Topic: How To Invest

Q: Could you comment on Illinois Tool Works (ITW), please. Thank you. I appreciate your publications.

Article Excerpt

A: Illinois Tool Works, $229.00, symbol ITW on NYSE (Shares outstanding: 316.5 million; Market cap: $72.1 billion; www.itw.com), is a multi-industry manufacturing company operating in 53 countries. Known as ITW, it has roughly 43,000 employees. The company’s diversified range of industrial products includes aerospace technology, bridges, wind turbines, restaurant appliances, packaging solutions, electronics, deep-sea welding products, and a range of automotive components such as fasteners, door handles, powertrain, and refuelling systems. ITW has a portfolio of more than 18,500 granted and pending patents. To generate value for investors, the company operates in seven industry segments: automotive products (20% of revenue), food equipment (14%), laboratory testing equipment (16%), polymers & fluids (13%), welding equipment (11%), construction products (13%), and other specialty products (13%). In 2012, ITW undertook a strategic re-positioning to add more shareholder value: it aggressively exited businesses and product lines operating in what it saw as commoditized markets. As a result, the company is now focused on markets and product lines in which…