Adobe'squarterlyearningshavefallendue todecliningsales of softwarelicenses, andtheSaaSmodelofOmniturewillbring the company a recurringstreamof revenue.
First Manhattan, a consultancy, reckons that one-third of the improvement in big American banks' earnings since 1993 comes from three non-recurring factors: lower deposit-insurance premiums, smaller provisions for loan losses and a wider gap between market interest rates and the rates banks pay depositors.
It's still cheap at 15 times expected 2010 earnings, he says, but management has done an excellent job of investing in products with strong recurring revenue such as surgical stapling machines and single-use laparoscopic tools.