Belden Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of copper-cable king Belden (NYS: BDC) connected with investors today, jolting share prices up by as much as 12.2% overnight on above-average volume.

So what: Belden's second quarter crushed analyst estimates, amplified by a stronger outlook for the third quarter. Sales jumped 31% year-over-year to $536 million, including organic growth of 17% if you exclude currency exchange effects and recent acquisitions.

Now what: Before you write copper cables off as obsolete, killed by wireless communications or fiber-optics from Corning (NYS: GLW) and others, consider that both Belden and chief competitor General Cable (NYS: BGC) have destroyed Corning and the S&P 500 in the stock market over the last year. Belden's revenue growth speaks for itself, and the company claims to have only a 30% share of the domestic market even though it is the clear leader, leaving plenty of room for both organic share growth and more acquisitions. If you need a refresher on how to invest in underrated makers of networking equipment, just download this free report.

Interested in more info on Belden? Add it to your watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.

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