KPMG Consulting Inc. is renaming itself BearingPoint Inc., a change that takes place immediately, the company announced Oct. 3. The New York Stock Exchange of the freshly-named enterprise will be "BE."
Since Sept. 11, investors and<FONT SIZE=2> market analysts have correctly identified the government information technology market as a good sector for investment. While this is a sound strategy for many reasons, all companies will not prosper. </FONT><p>
Disappointment. That describes what most of the information technology industry is feeling regarding state and local homeland security spending. Companies are discouraged with the amount of money spent on homeland security, the lack of opportunities in their sales pipelines and the relatively small size of the projects that have been launched.
The fundamentals of the federal information technology industry remain intact, despite the volatility of stocks over the past couple of months. Investors are attracted to the industry because of its long-term contracts, earnings growth and strong cash flow, particularly in the current market.
These companies, drawn from among the Washington Technology Top 100, are trades on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. For companies that went public after Sept. 11, their stock price is based on the day of their initial public offering.
The Pentagon fires were still burning when Tom Buonforte and his team at General Dynamics Network Systems began sifting through the rubble, trying to figure out how they would rebuild the computer and telecommunications networks in the damaged wing.
Anteon International Corp., Fairfax, Va., is in the black for its second quarter of 2002, the company announced Aug. 6. It reported a net income of $5.5 million for the period ending June 30, or 15 cents per share. The company reported a net loss of $300,000 in the second quarter of 2001.
In the wake of the Enron scandal and the obstruction of justice verdict against Arthur Andersen, corporate conduct and compliance are coming under increasing scrutiny. Government contractors, such as WorldCom Inc. and Global Crossing Ltd., are having their contracts reviewed or have lost contracts because they have been found not to be responsible in light of financial and ethical problems.
While the federal information technology service firms continue to do well, both in business and share price, the commercial companies are struggling to recover.
WorldCom Inc.'s legal and financial woes are rippling through the government marketplace, sparking a review of the company's federal contracts and raising concerns about its ability to continue providing services.
The most common question among industry executives and investors in the government information technology and defense sector is: Will public market receptivity to the industry remain high, continuing to support new initial public offerings and valuations?
Discussions with senior executives at defense companies based in the United Kingdom reveal a common objective: expanding their presence in the U.S. market.
While the commercial information technology services sector continues to struggle with slow IT spending, the federal IT services companies continue to post strong results.
These are heady days in public equity markets for federal information technology and defense stocks. For owners and executives at privately owned defense companies, a correct interpretation of pricing behavior in the public markets is essential.
In its first few days of trading on Nasdaq, ManTech International Corp. has seen its share price rise from its opening of $16 to $19.90 Feb. 11. The stock began trading Feb. 7.
One sure sign the government market is gaining respectability is the attention coming from Wall Street, as two government technology companies prepare to go public amid talk that other private firms soon will follow.
Last year was tremendous for federal information technology companies. Federal IT stocks outperformed their commercial counterparts by several times, and valuations reached record levels.
As we close in on the end of the year, public federal integrators, such as CACI International Inc. and PEC Solutions Inc., are continuing to hit new stock price highs.
Most of the time, investor excitement and public-sector-oriented companies are mutually exclusive. But not now. The emergence of a strong appetite and intense interest in companies serving government and defense markets has been dramatic.
