Wallace Weitz commented on FLIR Systems (FLIR, Financial) in his first-quarter letter:
FLIR Systems (FLIR—$25) makes infrared and thermal imaging equipment for military and commercial use. It is a leader in a secularly expanding industry and earns high returns on capital. It has a history of thoughtful capital deployment and sells at a 35% discount to our current estimate of its business value ($39). Fears of cutbacks in defense spending (which we think are over-stated for FLIR's products) and underestimation of the prospects for FLIR's commercial business caused the stock to decline sharply last summer and to tread water ever since. The combination of future earnings per share growth (which we expect to average at least 15% per year) and a higher valuation for those earnings could make FLIR an excellent long-term holding for several of our Funds.
FLIR Systems (FLIR—$25) makes infrared and thermal imaging equipment for military and commercial use. It is a leader in a secularly expanding industry and earns high returns on capital. It has a history of thoughtful capital deployment and sells at a 35% discount to our current estimate of its business value ($39). Fears of cutbacks in defense spending (which we think are over-stated for FLIR's products) and underestimation of the prospects for FLIR's commercial business caused the stock to decline sharply last summer and to tread water ever since. The combination of future earnings per share growth (which we expect to average at least 15% per year) and a higher valuation for those earnings could make FLIR an excellent long-term holding for several of our Funds.
