New plant costs slow earnings

Article Excerpt

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC. $181 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol TXN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 906.2 million; Market cap: $164.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 8.3; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ti.com) makes analog chips, which convert inputs like touch and sound into electronic signals that computers can understand. In the fourth quarter of 2022, revenue fell 3.4%, to $4.67 billion from $4.83 billion a year earlier. That’s mainly because weaker consumer demand for electronic devices offset improving sales to automotive manufacturers. Due to higher spending on new chip plants and other operating costs, earnings in the quarter also fell 8.2%, to $1.96 billion from $2.14 billion. On a per-share basis, earnings slipped 6.2%, to $2.13 from $2.27, on fewer shares outstanding. Texas Instruments also continues to spend a high 9.3% of its revenue on research. Texas Instruments is a buy. buy…