Hello and thanks for reading! A few points before I get started:

  • All three of these companies – Texas Instruments, Intel and Microsoft – have tremendous businesses now.  In addition to throwing off billions of dollars annually in free cash flow, they have tremendous “franchises” and market share in their own fields.
  • I have no personal or business relationship with any of these companies nor do I hold any of their equities, long or short.
  • The only source of information I have is what is available to the public.  There is a strong chance that these companies are investing considerable efforts in the M2M space at this time…and this would actually help to bolster my position, actually.

At one point, all three of these companies were the “darlings of Wall Street”.  They all were pioneers in their respective fields, and used to trade at incredible multiples.  Now, all three are taking on the role of “utilities” in the world of investing, where investors look at them in similar ways that they do power companies.....boring, predictable and offering good yield.....and, there is nothing wrong with that in some ways.  Investors are looking for safety, so there is a market for these companies.

However, at some point, these three companies need to get back into the growth phase of their businesses, and I believe that M2M offers great potential to each of them.

Thoughts:

  • The consensus among 35 analysts (listed on Yahoo Finance) shows that they expect the top-line revenue number to actually continue to fall in 2013, with some of them expecting it to rebound somewhat in 2014.
  • TI has definitely been hit hard in the past two years, with profits dropping considerably in this period.
  • TI would be a natural consolidator in this field, especially in the cellular module space.  They have relations with all major manufacturers of hardware, and a substantial distribution network.
  • TI is into many areas already (low-energy Bluetooth, ZigBee and radio) to allow it to easily snap in a possible cellular module acquisition.
  • As well, TI’s web page lists many applications that would put them directly into the M2M space, including Smart Grid, Mobile Healthcare, Security, Industrial Automation and Process Control.

Thoughts:

  • Intel’s most recent quarter showed drops of 2.5% on the top-line revenue number and 25% on profit.  It has announced substantial Capex cuts as well, which may hurt future growth.
  • Intel is seeing substantial declines in its PC business, due to the proliferation of smartphones and tablets.
  • Intel has many technologies that could be used as building blocks for some advanced M2M solution offerings – such as Smart Connect, which could be leveraged to draw M2M information from the field and VPro, for data security.
  • As well, it would make a lot of sense to see Intel bridge the gap between CPUs and wide area wireless technology, so that the ability for lower cost devices to connect to cellular networks is built directly onto the CPU itself.  Based on their announced partnerships with Digi, they may already be moving quickly in that space.
  • Finally, Intel needs to act as a consolidator to help create standard protocols and languages that allow seamless integration/communication between all M2M hardware and platforms.  They have started this in key areas such as smart homes, digital signage and smart grid.

Thoughts:

  • Microsoft’s days as a high-flier may be well gone, but it really seems to have accepted its new role as a “Utility stock” just a bit too easily for my taste.
  • Microsoft has many tools in place that would allow it to become very dominant in the M2M space (Devices running Windows in virtually every home/office, a growing cloud-based business, a Mobile platform to allow remote access to data and much more).
  • As mentioned in a previous post, Microsoft needs to:
    • Find ways to better utilize X-box and Sync for usage with M2M data
    • Tie in its mobile platforms (Surface, Windows Mobile) into M2M platforms, preferably data that they host on a cloud-based service
    • Use the incredible reach of their email products in the Corporate space to find ways to easily report M2M data securely.

Final thoughts:

Again, it is really fun to speculate, and that is all this really is.  I have no idea what is coming out from these three companies tomorrow, let alone in the near future. If you have other thoughts, feel free to drop me a note or comment.

As always, let Novotech know how we can help with your M2M needs, such as antenna selection.  You can visit our web page @ www.novotech.com.  As well, feel free to reach out to me directly ....larry(@)novotech.com.  You can also follow us on Twitter (@NovotechM2M) and you can follow me personally as well (@LBNovotechM2M).