Research keeps these two in the lead

Article Excerpt

SIERRA WIRELESS $16.98 (Toronto symbol SW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (604-231-1100; www.sierrawireless.com; s/o: 36.1 million; Market cap: $617.2 million; No dividends paid) makes digital components that connect products, including smart electricity meters, automobiles, fleet and transit vehicles, and home security systems, to the Internet. That machine-to-machine networking is commonly known as the “Internet of Things,” or IoT. In the quarter ended December 31, 2018, Sierra made sales of $201.4 million. That’s a 9.7% jump from $183.5 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, the company earned $9.0 million, or $0.25 a share. That was down 2.6% from $9.2 million, or $0.28. Higher costs are responsible for the decline. Sierra faces challenges this year: sales for the automotive industry are slowing, and that’s a big market for the company; a continuing shortage of Intel chips has also hurt the expansion of IoT connectivity in the mobile market; similarly, an industry-wide shortage of…