Record backlog cuts your risk

Article Excerpt

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $264 is a buy. The company (New York symbol MSI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 166.9 million; Market cap: $44.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.motorolasolutions.com) makes communications equipment such as two-way radios for police and fire vehicles, as well as high-definition surveillance systems. It also makes software that helps governments manage their emergency response call centres. Motorola tends to fuel its growth with acquisitions. However, it cuts the risk of this strategy by focusing on smaller firms that enhance its technology or its presence in certain markets. Thanks partly to new businesses, Motorola’s revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 rose 16.6%, to $2.71 billion from $2.32 billion a year earlier. Earnings in the quarter also jumped 26.3%, to $3.26 a share from $2.85. The company ended 2022 with a record backlog of $14.3 billion, up 5.8% from a year earlier. That should lift its 2023 earnings by about 8% to $11.16 a..