Plantronics, Inc. (PLT)

MRSTARBUCKS (67.29) Submitted: 5/19/2009 2:39:33 PM : Start Price: $17.11 PLT Score: +23.78

GOOD STOCK

COOLSTOCK (68.10) Submitted: 5/1/2009 3:41:00 PM : Start Price: $12.39 PLT Score: +73.24

good stock

richardrogers4 (64.89) Submitted: 3/29/2009 4:08:31 AM : Start Price: $11.54 PLT Score: +75.76

Proactive management. Market Leader.

donradcliffe (24.32) Submitted: 6/29/2008 1:08:50 PM : Start Price: $22.24 PLT Score: +22.68

market leader

costanostra (< 20) Submitted: 5/15/2008 2:50:55 PM : Start Price: $23.93 PLT Score: +22.71

California recently passed into a law all drivers who use a cellular phone while driving must use a hands free device or face a fine. This is the biggest state in The Union to pass such law and I expect every other state will follow suit. Now only if the company that makes that nifty Jawbone ear piece had a stock I'd buy it too, but Plantronics is still the market leader handsfree devices.

stockguy07 (< 20) Submitted: 4/30/2008 1:54:07 PM : Start Price: $23.92 PLT Score: -21.87

s

WeeValue (51.96) Submitted: 3/9/2008 8:27:21 PM : Start Price: $17.95 PLT Score: +49.91

Plantronics Rings Up Another Quarter

On January 22nd, Plantronics called with a strong third quarter. Revenue was up 8% from the previous year to $232.8 million. Net income increased to $19.1 million, or 39 cents a share from $15.2 million or 32 cents a share, a more than respectable 21.8% increase – particularly given the revenue growth. Really, there’s not much not to like about Plantronics’ results. Gross margin clocked in almost 3% higher than last year, and SG&A percentage squeaked down just a smidge compared to last year.

Why did Wall Street poo-poo the results? Well, because they focus on the future… okay, not the distant future, but at least the next year… six months… quarter? And the near future is not looking nearly as rosy as the recent past. For one thing the company “guided” lower than analysts were expecting for next quarter. And, heaven forbid, they used both the dreaded “R” word and dreaded “FS” words… So maybe FS isn’t dreaded yet, but it could well be that by the time 2008 is over, “Financial Services” will cause nightmares for many analysts. Near term, Plantronics does have some fairly stiff headwinds. I count at least three, and not because I can’t count any higher than that.
First there is the real possibility of recession, and if that occurs, a shiny new headset is probably a nice to have (i.e. discretionary corporate expenditure). Additionally, the financial services industry is clearly taking its lumps - an area that Ken Kannappan CEO admits on their conference call has been “very, very strong for us”. Finally the acquisition and turnaround of Altec Lansing – their Audio Entertainment Group – is still in progress.

Still, for those with a somewhat longer time horizon, I can’t help but think that Plantronics presents a compelling value proposition. Given that they have $170 million in cash and investments and zero debt, I think they are well positioned to survive any short term downturn. They are much more diverse across industries and international markets than they have been in the past – another Ken-ism “to some significant degree we are an inch deep and a mile wide” – meaning they have exposure to a multitude of industries in the various economies they play in. Additionally, given their design expertise, they should be able to turn Altec Lansing profitable – and just eliminating the drag of the loss of that division should provide a boost to the net income. Their substantial cash flow and operating efficiency should ensure they have the time to do just that. Once the future is less obscured by Altec’s performance, we should see a rapid increase in both earnings and Wall Street’s adoration. Then we should really hear some great performance…

StockMarketBeat (77.89) Submitted: 7/24/2007 7:01:01 PM : Start Price: $27.28 PLT Score: +14.57

So you’d think that with things now playing out as I thought they should that I would keep the shares I got by exercising the call options in June. Nope. Too skittish.
http://stockmarketbeat.com/blog1/2007/07/24/plt-i-was-too-skittish-about-plantronics-to-take-my-own-advice/

fibreoptik (88.83) Submitted: 11/1/2006 2:22:56 AM : Start Price: $19.45 PLT Score: +43.11

Call centers use TONS of these products, they get broken and need replacing all the time.

More call centers = more headsets = more orders + more replacements when they break (or get broken by frusrated/underpaid/disgruntled callcenter agents).

george1938 (< 20) Submitted: 10/13/2006 7:30:07 AM : Start Price: $17.65 PLT Score: +54.87

People are insisting on being wired 24-7.

webstreet3 (66.72) Submitted: 10/11/2006 5:01:47 PM : Start Price: $17.48 PLT Score: +55.91

Handsets were on fire according to Sony-Ericsson. Stock pays dividend and is toward lower end of recent years.

furleather (84.18) Submitted: 10/4/2006 6:59:39 PM : Start Price: $17.27 PLT Score: +56.73

consolidation of general expeses of altec lansing and more inergration of products

dj2000a (71.87) Submitted: 10/4/2006 2:01:24 AM : Start Price: $17.14 PLT Score: +57.06

The company is undervalued on financials.