Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, January 27, 2012

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $190.46, New York symbol IBM, is our “Stock of the Year” for 2012. The company continues to benefit from its decision in the 1990s to focus on selling its expertise instead of computer hardware. IBM now gets most of its revenue from steady and predictable long-term contracts. That cuts its risk. The company is now using its strong profits to expand into promising new areas, such as online data storage and software that helps businesses analyze customer spending patterns. As well, IBM’s strong reputation is helping in expand in Asia and Latin America. That cuts its reliance on slower-growing regions like North America and Europe. This is the second time we’ve made IBM our Stock of the Year; it was also our #1 pick in 2010. We feel the company offers conservative investors a unique, low-risk way to profit from rising Internet use, particularly in emerging markets. IBM is our #1 buy for 2012. IBM was recently covered in the October…