Analog Devices, Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of analog, mixed-signal, and digital signal processing integrated circuits. These integrated circuits are used in signal processing for industrial, communication, computer, and consumer applications. The company's products converts temperature, motion, pressure, light, and sound into electrical signals to be used in various electronic equipment, such as industrial process control equipment, factory automation systems equipment, defense electronics, cellular communications, base stations, central office equipment, wireless telephones, computers, automobiles, CAT scanners, digital cameras, and DVD players. It sells its products worldwide through a direct sales force, third-party distributors, and independent sales representatives, as well as through Internet. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts

Technology Industry Analysis

WikiWealth.com Industry Description: Information technology (IT) or information and communication technology (ICT) is a broad subject which deals with technology and other aspects of managing and processing information, especially in large organizations. Particularly, IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information. Over the past 20 years, its prevalence has dramatically increased so that it is now a part of nearly every aspect of daily life. Technology generally includes: computer science, electronics, software, and internet. Read More. Also see the Industry Analysis Home Page.

WikiWealth.com Industry Analysis: During economic recessions, consumers and businesses tend to cut back on technology expenses to save money during tough economic times. Less spending decreases business revenue and eventually decreases stock prices. During economic recoveries, consumers have more income and business investment needs, so spending quickly increases. Higher spending increases business revenue and eventually increases stock prices. During a longer economic expansion, discretionary income and business demand increases, but at a slower pace than during the recovery stage.

¹ Investment potential (margin of safety) is a weighted average of the discounted cash flow analysis (DCF), the enterprise value (EV) market multiple analysis, and the Warren Buffett investment analysis. WikiWealth obtains 80% of their quantitative investment potential from fundamental investment analysis.
² The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) analysis for the industry is a broad representation of the WACC for each individual company. A sub-industry WACC analysis offers both stability and accuracy for each individual company.

WikiWealth.com Profit Analysis: The best way to profit from technology stock investments is to find the most undervalued investments (Wall Street and Main Street buy ratings) during economic recessions. Those investments should be undervalued (see Wall Street Analysis on left side), and have high Main Street Common Sense investment ratings (see Main Street Analysis on right side). When an economic recovery occurs, technology stocks tend to outperform the general stock market, because consumers and businesses quickly resume spending on items they wanted, but resisted buying during tougher economic times. Eventually those investments become overvalued, because profits and stock prices increase past their fair values. During the last stages of an economic business cycle, just before a recession, it is best to sell technology stocks, because they are likely to decrease in price quickly. Technology makes the lives of consumers and businesses easier, but during tough economic times, people tend to work harder, which offsets the benefits of technology temporarily. Expensive (overvalued) stocks with low Main Street Common Sense ratings should be sold at any time to invest in better stocks. Two buys ratings are the best and two sell ratings are the worst possible stock investments. For more information on stock research ratings click here.

Investment Moats

Investment Moats are fundamental investing theories developed by Warren Buffett and adapted to the SWOT analysis. Investment moats are general characteristics that separate great investments from average stock investments. The wider the investment moat the better. Read more: Investment Moats. For company-specific investment moats: SWOT Analysis.

SWOT Strengths Increase Investor Moats: Below is a list of relevant industry investment characteristics, if any exist

SWOT Weaknesses Decrease Investor Moats: Below is a list of relevant industry investment characteristics, if any exist

Stock Price Triggers

Triggers were developed by WikiWealth.com to predict changes in stock price direction, which depend on events outside of the control of the company. In general, if SWOT opportunities are greater than SWOT threats, the stock price should raise; the opposite is also true. For more precise measures, examine each SWOT opportunity and threat, then rank them according to importance and timing. The more important the investment characteristic, the greater the impact on stock direction. The sooner a investment trigger may occur, the more influence it will have on stock price direction. Read more: Stock Price Triggers. For company-specific stock price triggers: SWOT Analysis.

SWOT Opportunities are Positive Stock Price Triggers: Below is a list of relevant industry investment characteristics, if any exist.

SWOT Threats are Negative Stock Price Triggers: Below is a list of relevant industry investment characteristics, if any exist.

Long Company Description (help)

Analog device is an apparatus that measures continuous information. The measured analog signal has an infinite number of possible values. The only limitation on resolution is the accuracy of the measuring device. Such apparatus operates with variables which are constituted by continuously measured quantities. These quantities can be voltage, resistance, rotation and pressure.

The telautograph is an analogue precursor to the modern fax machine. Basically it transmits electrical impulses recorded by potentiometers to stepping motors attached to a pen, thus being able to reproduce a drawing or signature made by the sender at the receiver's station. It was the first such device to transmit drawings to a stationary sheet of paper; previous inventions in Europe used rotating drums to make such transmissions.

An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically.

The analog television encodes television and transports the picture and sound information as an analogue signal, that is, by varying the amplitude and/or frequencies of the broadcast signal. All systems preceding digital television, such as NTSC, PAL or SECAM are analog television systems.

An analog computer is a form of computer that uses electrical, mechanical or hydraulic phenomena to model the problem being solved. More generally an analog computer uses one kind of physical quantity to represent the behaviour of another physical system, or mathematical function. Modeling a real physical system in a computer is called simulation.

There are also many non-electrical analog devices, such as clocks (sundials, water clocks, pendulum clocks, analog watches), the astrolabe, slide rules, the governor of a steam engine, the planimeter (a simple device that measures the area of a closed shape), Kelvin's mechanical tide predictor, acoustic rangefinders, servomechanisms (eg the thermostat), a simple mercury thermometer, a bathroom scale, and the speedometer of a car.

Interfacing the digital and analog worlds

In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC or D-to-A) is a circuit for converting a digital signal (usually binary) to an analog signal (current, voltage or electric charge). Digital-to-analog converters are interfaces between the digital world and analog world. An analog-to-digital converter (abbreviated ADC, A/D or A to D) is an electronic circuit that converts continuous signals to discrete digital numbers. The reverse operation is performed by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

FAQ

Does Analog Devices have a Dividend Reinvestment Program (DRIP)?
Analog Devices does not manage its own Dividend Reinvestment Program; however, brokers do offer this service to stockholders on an individual basis.

What do the numbers on my stock certificate mean?
Your account number is the number that appears on your stock certificate above your registration. The name(s) of the registered owners is shown in the center block of the certificate. The date of the certificate appears in the lower left and is the transaction/issue date on the Analog Devices’ records. Your certificate number appears in the upper left border underneath NUMBER. The number of shares the certificate represents appears in the border on the upper right side, underneath SHARES, and also in the center of the certificate.

Will I receive an Analog Devices Annual Report, and if so, when?
Shareholders of record on the proxy record date will be mailed an annual report, which reviews the Company’s performance during the previous year. The annual report, proxy statement and proxy card are mailed in a single mailing several weeks prior to the Company’s annual meeting, which is held each year on the second Tuesday in March.

When will I receive notice of Analog Devices’ next annual meeting?
A notice of annual meeting, proxy statement and proxy card—along with Analog Devices’ annual report—are mailed in one envelope to ADI’s shareholders several weeks prior to the Company’s annual meeting. Registered shareholders (i.e., those whose ADI shares are in certificate form) will receive these materials via the services of Analog Devices’ transfer agent, Computershare. Shareholders whose shares are kept in a brokerage account will receive these materials directly from their broker. The proxy statement describes matters to be voted on by the shareholders of the Company. Shareholders who cannot attend the annual meeting can vote their shares by completing and returning the proxy card.

SWOT Analysis

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