MMM - Illinois Tool Works Is A Margin Beast But The Valuation Is A Little Scary
Maybe the worst thing I can say about Illinois Tool Works (ITW) as a company is that it’s kinda dull and that it underinvests in R&D – something management likely would disagree with. Otherwise, we’re talking about an incredibly well-run conglomerate that is very diversified across the globe (albeit a little light toward China) and across end-markets (albeit a little heavy toward auto). Management’s 80/20 system has generated proven results for years and very very few companies can produce these kinds of margins and returns on a sustained basis.
I thought ITW had