Cisco (CSCO) was founded in 1984 and has grown to become one of the most important technology companies in the world. While the business sells a wide variety of products and services to businesses of all sizes, its main offerings connect computing devices to networks or computer networks with each other. The company’s website provides an overview [...]

On Tuesday, Franklin Resources (BEN) announced plans to acquire rival asset manager Legg Mason (LM) for $4.5 billion. Franklin's assets under management will rise from about $700 billion to $1.5 trillion once the deal closes by the third quarter of 2020, underscoring the significance of this transaction. Fortunately, Franklin's payout ratio, balance sheet, and cash [...]

Founded in 1925 with a product line consisting of just five tractors, Caterpillar (CAT) has grown to become the world’s largest industrial machine maker, with its hands in all major infrastructure industries. The company primarily sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives.Caterpillar operates through four business [...]

On February 5, Merck (MRK) announced plans to spin off its Women's Health and Biosimilar divisions, as well as various legacy branded drugs. Combined, these businesses ("NewCo") account for nearly 15% of Merck's revenue. Source: Merck Investor Presentation The spin-off transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021 and will take the form [...]

Founded in 1912 during the dawn of flight, Lockheed Martin (LMT) is the world’s largest defense contractor and supplier of fighter aircraft. Though best known for its F-35 joint strike fighter, Lockheed has four major divisions that combined to generate $60 billion in revenue last year: Aeronautics (40% of sales): designs, manufactures, and services combat aircraft [...]

We are upgrading General Electric's (GE) Dividend Safety Score from Unsafe to Borderline Safe following continued improvement in the firm's cash flow generation and deleveraging progress. In early 2019, GE believed its core industrial operations might burn through as much as $2 billion as the company's turnaround took time to gain momentum. The company's money-losing Power division (about 20% [...]

Founded in 1901 after striking oil in Persia, London-based British Petroleum (BP) is one of the largest integrated oil and gas companies in the world today with operations in over 70 countries. Impressively, BP's daily output of 3.7 million barrels of oil exceeds the yield of all but a handful of nations. Like other oil giants, BP [...]

Another quarter, another disappointment. That's been 3M's (MMM) story for much of the past two years, and the trend continued earlier this week. 3M reported fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, sending its shares falling by about 6%. The company's stock price is nearly unchanged since 2015, and 3M's dividend yield sits near its highest level since the financial [...]

Chevron (CVX) was born from the discovery in 1879 of an oilfield near Los Angeles that yielded 25 barrels of oil per day. Today, Chevron is one of the largest oil companies in the world and produces nearly 3 million oil-equivalent barrels each day. The firm's upstream operations (77% of 2018 earnings) explores for, produces, and transports [...]

America's first enclosed mall was built in 1956, and the nation hasn't looked back. About 1,500 malls were built in the U.S. from 1956 through 2005, providing hubs for social gathering and shopping throughout America's booming suburbs. By 1975, malls accounted for 50% of U.S. retail dollars spent, representing an impressive 13% of GDP. So much property was developed [...]

On January 21, Boeing (BA) announced it does not expect regulators to approve the return of the grounded 737 MAX aircraft until mid-2020, erasing hopes of a first-quarter recertification. Boeing, under new CEO Dave Calhoun, now appears to be taking a more conservative approach to both its relationship with global regulators and its communications with Wall Street. [...]

Founded in 1833, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) is one of the world's largest integrated oil companies with operations in over 70 countries. In addition to exploring for and extracting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, Royal Dutch Shell owns a number of refineries, distribution terminals, and LNG tankers.Shell organizes its business into three [...]

Public Storage (PSA) was founded in 1972 by two California business men who invested $50,000 in a single storage unit initially to generate temporary income. PSA, America’s largest self-storage REIT, now owns close to 2,500 storage rental properties in 38 states and seven European countries. Approximately 81% of the REIT's properties are in the U.S. and [...]

Formed in 1870 as part of business magnate John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil empire, Exxon Mobil (XOM) is one of the world’s oldest oil companies. The firm has evolved from a regional refiner and distributor of kerosene used in lamps to the largest publicly traded petroleum and petrochemical enterprise in the world.  The firm's products [...]

CVS Health (CVS) was founded in 1963 with three Consumer Value Stores located in Lowell, Massachusetts. It has grown into the second largest drugstore company in the US with close to 10,000 retail locations. CVS is also one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers and health insurance providers, positioning itself as a uniquely diversified and [...]