KEYSKeysight Technologies Inc.

Keysight makes electronic test instruments — the equipment that verifies what others design.

Oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers, signal generators, and benches for testing networks and semiconductors. Buyers are chip designers, telecom equipment makers, the automotive industry and defence. An instrument lasts a decade, while its software is sold separately and updated.

Demand comes from research budgets rather than production volumes and therefore leads the manufacturing cycle: engineers buy instruments when they begin developing a new communication standard or platform, years before serial production.

The company was spun out of Agilent and continues to grow by acquiring niche makers. Risks: customers cutting research spending, export controls, and semiconductor cyclicality. The company pays no dividend.