Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN)

Analog circuits manage power, convert sensor signals and provide interfaces between blocks. That means tens of thousands of distinct products with long life cycles: the same part sells for years or decades, and designing it into a new device locks the supplier in for a long time. Hence unusual revenue stability for a semiconductor company.

The company deliberately owns its manufacturing and has spent recent years building new fabs to control unit cost and avoid dependence on contractors. That temporarily weighs on free cash flow: the plants are paid for now and loaded later. Management frames it as a choice in favour of long-run competitiveness.

The main end markets are industrial and automotive, so downturns there appear in the accounts earlier than in consumer electronics. Texas Instruments is a classic income stock with a long record of dividend increases, and much of its investor base rests on that.