Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

from: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2010/02/19/this-weeks-5-smartest-stock-moves.aspx

 Life in a vacuum
iRobot's (Nasdaq: IRBT) Roomba is an overseas hit. The vacuuming automatons experienced a 31% spike in international sales during the holiday quarter, helping propel iRobot's top line 12% higher.

Spotty profitability has held iRobot's stock back in the past, but it had no problem staying in the black this time around. The maker of consumer and military robotics earned a quarterly profit of $0.20 a share, well ahead of Wall Street's $0.16 a share target.

Can it be? Are we finally at the point in iRobot's life stage where we don't have to send in a bomb-sniffing PackBot to handle its quarterly reports, fearing that they will blow up on us?

Hello SEVERUS:

Thanks for the financial results.  If I recall correctly irobot went public in the spring 2005/2006 [?] at $12 plus per share.  At the current stock price of $17.75 the stock has had nice appreciation in the worse trading markets experienced since the great depression.  Not too shabby.  Considering its 31 percent sales increase overseas, it's clear irobot has virtually eliminated all its competition.  Vacuum makers that missed the robotic vacuum boat are essentially dead in the water now.  Irobot has the market locked.  Now, if it can avoid a toyota thingee, growing too fast too soon, irobot has the future of this vacuum robotic market in its hands.  Proof positive that irobot, which had the robotics market with bomb detectors/defusers, was able to add vacuum features and functions much easier and better than some vacuum makers could add robotics to vacuum products. 

Carmine D.

Hi,

It also says a great deal about the users' needs.  No big deal about cyclonics, deep cleaning, stellar filtration and other fancy stuff.  It's all about getting up the top soil and leaving the owner freed up to get on with other things.

Venson

Mm I still await the day Roomba can come up with a model that can clean your ceilings as well or have a built in robotic hose. Chasing the dog would be fun to see.

vacmanuk wrote:

Yeah, that would be kind of funny but what do you do when it starts chasing you?

Venson

RUN FOR THE HILLS!