Tapping into rising electronics demand

Article Excerpt

High unemployment continues to hold back consumer spending in the U.S. As well, many households are using their extra cash to pay down debt. Even so, demand for electronic devices, particularly smartphones and video-game players, continues to rise. That’s good news for these four leading makers of consumer-electronic products. All four have launched new devices in time for Christmas. Their new products are also helping them increase sales in emerging markets. Still, we see only three as buys right now. APPLE INC. $288 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 913.6 million; Market cap: $263.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.6; No dividend paid; WSSF Rating: Average) makes computers and a variety of other electronic devices. Portable devices, such as the iPod music player and the iPhone smartphone, now account for 70% of Apple’s overall sales. Users of these products also buy music, movie and video-game downloads at Apple’s iTunes online store. Moreover, buyers of Apple’s portable devices often go on…