Iron Mountain, Inc. (IRM)

Nearly recession proof stock since most companies using their services have an incredible amount of information to store and cannot turn off the spigot as easily as laying off people who create the information. Hardcopy data storage is a business that will still exist for many years.

Steady grower. Nice track record. Good business.

Is WallStreet full of it or are these really some of the Fastest-Growing Stocks in S&P 500 Index

Information ALWAYS has to be stored.

One of Buffett's major holdings.

Why do they call it Iron Mountain?

Because "Plastic Trashcan" just didn't have the same ring to it.

Overpaying a company to haul off your documents will be recognized as such by clever corporate management looking to reduce costs. As a hedge, try Office Depot - they sell something called "a shredder".

Expect a slowdown in the growth rate and the profitability here.

Stock is down sharply from 52 week high, largely based on 1 quarterly earnings miss. Revenue growth is on target and this company is largely recession proof.

I know the name, I know the brand, I work for the gov't and we use them. They will rebound.

Negative:

1. Company appears to be lagging behind in electronic data storage, which will likely prove to be a significant long-term problem. EDS purchased by HPQ is the beginning. Expect the other 100 pound gorillas of tech to follow.

2. All the other consulting/value add services will come under increased competition in the longer-term due to large multinationals focusing in on services.

3. Limited resources to compete against larger more established competitors.

Positives:

1. Short-term they should be all right, since some of their niches are hospitals, governments organizations, accounting, legal, insurance, etc. However, even the US govt & hospitals, while about 15-30 years behind the Silicon Valley will one day figure it out and go digital (sometimes I'm not sure though).

2. Have established a good brand, serious continued reorganization is needed though.

3. Buffet.

This stock hit it's valley a couple weeks ago and is starting to gain strength. Invest in preventing ID theft...Solid

p/e over 35. better be really good. i think NOT.

it's taken a hit over the last few months, but they are in the middle of a company re-org. that should cut costs

I'll let Kris Tuttle do the talking http://seekingalpha.com/article/69642-is-iron-mountain-just-a-pile-of-paper

Fair Value Estimate

$31.00

Consider Buying

$26.40

Consider Selling

$40.70

Aggressive acquisition strategy. Dominant leader in its industry. Great reoccurring revenue business model.

High cost for competitors to enter the fray, high cost for businesses to switch to a new vendor as well. Good long-term clients and new growth in Europe.

moat tough as iron and strong as a mountain....uh, yep.

"crash resistant" is the term I like to lead with...

morningstar rec,

discount to fair value, spending to grow globally depressing returns but should pay off...

sell at 40.70