Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (TDY)

Teledyne assembles niche instruments and sensors — thermal imagers, undersea equipment, defence and space electronics.

The portfolio is deliberately fragmented: dozens of products in markets too small to attract a large competitor yet big enough to sustain high prices. Such devices are designed into other people's systems for years, and certification makes changing supplier expensive and slow.

Growth comes from acquiring similar niche manufacturers: the company buys them and raises their efficiency without merging them into a single structure. Defence and space orders provide stability, industrial instruments provide the cycle. Risks: defence budgets, acquisition prices and the industrial cycle. The company pays no dividend.