SlipperyWing

Garmin: Navigating to Nowhere

OK, you hooked me... defend your "poor allocation of capital" statement.

On the surface this is yet another narrowly focused write up on a company with four segments.

Perhaps you didn't read that the Garmin integrated cockpit achieved certification in the Cirrus SR22 platform recently? Did you know that Cirrus builds 4 airplanes per day?

Did you also know that with the Cirrus deal, there are no other OEM's that DON'T offer the Garmin integrated cockpit?

And what about the Forerunner series, in particular the Forerunner 405 that can't seem to stay on a shelf it's so popular.

And then there's the marine division which has been expanded quite extensively over the last 12 to 18 months, the results of which are just now starting to show up on the balance sheet.

The company makes a billion in cash nearly every quarter, has no debt, is buying back shares, is buying up European distributors to help gain market share in the EU over Tom Tom... and you question the capital allocation?

95 Stocks with Low Debt to Equity

Great post, Bill. Well thought out and refreshingly rational.

Why I Prefer TomTom Over Garmin

What a poor analysis. You completely disregard the rest of Garmin's product line, gloss over the fact that they have no debt, forget about the increase in market share in Europe (and just starting out in China).

T2 overpays for something they don't need, have a single product line, and is otherwise leveraged to the hilt....

And you pick TomTom over Garmin?

Sure the nuvifone delay is a disappointment. All delays are. However, in this current cell phone environment, I think this delay may actually be worth it.

A Q3 nuvifone release would go right on the heals of iPhone 2, instinct, and a ton of others...

A Q209 release may actually have better timing, and iphones will be all but obsoletes, or so the electronics life cycles go.