still leaves oil as a viable investment opportunity for years to come. Plenty of oil giants are attractively priced, even after the runup in oil prices in the past year, as t...

Companies that can pivot to new business lines can thrive. Those that don’t are likely to be poor performers at best, or go out of business. One European conglomerate, in business for over a century, is looking to expand into the cloud space, going toe-to-toe with big US tech giants. That’s resulting in strong operational performance, and a chance to move beyond industrial roots. That player?Siemens (SIEGY). The German company was founded in 1847, and is one of Europe’s largest companies. The company is expanding into what it calls “digital industries” but what really means infrastru...