Gemalto In A Bruising Transition Period

It has been a while since I've written on Franco-Dutch digital security company Gemalto (OTCPK:GTOMY) (GTO.PA) (GTO.AS). I thought the shares looked interesting back in February of 2013 on the potential to benefit from growing 3G/4G adoption and the conversion to EMV chip cards, and the shares did alright in the following two years (albeit with volatility). Starting around mid-2015, though, circumstances changed dramatically for the worse in the company's mobile SIM card business, and recent pressures from the payment/EMV business have made things worse.

I believe the company, and the shares, are in a tough transition period. I don't think mobile SIM cards will ever be a driver for the business, and I'm not sold on the prospects for mobile payments and contactless EMV cards to drive meaningful long-term value. I do believe, though, that the company's position in security platform/services, enterprise security, government, and machine-to-machine can drive worthwhile growth in the years to come.

The shares do look undervalued today on the basis of revenue growth in the neighborhood of 4-5% and FCF growth around 7-9%. That said, for those who can stomach the risk of missing out, waiting a little longer to make sure there isn't another shoe to drop may be a better decision in terms of long-term risk/reward. In terms of the mechanics of buying the shares, the U.S. ADRs do trade, but there is better liquidity in the European markets and most brokers now handle these trades at reasonable prices.

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Gemalto In A Bruising Transition Period