Opportunity in iRobot (Nasdaq: IRBT)
iRobot Corporation (Nasdaq: IRBT) is one of those companies you look at and feel like it might revolutionize the future for both Consumer and Military Robotics. The company does cutting edge work in the field of Robotics and has both consumer and military robots in its arsenal. Roomba vacuum cleaner is one of their consumer robots that vacuums carpets and the new Scooba washes your floors for you. They also have a number of military robots that are being used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
iRobot has come down lately from its high in the 37’s to low 30’s. The stock IPO’d at $24. The Cramer mention was a big reason for the move for iRobot few weeks ago but has settled down since. Since, this will be the first earnings report for iRobot, its hard to say what to expect, which might have something with the recent downtrend. I myself am going to hold on making any judgments or recommendations until I see the earnings and listen to the conference call. I read the whole prospectus and I feel pretty good about the company as a whole. In the past, about 73% of their total revenue has been generated through Roomba. However, with the introduction of Scooba, this number should go down.
I personally think its the matter of finding a good entry point in iRobot. This stock will be speculative with its ups and downs due to the consumer spending cycle and the government military spending. I am pretty sure that if you can think long term and can afford to invest in this company long term, it will pay dividends. Just look at the potential new markets in the graph below.
Following is a graph from their prospectus:
Following is the executive team of iRobot Corpoation (Source: iRobot.com):
Helen Greiner, a co-founder of iRobot, was named our president in June 1997 and as a director since July 1994. Since February 2004, Ms. Greiner has been the chairman of our board of directors. Prior to joining iRobot, Ms. Greiner founded California Cybernetics, a company commercializing Jet Propulsion Laboratory technology. She has been honored by Technology Review Magazine as an ?Innovator for the Next Century.? Ms. Greiner holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from MIT.
Colin Angle, a co-founder of iRobot, has served as our chief executive officer since June 1997 and, prior to that, as our president since November 1992. Mr. Angle has also served as a director since October 1992. Mr. Angle also worked at the National Aeronautical and Space Administration?s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he participated in the design of the behavior-controlled rovers that led to Sojourner exploring Mars in 1997. Mr. Angle holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from MIT.
Rodney Brooks, Ph.D., a co-founder of iRobot, has held various positions at iRobot since its inception. Dr. Brooks has served as our chief technology officer since June 1997, and prior to that has served as our treasurer and our president. Dr. Brooks has served as a director since our inception in August 1990, and from inception until February 2004, as the chairman of our board of directors. Dr. Brooks is the Panasonic Professor of Robotics at MIT. Since July 2003, Dr. Brooks has been the director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. From August 1997 until June 2003, he was the director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Dr. Brooks is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Brooks holds a degree in pure mathematics from the Flinders University of South Australia and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University.
Geoffrey P. Clear has served as our chief financial officer since May 2002. Since February 2005, Mr. Clear has served as a senior vice president and, since March 2004, he has also served as our treasurer. Mr. Clear was the site manager for 3M Touch Systems, a subsidiary of 3M Corporation, from February 2001 until April 2002. From February 1992 until January 2001, he was the vice president, finance & administration and chief financial officer of MicroTouch Systems, Inc. Mr. Clear holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A., both from Dartmouth College.
Joseph W. Dyer has served as the executive vice president and general manager of our government and industrial robotics division since September 2003. Prior to joining iRobot, Mr. Dyer served for 32 years in the U.S. Navy. From July 2000 until July 2003, he served as Vice Admiral commanding the Naval Air Systems Command at which he was responsible for research and development, procurement and in-service support for naval aircraft, weapons and sensors. He is an elected fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the National Academy of Public Administration. He also chairs NASA?s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel. Mr. Dyer holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an M.S. in Finance from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.
Gregory F. White has served as the executive vice president and general manager of our consumer robotics division since March 2003. Prior to joining iRobot, Mr. White was an executive vice president of The Holmes Group, Inc., a diversified consumer portable electric appliance company, from 1995 until March 2003, and a vice president of The Holmes Group, Inc. from 1993 to 1995. Mr. White holds a B.A. in English from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Glen D. Weinstein has served as our general counsel since July 2000. Since February 2005, Mr. Weinstein has also served as a senior vice president, and served as a vice president from February 2002 to January 2005. Since March 2004, he has also served as our secretary. Prior to joining iRobot, Mr. Weinstein was with Covington & Burling, a law firm in Washington, D.C. Mr. Weinstein holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Gerald C. Kent, Jr. has served as our vice president and controller since July 2005. Prior to joining iRobot, Mr. Kent held positions of increasing responsibility, including chief accounting officer and controller, at ScanSoft, Inc., a software company, from April 2000 until July 2005. Prior to that Mr. Kent was an audit manager in the high technology practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP from November 1998 until April 2000. Mr. Kent holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Merrimack College. Mr. Kent is also a CPA.
Ronald Chwang, Ph.D., has served as a director since November 1998. Dr. Chwang is the chairman and president of iD Ventures America, LLC (formerly known as Acer Technology Ventures) under the iD SoftCapital Group, a venture investment and management consulting service group formed in January 2005. From August 1998 until December 2004, Dr. Chwang was the chairman and president of Acer Technology Ventures, LLC, managing high-tech venture investment activities in North America. Dr. Chwang serves on the board of directors of Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. and ATI Technologies, Inc. Dr. Chwang holds a B.Eng. (with honors) in Electrical Engineering from McGill University and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California.
Jacques S. Gansler, Ph.D., has served as a director since July 2004. Dr. Gansler has been a professor at the University of Maryland, where he leads the school?s Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise, since January 2001. From November 1997 until January 2001, Dr. Gansler served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics for the U.S. federal government. Dr. Gansler holds a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from Yale University, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, an M.A. in Political Economy from New School for Social Research, and a Ph.D. in economics from American University.
Andrea Geisser has served as a director since March 2004. Mr. Geisser has been a managing director of Fenway Partners, a private equity firm, since 1995. Prior to founding Fenway Partners, Mr. Geisser was a managing director of Butler Capital Corporation. Prior to that, he was a managing director of Onex Investment Corporation, a Canadian management buyout company. From 1974 to 1986, he was a senior officer of Exor America. Mr. Geisser has been a board member and audit committee member of several private companies. Mr. Geisser holds a bachelor?s degree from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy and a P.M.D. from Harvard Business School.
George McNamee has served as a director since August 1999. Mr. McNamee has served as chairman of First Albany Companies Inc., a specialty investment banking firm, since 1984, and is a managing partner of FA Technology Ventures, an information and energy technology venture capital firm. Mr. McNamee serves as chairman of the board of directors of Plug Power Inc. and on the board of directors of the New York Conservation Education Fund. Mr. McNamee holds a B.A. from Yale University.
Peter Meekin has served as a director since February 2003. Mr. Meekin has been a managing director of Trident Capital, a venture capital firm, since 1998. Prior to joining Trident Capital, he was vice president of venture development at Enterprise Associates, LLC, the venture capital division of IMS Health. Mr. Meekin holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.
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