Ask the Fool
The Nasdaq and the NYSE
Q: I read that PepsiCo left the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and is now listed and trading on the Nasdaq stock market index. Why would a company do that? - R.L., Lake City, Fla.
A: It makes little difference to us investors buying and selling shares of NYSE and Nasdaq companies, but there can be meaningful differences for the companies. Two common considerations are prestige and cost.
The NYSE dates back to 1792 and is more prestigious. The Nasdaq was born in 1971 as a computerized trading system, while the NYSE, long relying on people to execute its trading, now uses both humans and electronics. It generally costs more to be listed on the NYSE, and that's where you'll find many old, established blue chip companies, such as Coca-Cola, Disney and Boeing. The Nasdaq is home to many tech-heavy and faster-growing businesses, including large ones such as Amazon.com, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple.
the take
Room for growthin robotics
One of the staples of sci-fi stories is robots. A key company helping make everyday robotics a reality, and managing to put up some substantial growth numbers while it does so, is iRobot (Nasdaq: IRBT). Its recent third-quarter results, for example, featured 22 percent year-over-year revenue growth.
Though iRobot offers a variety of robots that do everything from clean your gutters to mop your floor, the bulk of its revenue still comes from its Roomba robotic vacuums. In an interview with MIT Technology Review, iRobot co-founder and CEO Colin Angle noted that his company has "talked about lawn mowing, laundry folding, loading and emptying dishwashers, and bathroom cleaning as things of interest to us," adding that robots will "eventually handle all of this routine maintenance."
With its history of growth, iRobot is a must-consider growth stock. (The Motley Fool owns shares of and has recommended iRobot.)
foolish trivia
Name that company
Nearly 20 major companies were integrated over time to form me, and their innovations and achievements include the the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, transporting Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic and carrying astronauts to the moon's surface and back. Marilyn Monroe once worked on one of my production lines, and I supplied navigation and pointing aids for NASA's Mars Rovers. Today, with a market value recently near $53 billion, I'm a premier global security company, specializing in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization offerings. I employ more than 60,000 people worldwide. Who am I?
Last week's trivia answer: J.C. Penney Co.
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