Topic: Growth Stocks

Technology stocks: Hidden value in research and development

Technology stocks have always been a more speculative segment of the stock market. The recent downturn has pushed down many of them down lately, but the technology stocks with the greatest long-term potential are those that continue to make significant investments in research and development.

The investment odds are against you in a “hot” market — one whose investment appeal is widely, if not universally, recognized. And most tech stocks, even in a market like we’re in now, are still overpriced. This is because many investors have inflated ideas of their value.

You can turn the odds in your favour by investing in tech stocks that have hidden assets, or assets that other investors overlook.

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Hidden assets are items that don’t show up on a company’s balance sheet, but can offer dramatic rewards for investors who do their research.

Among technology stocks, research-and-development spending is today’s best-hidden asset. High research-and-development budgets let tech stocks keep adding profitable new products and improving existing ones.

Technology stocks have to treat this spending as a day-to-day expense, much like maintenance or taxes. So research spending comes out of the current year’s sales, and it lowers the current year’s earnings. As a result, earnings per share for tech stocks may appear lower than for stocks in other sectors. But, when done right, research and development spending pays off in dramatic long-term returns, both for high-tech companies and for those who invest in technology stocks.

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