Niche products give these five leaders an edge

Article Excerpt

All five of these firms operate businesses with specialized products and services that are hard to replace. That helps protect them from new competitors. They also fuel their growth by developing new products and making acquisitions. However, not all of them are currently buys. MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $92 (New York symbol MSI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 163.5 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.motorolasolutions.com) makes specialized communications equipment, such as radios for police and fire vehicles. The company split from cellphone maker Motorola in January 2011. Since it became a separate firm, the stock has gained 138%. In 2014, the company sold its enterprise division for $3.45 billion. This business makes a variety of electronics, such as bar-code scanners and kiosks, for corporate clients. Motorola used most of that cash to buy back shares. The company is now using acquisitions to expand and cut its reliance on North America, which supplies…